Week 2 update:
The wallpaper has been fully removed to reveal the original plaster, a mystery opening, and a previously unknown wallpaper pattern. The completion of this work also means we have to say “goodbye” to Mike and Zach. It has been a pleasure working with them. The plasterers from Bob Jirasek Plastering have started setting up in preparation for the work they will be doing on our 150-year-old walls and ceilings.
Below is a picture of a previously unknown repair in the Parlor. It is normally covered by wall-to-wall bookshelves, which were moved to remove the wallpaper behind. The repair is the same size as the other door entries in the room and exactly opposite of the east facing window . There are two competing hypotheses about what it might have been. Given the size and position, it likely it was a door that led out to a porch that no longer exists. It had to be filled in when the attached kitchen was added, likely in the 1870s, which would also fit with the addition of a back stairway from the maid’s room (later, Willard’s Den) to get to the new kitchen. The kitchen shares the wall where the repair was made. Unfortunately, there were no building permits at the time and the renovations were not mentioned by Willard in her diary, so the construction date is hard to pin down.
On the back wall of the hallway near Willard’s Den, Mike discovered another iridescent wallpaper. The pattern was difficult to capture in a photograph, but one can see a loose brush stroke or firework pattern. Reflective papers were very popular at the time because lighting was poor – gas or oil lamps and early light bulbs didn’t give off much light – and a reflective surface amplifies the little bit of light that was produced.
