Alphabet border by William Wegman was a charming addition to the field of children’s wallpapers in 1993. Wegman began photographing his weimaraners in 1970 and his photographs became a huge favorite with adults and children alike. What’s not to like about a beautiful dog holding a goofy pose! Alphabet border takes the dog photography a step further by making it educational. The dogs are arranged in groups of 2 to 5 dogs, spelling out the different letters of the alphabet from A to Z. What a fun way to learn your ABCs. This border was available in white, blue and rust and each color was printed in a limited edition of 1500, each signed and numbered by the artist.
The Museum collection contains children’s wallpapers dating back to the 1870s. While all of the early children’s papers were designed to be instructional, they were not designed to be fun. Wegman’s Alphabet border would definitely make learning fun. Wegman also designed a sidewall paper which could coordinate with this border.
William Wegman started out as a painter, receiving degrees from the Massachusetts College of Art, Boston and the University of Illinois, Champagne-Urbana. In 1970 he moved to southern California to teach at California State College, Long Beach. It was at this time he purchased his weimaraner, Man Ray, and began photographing him in unusual poses. This photography continued in 1986 with addition of Fay Ray, another weimaraner, and then with her offspring. Wegman has created numerous books for children and adults, and film and video for such companies as Saturday Night Live, Nickelodeon and Sesame Street. Like many of the early children’s wallpaper designers, Wegman was a name recognized by many children and adults prior to his designing wallpapers.
