Owned and operated by Chris Ohrstrom and Steve Larson, Adelphi Paper Hangings LLC is a small, artisanal producer of historically accurate block printed wallpapers for museums and historic institutions, as well as for period designers and those involved in contemporary design projects.
Founded in 1999, Adelphi Paper Hangings grew out of a symposium of some of the world's foremost experts and researchers on block printed wallpapers. While the symposium demonstrated that interest in these historic papers and techniques remains extremely high, it was also clear that the art of producing these unique papers had been in sharp decline since the early 20th century.
To help insure that the art and craft of traditional handmade wallpapers would survive, Adelphi established the only commercial production facility for block printing historic papers in the United States.
Adelphi Paper Hangings offers wallpapers that are reproduced using the same hand-printing methods and materials employed circa 1720-1860, after which machine printing methods began to dominate the industry. Our work is based on exhaustive and continuing research into methods, materials, techniques and styles. Each order is individually hand printed by skilled artisans without compromises in quality, historical accuracy or consistency.
Working from original documents that range from an entire wall's worth of antique wallpaper to a modest box of faded, water damaged scraps still attached to chunks of plaster, Adelphi Paper Hangings has successfully reproduced wallpapers which date from the 1740s through the 1930s. By understanding the nature of historic paints, the muting effect of time, as well as the historic context and fashions, Adelphi Paper Hangings can successfully interpret documentary evidence and accurately reproduce the style, character and look of original period documents.
In addition to historic American, French and English patterns from its own extensive collection of original wallpaper documents, Adelphi offers patterns licensed from the archives of Historic New England, The Smithsonian Institution, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Old Sturbridge Village, the New York State Historical Association, the Musée du Papier Peint (Rixheim, France), and from many other historic institutions and private collections.
Our commitment to quality, historical accuracy and uncompromised production values are our assurance to customers that Adelphi products are the finest quality block printed papers available on the market today.
