Hannah's Treasures Vintage Wallpaper Blog

The “Vintage” Mix-Up and what makes our wallpaper so special

Unfortunately, there is some ambiguity around the word “vintage” as it relates to products you can buy.

Have you noticed it?

Sometimes vintage means “old”.

Sometimes vintage means “looks old”.

 

Sometimes vintage means “actually made in many decades past”.

Sometimes it means, “this reminds me of something from decades ago.”

 

Vintage can reference an actual time frame of some past era

OR it can be used to imply a ‘style inspired’ by yesteryear.

 

This ambiguity can be completely confusing, and frankly, annoying. When you’re shopping online and see a “vintage dress”… which is it? really vintage? or just vintage-looking? Is a ‘vintage’ table really a vintage table? How about ‘vintage’ wallpaper?

A Personal Miracle, A Mystery Solved

Business is personal. And our hunts for wallpaper are deeply, deeply personal.

Each load of wallpaper that we find is the happy result of a long list of miracles. Financial miracles, communication miracles, timing miracles...bizarre circumstances that somehow preserve these large collections of paper for half a century--it takes all of these for one wallpaper load to come into our hands. We've had whole collections of wallpaper that have survived fires and building cave-ins. We've seen collections that have changed hands countless times and been the focal point family feuds. Some of these wallpaper stashes have been long-forgotten and suddenly found again, while others have been carefully maintained by fellow wallpaper-lovers looking for just the right person to pass their treasures on to.

Oh, how we could fill a book with the stories!

At the end of February, we experienced another one of these miracle loads, only this one was special for a new reason.

More Vintage Wallpaper from Pennsylvania

 

1970s Red and White Daisies Vintage Vinyl Wallpaper

We've already shared a few of our most recent vintage wallpaper findings in our last post, but we have even more goodies to share now!

A Thrilling Discovery of Vintage Wallpaper in Pennsylvania

A couple of weeks ago, we received a tip about some vintage wallpaper in Pennsylvania. So in a whirl of excitement, we packed our bags and immediately headed East to a town near Hershey in search of the hidden trove of wallpaper.

Chasing vintage wallpaper is like being on a treasure hunt, it's always an exciting adventure. We met some lovely people, traveled through parts of the country we don't often see, and returned home with some truly beautiful papers.

Absolutely Fabulous Retro Wallpaper from Canada

About a year and a half ago (on an unexpectedly dreary and blustery April day, as I do remember well), a semi truck rolling in from Canada and laden with vintage wallpaper parked its wheels in our driveway and opened its trailer door. And on that day, shivering under layers of sweaters and jackets and hats and gloves, we unloaded 16 palettes packed tightly and spilling over with truly remarkable retro wallpaper.

Sorting through new collections of vintage wallpaper is always a consuming process, and this one was no exception. In fact, with over 2,000 rolls of paper in this one load, it required even more time than most. Yet finally, after months and months of sorting, processing, cataloging, and photographing, we can eagerly announce that all of this fantastic retro wallpaper is now available to view and purchase!