Victorian Wall Stencils
Newly absorbed by MB Historic Decor, Epoch Designs stencils are mostly Victorian.
The Rasmüssen Collection, a great find, was pulled out from under a bed after 65 years of disuse. The original artisan, Alfred Rasmüssen, stenciled in the Boston area from 1900 - 1940. The stencils are Revival, Arts & Crafts, and Art Deco.
The Rasmüssen stencils were cut from brown paper, strengthened with a coat of shellac, and were a single layer upon which multiple brushes were used with different colors to create a multi-colored stencil result. Paint still adheres to them in any color you could name, including a liberal use of gold and silver metallic paint. We have floorcloths from Gracewood Design throughout the Arts & Crafts pages to demonstrate the imaginative use of color that can be achieved.
Throughout the 100 years this catalogue covers, color fashion swung — from pastels to primary colors of equal intensity to a primary color dominant and up to 7 other paler hues in the same room; to primary and secondary colors either opposite or adjacent on the color wheel; to the muddied tertiary colors of olive greens, browns, black, white, violet and purple and burnt orange, and back to pastels again. Some of different palettes were popular at the same time. Knowing this will perhaps liberate the homeowner to choose the color combinations that he or she finds most pleasing and complements his or her own decor.
Stenciling will be much more effective on your walls than it appears in our illustrations. See our Gallery for photographs of selected examples sent in by our clients (like you!).
Jo Sonja paints and quality stencil brushes can be purchased through MB Historic Décor. Lucky for us, since a century has passed, the vogue of redecorating our Victorians, New Englander, Craftsmen Bungalows, Sears and Roebuck, Revival, Shingle and Prairie Homes as they might have been, has come full circle, and the means to do so is at hand!
The Rasmüssen Collection, a great find, was pulled out from under a bed after 65 years of disuse. The original artisan, Alfred Rasmüssen, stenciled in the Boston area from 1900 - 1940. The stencils are Revival, Arts & Crafts, and Art Deco.
The Rasmüssen stencils were cut from brown paper, strengthened with a coat of shellac, and were a single layer upon which multiple brushes were used with different colors to create a multi-colored stencil result. Paint still adheres to them in any color you could name, including a liberal use of gold and silver metallic paint. We have floorcloths from Gracewood Design throughout the Arts & Crafts pages to demonstrate the imaginative use of color that can be achieved.
Throughout the 100 years this catalogue covers, color fashion swung — from pastels to primary colors of equal intensity to a primary color dominant and up to 7 other paler hues in the same room; to primary and secondary colors either opposite or adjacent on the color wheel; to the muddied tertiary colors of olive greens, browns, black, white, violet and purple and burnt orange, and back to pastels again. Some of different palettes were popular at the same time. Knowing this will perhaps liberate the homeowner to choose the color combinations that he or she finds most pleasing and complements his or her own decor.
Stenciling will be much more effective on your walls than it appears in our illustrations. See our Gallery for photographs of selected examples sent in by our clients (like you!).
Jo Sonja paints and quality stencil brushes can be purchased through MB Historic Décor. Lucky for us, since a century has passed, the vogue of redecorating our Victorians, New Englander, Craftsmen Bungalows, Sears and Roebuck, Revival, Shingle and Prairie Homes as they might have been, has come full circle, and the means to do so is at hand!
| victorianstencils.pdf |
Border Wall Stencils
Two distinct styles of wall stenciling arose in New England between the Revolutionary War and the turn of the 19th century. In one, stencils cover most of a wall's surface; in the other, presented in this catalogue, the stencils are more linear and are usually limited to the wall's borders. There are rarer examples where border-style motifs — urns with swags, for example — appear on the wall's interior. Still, they are used with the same linearity seen in the borders, and are considered border stencils.
Both styles were generally intended to be "paint in imitation of paper," that is, an affordable way of simulating more expensive wallpaper. However, border stencils were more architectural, defining and outlining the walls of a room. Their patterns were often inspired by the wood and plaster borders of the Neoclassical period. These include swags of fruit, roses and drapery, scrolls, ribbons, and urns supporting garlands of flowers and leaves. As stated in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, it was "a graceful system of decoration" which attained a unique loveliness."
