Tucked away behind the Place de la Bastille in Paris is a small studio where three young paper conservators have rediscovered a method of printing wallpaper not seen in practice since before the French Revolution. Julie Stordiau, Jean-Baptiste Martin and Vincent Farelly were working as freelance restorers when a project in the Auvergne called for an eighteenth-century domino paper to be reproduced. These were the first real wallpapers and are distinguishable by their unusual size.
Rather than the roll of wallpaper that we are familiar with today, each piece of a domino wallpaper measures only 42 x 32cm. After a paper mill near Aquitaine had been found to produce sheets of rag paper close to the original, as well as a company to create the metal engraving block from which the outline of the design would be printed, it became apparent to the three that this method yielded a charming result. Antoinette Poisson (named after Louis XV's mistress Madame de Pompadour) was born.
Two years later and they have curated the most delightful collection of domino papers, all printed in their Parisian studio. Each design is taken from an original eighteenth-century document, some quite complicated in multiple colours and others very simple, small geometrics originally to be found lining hat boxes or as end papers in books. Each hand-painted design is available in the original document colourway, as well as a more restrained, modern palette. They also print on to vintage linen and velvet using the same process. Once the pieces are cut and patched together the joins are barely visible, but they add a depth and charm to the decoration as a whole. Although these papers are almost indistinguishable from the originals, computer technology ensures the engraving blocks, their designs first drawn by hand, are absolutely precise.Jean-Baptiste stresses that 'all the blocks are perfect, it is the printer who adds their own imperfections in the printing and hand-painting process'.
When asked about the appeal of these papers today, Julie suggests, 'It provides a relief from the regularity of modern printing techniques, which can look cold and flat. Each of our papers is completely unique, and has the authority of an ancient printing technique and all the little mistakes that make it charming.'
Antoinette Poisson, 00-33-177 171 311.
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