Scenic Hudson is a four-part scenic mural which captures a romantic view of the Hudson River. The lithograph printing gives the design a very soft look, almost like a watercolor, which adds to this dreamy vision. The design could be used as a mural to cover a single wall, or could be used in repeat to run continuously around a room like a traditional scenic wallpaper. The design printed on the last panel continues on the first one so the paper comes with this built-in flexibility. These papers were quite versatile and have been found in homes across the country as well as in hotels. The lithograph printing process uses oil colors which would allow the panels to be wiped clean, a definite advantage over their traditional block-printed rivals which could not be cleaned.
The Hudson River has long been one of the major tourist meccas of the United States. Following the advent of the Grand Tour in Europe during the eighteenth century, there was an American Grand Tour which began in the 1820s. This was inspired by the wanderlust of the new middle class, who now had the funds and leisure time to travel. Many Americans satisfied their wanderlust during the American Grand Tour with river excursions, and the Hudson valley was among the most important segments. A standard itinerary included a cruise down the Hudson River on the new steam-driven boats, the Catskills, Saratoga, Lake George, travel through the newly built Erie Canal, and Niagara Falls, the most popular tourist attraction in America.
The Schmitz-Horning Company is the only manufacturer of lithograph-printed wallpapers that I am aware of. They began printing wallpapers in 1905 and as all their papers were printed with oil colors they were one of the early types of washable wallpapers. Scrubbable papers as we know them today were not developed until 1934.
