This month marks the 75th anniversary of wallpaper and paint specialist Graham & Brown, and to mark the occasion the company is releasing a limited edition collection taking inspiration from previous decades with proceeds going to charity.
A nostalgic journey back in time, Through the Decades reflects the changing relationship with the home and the role wallpaper design has played in pushing this forward over the past eight decades. The first part of the collection cover the 1940s to the 1970s, with the 1980s to the 2020s to be released later in the year.
Parsonage Bloom celebrates a country emerging from a decade dominated by the Second World War. Although the coming of peace brought shortages and rationing, it also brought the end of the blackout and nights spent in air-raid shelters. People across Britain were determined to make the best of things, spending time in the countryside and brightening up the homes in which they had lived for six years of war.
After setting up a surface printing machine in a disused munitions factory in 1946, Graham & Brown soon discovered that the post-war demand for decorative paper was beyond all expectations. The success of this period propelled the new company forward, enabling them to take on more staff, purchase new machinery, and grow the business into full wallpaper production. As Graham & Brown grew, so did the sense of community. There were Christmas parties and annual outings to the Lake District where employees were each given a ten-shilling note as they got out of the coach to buy coffee in the pub at Carnforth. There were speeches and boat trips and meals in a marquee.
Commemorating these foundational years, Parsonage Bloom presents a charming floral design depicting the familiar natural motifs associated with British country gardens. Delicate Tea Roses and Dog Roses unfurl across a textured canvas backdrop as Gaura and Campion wildflowers bloom beneath. The colour palette references 1940s interiors, with pastel detailing adding a contemporary inflection to a vintage-style design.
The 1950s was a pivotal decade for Graham & Brown. After losing co-founder Harold Graham to pneumonia in 1951, Henry Brown led the company through a period which for Britain was marked by recession and increased material charges. To supplement wallpaper production, Graham & Brown began manufacturing Christmas decorations which soon caught the eye of high street retail chain Woolworths. The company later commissioned Graham & Brown to produce streamers and display papers to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953. The coronation collection was popular across the country, and Henry Brown celebrated a successful tenth year in business.
Coronation Craze echoes the mid-century style of this period, an aesthetic which continues to be prevalent across the interiors landscape today. Rounded geometrics lead the striking teardrop design, which boasts shots of burnt orange, mustard, and teal, against a crisp white backdrop. The sleek and defined wallpaper is ideal paired with re-purposed items and antique-inspired materials, warm wood furniture and simplified, utilitarian accessories.
The 1960s ushered in a new generation at Graham & Brown, with Graham’s son Roger and Brown’s son David joining the business. Both had been a familiar sight around the factory since they were young boys in short trousers and clogs. As teenagers they had worked in the pattern room during the holidays, and both picked up a useful grasp of colloquialisms whilst shovelling coal under the tutelage of rambunctious boilerman Jimmy Cowell. Roger Graham and David Brown later oversaw a huge expansion of the Graham & Brown manufacturing facilities, and the introduction of new technologies which revolutionised a production process remaining largely unchanged for half a century.
It is this spirit of change, progress, and transformation which one associates with the 1960s. The flower power symbols of the counterculture movement quickly seeped into mainstream culture and visually defined a decade. With an illustrative style that nods to avant-garde icons of the era, Heinz Edelmann and Peter Max, the Flower Power wallpaper presents a chic and lively floral design. Bursting with happiness-evoking hues, the wallpaper combines retro shades of warm orange, ochre, and pink.
After considerable expansion to the Blackburn site in the late 1960s, Graham & Brown began to look further afield, building business outposts across the UK. Business was booming and the company grew from strength to strength. By the 1970s Graham & Brown was manufacturing millions of rolls of wallpaper a year, and producing larger and more diverse collections. Now established as one of the largest independent wallpaper manufacturers in Britain, and beginning to delve into the European export market, the company introduced new systems and technologies from across the globe.
Echoing the balanced forms and abstract shapes of the 1970s, the Bohemian Dream wallpaper (pictured) presents a soft geometric pattern outlined on a neutral backdrop. The design pays homage to the shade of the decade – orange, bordering a warm ombre fade with a crisp teal and grey outline. The mellow, laid back look of 1970s interiors is ideal for those seeking to make space in their home to escape and reflect; pair Bohemian Dream with tactile, comforting materials to place wellbeing within the home front and centre.
