Walter Crane wallpaper by Bradbury & Bradbury

This is a 46" x 30" section of Bradbury & Bradbury wallpaper, featuring a full sequence of Walter Crane's "The Wilderness Shall Blossom As the Rose," which Crane created around 1900 for a London wallpaper company called Jeffrey & Co. In 1988, Bradbury & Bradbury of California recreated it as a 15-color screen-printed frieze.

Back in 2018, I wrote about Bradbury & Bradbury, and wallpaper in general, for Collectors Weekly (to read the article, cut and paste this link into your browser: https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/the-great-wallpaper-rebellion/). Ever since, I have wanted to have a small piece of Bradbury & Bradbury's Walter Crane frieze. Recently, I finally bought a couple of yards of the stuff to get a full sequence, asked them not to trim the selvage, and got Steve Bauer (the company's current owner) and Bruce Bradbury (the company's founder) to sign it, which they kindly did at the top. Bruce calls me the "patron saint of the obscure," which is a title I am very proud to wear. Steve's message in Latin ("et in omnibus ornatum") translates to "And In Everything Ornament," which sounds like a motto of the William Morris crowd back in the Victorian Era. Now to frame it up!