
A Library Handles a Rare and Deadly Book of Wallpaper Samples (2018) - joker3
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/shadows-from-the-walls-of-death-book
======
mauvehaus
Book recommendation: Bitten By Witch Fever[0], which covers the subject in a
lot more depth. The format of the book is interesting; the chapters are
divided by (reproduction) samples of period wallpaper. Unfortunately, those
are printed on different size leaves, which means that the text sections are
all the same number of pages. To me, the book read more like a series of
articles than a cohesive narrative, but it was interesting nonetheless.

Among other things, William Morris, who is today better known for his
association with the Arts and Crafts movement (which is, in turn, best known
for its furniture styles/designers (Stickley, Greene and Greene, Mission, and
many more) and architecture (Gamble House, Riordan Mansion, and many more))
was involved in the production of a large amount of wallpaper containing
arsenic-based pigments. He remained something of an arsenic denier, and the
book takes its title from some of his comments about people who were arguing
against the continued use of arsenic-based pigments[1].

Mentioned in that book, but not one that I've yet read is The Yellow
Wallpaper[2], written in the period. The author of Bitten By Witch Fever
interprets the protagonist's madness as being caused by arsenic-based pigments
in the eponymous wallpaper, though I don't know that that interpretation is
explicitly supported by the text. I suppose I'll have to check it out and read
it to find out.

[0] [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29082603-bitten-by-
witch...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29082603-bitten-by-witch-fever)
[1]
[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2388667617?book_show_a...](https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2388667617?book_show_action=true)
[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Yellow_Wallpaper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Yellow_Wallpaper)

~~~
Symbiote
Any William Morris fans in or near London should visit the William Morris
Gallery, in Walthamstow:
[https://www.wmgallery.org.uk/](https://www.wmgallery.org.uk/)

It includes wallpaper as well as furniture.

------
Gibbon1
An Ex-GF worked at a museum a lot of their collection had been treated with
arsenic to prevent decay from mold and insects. She said they were still doing
that into the 1970s.

Fortunately they don't handle exhibits items that much. They'd throw the them
out except for the problem of some being irreplaceable and no one wants to
touch a stuffed bobcat covered in arsenic power.

------
krig
Lilly Ryan gave a great talk at linux.conf.au 2019 linking arsenic use in
wallpapers to computer security:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egi8Lm5W3FY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egi8Lm5W3FY)

------
drtillberg
"The most beautiful things can be the most dangerous."

Indeed, for wallpaper other things too.

