Eva Forster-Garbutt
The import, trade and patterns of wallpaper in 19th century New Zealand
Wallpapers are a ubiquitous feature in early New Zealand homes and buildings. Prior to the local manufacture of wallpaper from the 1960s these were imported from elsewhere. Where did these come from? What patterns were sent to New Zealand? And how were they selected by those who sold and purchased them? These questions are the focus of Eva's research which explores wallpapers as a consumer product within colonial trade networks, the New Zealand market, and building interiors.
This research draws on a wide range of sources, including trade statistics, newspaper advertisements, business records, historical photographs, and physical samples of wallpapers used and sold in New Zealand. The findings of this research will contribute to our understanding of the shaping of New Zealand's 19th century interiors and the global and local contexts in which this occurred. The wallpaper patterns revealed as part of this research will also provide a reference source for architectural historians and heritage professionals, who are tasked with the assessment, documentation, or restoration of New Zealand buildings.
Supervisors
Dr Nigel Isaacs and Prof Joanna Merwood-Salisbury
Publications
Forster-Garbutt, Eva; Isaacs, Nigel; Merwood-Salisbury, Joanna (2024). ‘An ‘artistic display of wares’: The wallpaper trade during Otago’s goldrush, 1860-1867,’ in Fabrications
Forster-Garbutt, Eva (2023). ‘Drawn from Nature: Wallpaper patterns in New Zealand’s Schools of Art and Design,’ in Architectural History Aotearoa, Vol 20. Pages 46-57
Forster-Garbutt, Eva (2021). ‘The Ideal and the Real: Interior linings in 1930s New Zealand homes,’ in Architectural History Aotearoa, Vol 18. Pages 43-58
Forster-Garbutt, Eva (2020). Understanding to Record / Recording to Understand: Improving the investigation and recording of heritage buildings in Aotearoa New Zealand. Winston Churchill Fellowship Trust Report
Garbutt, Eva (2008). 'The Care of Living Objects: Conserving Rauru and Te Wharepuni a Maui in Germany', in Decolonising Conservation: caring for Māori meeting houses outside New Zealand edited by Dean Sully. Left Coast Press: California. Pages 111 – 126.