Burrows Studio:
Jennie B. Jones

A collection of original watercolor designs for wallpapers by Jennie B. Jones came to light discovered by old-house buffs in a suburb near Boston, Mass. at a yard sale. Mounted on presentation board and gathered in a design album with its original black burlap cover, these thirty-or-so designs form a remarkable ensemble of patterns from the 1905-1910 period. Although many of the designs had names and numbers, it is unclear if they were prepared to be sold for production of wallpaper, or were perhaps used as a teaching aid. Among the designs are patterns exhibiting historicism (Ancient Egyptian, Renaissance and Japanese among them), and many forms of floral designs, drawn in different manners but generally representing wildflowers of the Cape and coastal areas of Massachusetts.

The biographical information on Jennie B. Jones is scant, but more has recently come to light. From her signature on the drawings, three addresses are known, in Brooklyn, NY, Sandwich, Massachusetts, and Melrose Highlands, Massachusetts. She grew up in Melrose Highlands, a suburb of Boston, and occasionally lived, as an adult, with her parents and sister in the family home there. Summers were spent on Cape Cod, in Sandwich, and many of her designs are of common New England plants (sumac, goldenrod, marsh mallow, summer phlox, etc.) that produce fruit or blossoms in late summer. Jennie B. Jones taught art in Brooklyn, New York as well, and these designs may have been studies to instruct students for an industrial arts course. For whatever reason they were originally intended, their survival, and their arrival at Burrows & Company, was a fortunate twist of fate, and we are very pleased to present the first group of her patterns.

	Thebes Roomset An American design patterned after the Napoleonic archaeological drawings of patterns in the ancient Egyptian ruins at Thebes. Inspired, perhaps, by the celebrated Egyptian collection at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, or from a print in a book on historic ornament, Jones adds her own interpretation to the original interlacing Lotus arches with a simple motif of a standing lotus blossom filling the center of each arch, drawn with the simplicity of the Arts & Crafts Movement. In Jones interpretation of this ancient design, she also brings forward the characteristic curves of the Art Nouveau, the latest fashion from Europe. 27" wide with a self match repeat of 27" (9" high figure). 5 yard long rolls, covering 30 square feet. Hand printed in New England. Documentary coloring of shades of teal blue. $145.00 per single roll.
	Small Lotus Frieze, 12" high, printed as two side-by-side borders on the paper (order 1/2 of the total length of border you need). Hand printed in New England. Documentary coloring of shades of teal blue. $35.00 per yard. Click here for a larger image of the Small Lotus Frieze.
	Large Lotus Frieze, 18" high with a repetition above of the 3 1/2" band from the base of the frieze (we recommend that this little band is trimmed off to be used separately). Hand printed in New England. Documentary coloring of shades of teal blue. $35.00 per yard. Click here for a larger image of the Large Lotus Frieze.
	Thebes Ceiling, a coordinating ceiling paper to the Thebes Roomset, repeating a conventionalized Lotus figure. 27" wide with a self match repeat of 27" (9" high figure). 5 yard long rolls, covering 30 square feet. Hand printed in New England. Documentary coloring of shades of teal blue (lighter than the ground and freize designs). $135.00 per single roll. Click here for a larger image of the Thebes Ceiling.
	Florentine Major, based on delicate Renaissance arabesques that were + highly popular in late 19th and early 20th century interior design. This version has a hint of Art Nouveau in the spring of the curves, and there is an element in the design that creates a formal asymmetry in the overall pattern, making a lively, but elegant and sophisticated design. 21" wide with a self match repeat of 21". 6 yard long rolls, covering 30 square feet. Hand printed in New England. Metallic gold on Thebes blue, or a medium green on cream. $155.00 per single roll.
	Florentine Minor is a smaller-scale version of the design, available in the same range of colors. Click here for a larger image of the Florentine and Florentine Minor
	Kyoto Iris presents the abstraction of Japanese block-printed kimono fabric from the 19th century. 21" wide with a drop match repeat of 21". 6 yard long rolls, covering 30 square feet. Hand printed in New England. Misty greyed lavender, the document colorway. $155 per single roll. Click here for a larger image of Kyoto Iris.
	Summer Phlox is familiar to most New England gardeners as a hardy and showy flower from late summer, filling in borders and flower beds after the spring flowers fade. Large floral prints became highly fashionable in the late 19th and early 20th century, especially for walls of large hallways (stairhalls), and dining rooms (often above major panelling), particularly in late Queen Anne Revival and Colonial Revival houses. It is equally at home with natural woodwork or with woodwork painted off-white. 21" wide with a drop match repeat of 21". 6 yard long rolls, covering 30 square feet. Hand printed in New England. Shades of sage green with greyed Lavender. $185 per single roll. Click here for a larger image of Summer Phlox.

For more wallpaper patterns, please also see: C.F.A. Voysey Wallpaper and Fabric Jennie B. Jones Wallpaper and Candace Wheeler Fabric and Wallpaper. Go to Burrows Studio Design List Go to J.R. Burrows & Company Main Page