The Conservation and Reproduction of Historic Wallcoverings at the Frederick Law Olmsted Site

Abstract

ABSTRACT Fairsted is the home and working facility of the pioneering landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903). He relocated his practice from New York City to this 1810 Federal Style house in suburban Boston in 1883, renovated it as a family residence and to accommodate his busy professional office, and landscaped the grounds. The firm remained active at the site until 1979, after which the National Park Service assumed stewardship of the house, office with its extensive archives and grounds. A project to renovate the interiors was initiated in 2010, for which the original wallcoverings from the late nineteenth century period of interpretation were reproduced in six rooms. These included designs by suppliers in four different countries, each using different methods of reproduction. This publication focuses on the retrieval of samples for reference, consideration of reproduction options, selection of suppliers, quality control during reproduction, and installation in collaboration with a reproduction wallcovering specialist. Along with the strategies for the most authentic and efficient project execution, and the differences between working with reproductions and entirely original historic wallcoverings, the project accounting is shared for purposes of reference when wallcovering reproduction projects of similar scale are encountered.