We wish we could attribute this work to specific artisans, but much of that research remains to be done. In the meantime, we categorize this work as that of "The Borderman" or "The Bordermen" (all the known itinerant stencilers of that day were men). Almost 200 years ago The Borderman was at work in the Leavenworth-Dennison House in Hinesburg, Vermont (see pattern 105 on page 4). For the frieze in the front entry, stairwell and upper landing, he stenciled a swag of apples on a background of grey near the ceiling. Careful measuring assured that it fit in a pleasing manner left and right of the wide front door. Below the chair rail, on a yellow ochre background, he stenciled a geometric border surmounted by tricolored urns and garlands. The "lemons" served to outline the woodwork. On the upper wall between the apples and the lemons, he used delicate alternating vines. The overall effect was quite beautiful.
We know more of the methods than we do of their identities. The patterns were
cut from opaque brown paper reinforced with shellac or oil to withstand repeated use. Brushes were made by hand, and paints formulated from pigments, many of which were ground with mortar and pestle. Some of the ingredients — lead, arsenic and cadmium, for example — are now recognized as highly toxic. The pigments were mixed with lead, lime, kaolin clay, or in a glue or oil concoction. Sometimes the mixtures were heated and allowed to settle before they were used.
In this catalogue, patterns are presented just as they were recorded from the original walls, complete with irregularities. Only the dots and dashes that define the outer margins of some of the stencils have been trued to assure proper alignment. (#146 is an exception since it came already adjusted.)
My purpose has been to provide an historically accurate basis for your own selection and creativity. Purists, in choosing stencils from this collection, will want to adhere closely to the original colors and arrangements; or you may prefer to mix and match patterns, and use or not use the contrasting borders in your work. Some of the colors may be too bright for today's decorating; picture the stenciling done on paler shades, or with colors that coordinate with your décor.
Stenciling will be much more effective on your walls than it appears in our illustrations. See our Gallery for photographs of selected examples sent in by our clients (like you!).
Jo Sonja paints and quality stencil brushes can be purchased through MB Historic Décor.
Both styles were generally intended to be "paint in imitation of paper," that is, an affordable way of simulating more expensive wallpaper. However, border stencils were more architectural, defining and outlining the walls of a room. Their patterns were often inspired by the wood and plaster borders of the Neoclassical period. These include swags of fruit, roses and drapery, scrolls, ribbons, and urns supporting garlands of flowers and leaves. As stated in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, it was "a graceful system of decoration" which attained a unique loveliness."
We wish we could attribute this work to specific artisans, but much of that research remains to be done. In the meantime, we categorize this work as that of "The Borderman" or "The Bordermen" (all the known itinerant stencilers of that day were men). Almost 200 years ago The Borderman was at work in the Leavenworth-Dennison House in Hinesburg, Vermont (see pattern 105 on page 4). For the frieze in the front entry, stairwell and upper landing, he stenciled a swag of apples on a background of grey near the ceiling. Careful measuring assured that it fit in a pleasing manner left and right of the wide front door. Below the chair rail, on a yellow ochre background, he stenciled a geometric border surmounted by tricolored urns and garlands. The "lemons" served to outline the woodwork. On the upper wall between the apples and the lemons, he used delicate alternating vines. The overall effect was quite beautiful.
We know more of the methods than we do of their identities. The patterns were
cut from opaque brown paper reinforced with shellac or oil to withstand repeated use. Brushes were made by hand, and paints formulated from pigments, many of which were ground with mortar and pestle. Some of the ingredients — lead, arsenic and cadmium, for example — are now recognized as highly toxic. The pigments were mixed with lead, lime, kaolin clay, or in a glue or oil concoction. Sometimes the mixtures were heated and allowed to settle before they were used.
In this catalogue, patterns are presented just as they were recorded from the original walls, complete with irregularities. Only the dots and dashes that define the outer margins of some of the stencils have been trued to assure proper alignment. (#146 is an exception since it came already adjusted.)
My purpose has been to provide an historically accurate basis for your own selection and creativity. Purists, in choosing stencils from this collection, will want to adhere closely to the original colors and arrangements; or you may prefer to mix and match patterns, and use or not use the contrasting borders in your work. Some of the colors may be too bright for today's decorating; picture the stenciling done on paler shades, or with colors that coordinate with your décor.
Stenciling will be much more effective on your walls than it appears in our illustrations. See our Gallery for photographs of selected examples sent in by our clients (like you!).
Jo Sonja paints and quality stencil brushes can be purchased through MB Historic Décor.
| borderwallstencils.pdf |
Moses Eaton Collection
I have shown 10 authentic walls to enable you to familiarize yourself with the placement of patterns before planning your own room. Moses Eaton's layout was very carefree. He treated each wall as a separate space, not carrying the frieze around, but adding a portion of the design to end it on that wall. The verticals were determined by door and window construction so that the panels were all different widths. The motifs were applied more often by eye than by careful measurement.
