Wallpaper is something that is often taken for granted when you walk into a room. You may notice the pattern or the colour of the design if its striking enough and other than a little thought at redecoration time, wallpaper is rarely even thought about.  Did you know that at one time a tax was imposed when wallpaper was in your home, or that wallpaper was once used to tell stories, making history a part of the fabric of your home? Well there is much to know about wallpaper so we thought that we would give you a whistle stop tour of wallpaper history through the ages. Wallpaper in the 1700s Although wallpaper production dates back to before the 1700s, it is during this period that wallpaper become a well known material, certainly with the gentry of the day. During the 1700s, wallpaper was manufactured using three different techniques – hand painting, woodblock printing or stencilling. This was a time before large printing presses and the process was always done individually in a hand made fashion. During this period, wallpaper was a replacement for tapestries which had hung on walls since the middle ages but become expensive and hard to source. Wallpaper was a marginally cheaper alternative which still offered the luxury that commoners couldn’t afford. During the 1700s, wallpaper was seen much as it is now, a way to add colour and pattern to a room. Unfortunately many repeat pattern wallpapers from this period have been lost but some are still found within private collections and many replicas have been produced including those in the Little Greene Wallpaper collections. Wallpaper in the 1800s By the 1800s,England had become the world’s largest manufacturer of wallpaper and designs made here were shipped all over Europe to be used in the homes and châteaux's of aristocracy everywhere. As a result of this, in 1712 Queen Anna imposed a wallpaper tax providing additional revenue for the country. By this time, much experimentation had also been done on wallpaper manufacture, and design and styles had changed significantly. By 1748, flocked wallpaper was adorning the walls of stately homes and other mediums like silk were being used to add a touch more luxury to wallpaper designs. Wallpaper in the 1900s By the 1900s there was a style revival going on in the world of wall coverings. Where once tapestries were used to tell stories to people through the generations, now wallpaper was the medium for conveying messages and storytelling. During this period, one of the most well known wallpaper artists, Jean-Gabriel Charvet, was charged with capturing the voyages of Captain Cook onto wallpaper. Other panoramic and scenic designs also occurred during this period whilst the physical manufacture of wallpaper continued to involved. Wallpaper Today Wallpaper today is used to tell stories, make statements or convey messages whether about the taste of the home owner or on a certain theme. Construction has improved significantly with nearly all designs being produced on mass and using machinery. Luckily wallpaper tax is a thing of the past and mass production has pushed prices down, making wallpaper now an affordable purchase for any home. The current trend is to use different finishes, effects and wallpaper combinations to create the desired look choosing from everything from period to contemporary wallpaper designs.