DID YOU KNOW?

1 The brand’s prestigious archive features examples of patterns inherited from JC Crace and Son, a company that printed wallpapers for many important buildings, including London’s Palace of Westminster, which was refurbished in the 1840s. It features the ‘Gothic Lily’ design created by Augustus Pugin, who assisted with the restoration. 2 According to legend, Cole & Son’s many printing blocks were wrapped in damp blankets and safeguarded in a Suffolk barn during the Blitz. 3 Cole & Son has used a number of innovative techniques throughout its history. John Perry pioneered the use of ground mica to give papers a silk-like sheen, and the subtle streaked effect on one of its first designs, ‘Jaspe’, was achieved using badger hair brushes. The factory also developed special pans to form multi-coloured stripes: these were made from long pieces of wood with openings for dye at the bottom. 4 The company produces collections celebrating the work of Italian surrealist artist Piero Fornasetti, with many designs adapted from the original papers created for his family’s house in Milan. For example, ‘Mediterranea’, a hypnotic cityscape of roofs, adorned the walls of Fornasetti’s entrance hall in the late 1940s. ➤