The patterns were cut from brown opaque paper stiffened with oil. Today's translucent stencils with register marks for alignment of overlaid colors assure us of ease and success.
Some books for your further study of wall stenciling are: American Wall Stenciling 1790-1840 by Ann Eckert Brown; Early American Stencils on Walls and Furniture by Janet Waring; American Decorative Wall Painting 1700-1850 by Nina Fletcher Little. There are a few pages in Techniques in American Folk Decoration by Lipman and Meulendyke. Good tips for wall and floor stenciling are presented in The Art and Craft of Wall Stenciling by Richard M. Bacon. Included with my patterns will be complete directions and, if called for, some specific to your pattern.
Stenciling will be much more effective on your walls than it appears in our illustrations. See our Gallery for photographs of selected examples sent in by our clients (like you!).
Jo Sonja paints and quality stencil brushes can be purchased through MB Historic Décor.
The patterns were cut from brown opaque paper stiffened with oil. Today's translucent stencils with register marks for alignment of overlaid colors assure us of ease and success.
Some books for your further study of wall stenciling are: American Wall Stenciling 1790-1840 by Ann Eckert Brown; Early American Stencils on Walls and Furniture by Janet Waring; American Decorative Wall Painting 1700-1850 by Nina Fletcher Little. There are a few pages in Techniques in American Folk Decoration by Lipman and Meulendyke. Good tips for wall and floor stenciling are presented in The Art and Craft of Wall Stenciling by Richard M. Bacon. Included with my patterns will be complete directions and, if called for, some specific to your pattern.
Stenciling will be much more effective on your walls than it appears in our illustrations. See our Gallery for photographs of selected examples sent in by our clients (like you!).
Jo Sonja paints and quality stencil brushes can be purchased through MB Historic Décor.
| moseseatonstencils.pdf |
Floor Stencils of New England
Floors predated walls as the first surface in a house to be decorated. The practice is thought to have been widespread but subsequently lost through wear, repainting and fire. In the earliest years they were hand painted.
Over the span of 100 years, this fashion, which began in only the most affluent of seaport mansions and inns, spread into surrounding rural homes.
Colonists suffering their daily hardships, remembered fondly the beauty and comforts of their European homelands and were well aware of fashions abroad. A 1739 booklet published in England exhibited geometric and floral floor patterns popular there at that time. Enterprising young artisans were prepared to embellish many grand homes in the New World by this means. They also grained and sponged, painted overmantels, fireboards, tavern signs and walls.
Stenciling of floors was a way to simulate woven carpet, floorcloths and parquet floors without that expense. The whole was protected with varnish which, over time, mellowed to a rich yellow/brown causing the black, red, green and white paints to appear as the finest inlay of variegated woods set in background colors of yellow ochre, grey, "Indian red", and green. We can create this look today by antiquing. The combination most often used, and no doubt most economical, was black on pumpkin pine, either natural or painted yellow ochre. During the Clipper Ship era, circa 1810-1870, the canvases from ripped sails were stenciled and used on floors for ornamentation, warmth and cleanliness.
Today in addition to traditional wood floors and canvas, stencils are being used on plywood, tiles, low loop industrial carpet, sisal, cement and the backside of vinyl floor coverings.
As with the border wall stencils, the patterns have been trued only to assure proper alignment. Their irregularities create the charm we seek. Although many patterns were stenciled in black alone, I have offered them as one, two or three color patterns for today's preferences. Please note that the patterns are not size-related to each other. Know their sizes by the dimensions given.
Stenciling will be much more effective on your floors and stairs than it appears in our illustrations. See our Gallery for photographs of selected examples sent in by our clients (like you!).
Jo Sonja paints and quality stencil brushes can be purchased through MB Historic Décor.
Over the span of 100 years, this fashion, which began in only the most affluent of seaport mansions and inns, spread into surrounding rural homes.
Colonists suffering their daily hardships, remembered fondly the beauty and comforts of their European homelands and were well aware of fashions abroad. A 1739 booklet published in England exhibited geometric and floral floor patterns popular there at that time. Enterprising young artisans were prepared to embellish many grand homes in the New World by this means. They also grained and sponged, painted overmantels, fireboards, tavern signs and walls.
