Zuber & Cie, founded as Jean Zuber et Cie, is a French company that is a ''Manufacture de Papier Peints et Tissus'' (French for 'painted wallpaper and fabrics manufacturer'). It claims to be the last factory in the world to produce woodblock-printed wallpapers and furnishing fabrics.

History

The company's forerunner, Nicholas Dolfus & Cie, was founded in 1790 in

Mulhouse, Alsace Mulhouse (; Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning '' mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region, eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. It is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace af ...

. Its name changed in 1795, to Hartmann, Risler & Cie. In 1797, it moved to

Rixheim Rixheim (; Alsatian: ''Rixe'') is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in northeastern France. It forms part of the Mulhouse Alsace Agglomération, the inter-communal local government body for the Mulhouse conurbation. Geography ...

, France. In 1802, the company was bought out by Jean Zuber, and its name changed to Zuber & Cie. '' The Frederick Post'' reported that Jean Zuber's wallpapers were so respected that

King Louis Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...

honored him with the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

in 1834. The award was made for Zuber's exhibit at the

French Industrial Exposition of 1834 The French Industrial Exposition of 1834 (french: Exposition des produits de l'industrie française en 1834), was the eighth in a series of eleven French national industrial expositions held to encourage improvements in progressive agriculture and ...

For its production, Zuber & Cie uses woodblocks (more than 100,000) engraved as early as the 18th century. Zuber & Cie's panoramic wallpapers include ''Vues de l'Amérique du Nord'', ''Eldorado,'' ''Hindoustan,'' ''les Guerres d'Independence'', and ''Isola Bella.'' Zuber & Cie also produces dado borders, friezes, and ceiling papers, some depicting faux representations of architectural details, drapery, fringe, and tassels. Zuber & Cie has showrooms in Paris and Nice, New York, Los Angeles, London and Dubai. During the presidency of John F. Kennedy,

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...

on recommendation of historian Henry Francis du Pont had an antique copy of the panoramic wallpaper ''Vues de l'Amérique du Nord,'' (designed in 1843, per the Zuber et Cie website) installed in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House. The wallpaper had been on the walls of a parlor in the Federal period Stoner House in Maryland until 1961 when the house was demolished for a grocery store. Just before the demolition, the wallpaper was salvaged and sold to the White House. As with many 18th century wallpapers, this panorama is designed to be hung above a dado. The formal dining room at the Old Louisiana Governor's Mansion in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is also decorated with the ''Vue de l'Amérique du Nord''.

Controversy

Zuber's panoramic scene ''Vues de l'Amérique du Nord,'' has been the subject of at least two protests. In 2020 students and alumnae of the Spence School for girls in New York City protested its use of racist caricatures in its depiction of Black Americans and indigenous Americans. In 2019, students in a

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

graduate program wrote to the university, demanding the removal of the wallpaper for the same reasons. The wallpaper had been present in the campus' Nightingale-Brown House since the 1930s.

Gallery

Zuber & Cie - Floral Brocade - Google Art Project.jpg, Floral Brocade (1875–1900) File:Zuber & Cie - Sidewall - Google Art Project (6818792).jpg, Sidewall (1875–1900) File:Zuber & Cie - Sidewall - Google Art Project (6818798).jpg, Sidewall (1875-1900) File:Zuber & Cie - Sidewall - Google Art Project (6848401).jpg, Sidewall (1875-1900) File:Zuber & Cie - Sidewall - Google Art Project (6852168).jpg, Sidewall (1875–1900) File:Zuber & Cie - Sidewall - Google Art Project.jpg, Sidewall (1901–06) File:Zuber & Cie - The Fleur de Lys - Google Art Project.jpg, The Fleur de Lys (1875–1900)

References

* Abbott James A., and Elaine M. Rice. ''Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration.'' Van Nostrand Reinhold: 1998. . * Seale, William, ''The White House: The History of an American Idea.'' White House Historical Association: 1992, 2001. . * ''The White House: An Historic Guide.'' White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 2001. .

External links

Official websiteZuber & Cie objects in the collection of
the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
Zuber Wallpaper
at the Shakespeare Chateau in St. Joseph, MO {{DEFAULTSORT:Zuber and Cie Manufacturing companies of France Wallpaper manufacturers Companies based in Grand Est Manufacturing companies established in 1797 French companies established in 1797