Wild Rose

It seems such a shame that a wallpaper pattern called The Wild Rose wouldn’t even include the entire drawing of a single rose. Sears Roebuck & Company offered this wallpaper pattern for sale in 1900 for 6 cents.

Sears purchased raw paper and printed it in their own “modern” wall paper mill. They sold their wallcoverings directly to the public, “eliminating all middlemen’s profits” and allowing the consumer to obtain fine wall paper at a lower price.

Their wild rose wallpaper pattern included a vertical yellow stripe and a basket-weave background that looks as if it included a bit of reflective silver – perhaps mica paint. The patter includes green and yellow leaves, green flowers and a dramatic pink, white and red rose. Unfortunately, the wild rose wallpaper pattern was cut to fit into the catalog leaving us with only part of the featured rose flower.

It seems this piece could be used as a background for a larger work. You could also trim some of the basket weave background to create a repeating background pattern.