Stenciling of floors was a way to simulate woven carpet, floorcloths and parquet floors without that expense. The whole was protected with varnish which, over time, mellowed to a rich yellow/brown causing the black, red, green and white paints to appear as the finest inlay of variegated woods set in background colors of yellow ochre, grey, "Indian red", and green. We can create this look today by antiquing. The combination most often used, and no doubt most economical, was black on pumpkin pine, either natural or painted yellow ochre. During the Clipper Ship era, circa 1810-1870, the canvases from ripped sails were stenciled and used on floors for ornamentation, warmth and cleanliness.
Today in addition to traditional wood floors and canvas, stencils are being used on plywood, tiles, low loop industrial carpet, sisal, cement and the backside of vinyl floor coverings.
As with the border wall stencils, the patterns have been trued only to assure proper alignment. Their irregularities create the charm we seek. Although many patterns were stenciled in black alone, I have offered them as one, two or three color patterns for today's preferences. Please note that the patterns are not size-related to each other. Know their sizes by the dimensions given.
Stenciling will be much more effective on your floors and stairs than it appears in our illustrations. See our Gallery for photographs of selected examples sent in by our clients (like you!).
Jo Sonja paints and quality stencil brushes can be purchased through MB Historic Décor.
| floorstencils.pdf |
Wall Stencil Sampler
In presenting this new collection of stencils from New England and New York, I owe a debt of gratitude to Jessica Bond who sent me my first historic wall stencil in 1968. It was through her invitation to record stenciled walls together in Vermont, her tutelage and encouragement, that my own work was fully realized. I especially acknowledge Gina Martin, the original recorder of many of the patterns and the late Esther Stevens Brazer, a researcher of many aspects of early American decoration in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, whose collection was available to me. Further, I wish to recognize Kenneth Jewett, who first became interested in stenciling in 1924 and who, until he passed away at age 100, continued to be so. He shared much valuable information with me. I quote liberally from Early American Stencils on Walls and Furniture by Janet Waring, available on our site for $17.95.
It is my hope that homeowners in selecting stencils for their own walls will use patterns from a specific homestead or collection thereby keeping the original artists and their work intact. The best occasion of all, is when the homeowner sees fit to reproduce an entire room exactly as it was originally stenciled.
In this entire collection only a few adjustments have been made to straighten edging or adjust an axis of a stencil to make it acceptable to the public. Otherwise the small variations within the stencils create the handmade appearance we seek.
Stenciling will be much more effective on your walls than it appears in our illustrations. See our Gallery for photographs of selected examples sent in by our clients (like you!).
Jo Sonja paints and quality stencil brushes can be purchased through MB Historic Décor.
It is my hope that homeowners in selecting stencils for their own walls will use patterns from a specific homestead or collection thereby keeping the original artists and their work intact. The best occasion of all, is when the homeowner sees fit to reproduce an entire room exactly as it was originally stenciled.
In this entire collection only a few adjustments have been made to straighten edging or adjust an axis of a stencil to make it acceptable to the public. Otherwise the small variations within the stencils create the handmade appearance we seek.
Stenciling will be much more effective on your walls than it appears in our illustrations. See our Gallery for photographs of selected examples sent in by our clients (like you!).
Jo Sonja paints and quality stencil brushes can be purchased through MB Historic Décor.
| wallstencilssampler.pdf |
Rufus Porter Murals
Jo Sonja paints and quality stencil brushes can be purchased through MB Historic Décor.The stencils you are being offered have been recorded from actual walls. Rufus Porter used stencils to speed up the decorating process. By observing his work, it appears that he carried an assortment of chimneys, roofs, windows, doors and the fronts and sides of different buildings. Some of the buildings may have been clustered on one stencil as the same groupings are seen over and over again with little variation. I believe that some tree trunks were stenciled, parts of the soldiers and parts of some of the boats, but not all of the boats. These I have studied and separated into stencil overlays for your convenience. The videos will show you just how repetitive the scenery is and how easily it can be reproduced. Porter strongly believed that by following a logical sequence of steps, anyone could create a mural. In his day, paints, brushes and stencils all had to be mixed, made and cut... today all that is done for you.
Stenciling will be much more effective on your walls than it appears in our illustrations. See our Gallery for photographs of selected examples sent in by our clients (like you!).
Jo Sonja paints and quality stencil brushes can be purchased through MB Historic Décor.
Stenciling will be much more effective on your walls than it appears in our illustrations. See our Gallery for photographs of selected examples sent in by our clients (like you!).
Jo Sonja paints and quality stencil brushes can be purchased through MB Historic Décor.
| rufusporterstencils.pdf |