Kenmore, a Georgian-style plantation house, was the home of
Colonel Fielding Lewis and Betty Washington Lewis (sister of George
Washington). An exhaustive search for wallpaper at Kenmore yielded
numerous fragments of different ages. During this search, the north
pilaster of the Center Hall doorway to the Dining Room was removed to
scrutinize its return edge for fragments of early wallpaper. One of
the best and potentially original samples found on this trim was a
multi-colored, striped, rag content (cotton and flax) wallpaper.
Polarized light microscopical analysis of the yellow distemper paint
identified the pigment litharge. Litharge and cotton and flax fibers
were all in common use in the mid-to-late 18th century. Consequently, we currently believe this is an original wallpaper. Continue to Kenmore Page 2 to view photomicrographs and descriptions of the wallpaper fragment, fibers and pigment particles.
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