This book really opened up a whole new world for me. I can't recall exactly when I bought it, probably at an antiquarian shop in the late 80s or early 90s. I found the scholarship meticulous, the story absorbing, and the insights priceless. Fowler and Cornforth, what a combination. In retrospect I feel like it was John Fowler's practical experience that fueled the solid, down to earth information in the book, meaning no disresprect to Mr. Cornforth, who had his own sets of talent; however, wallpaper did not seem to be his forte, whereas for Fowler, I think he probably needed to know about it from a very practical level during his many residential restorations, during which he began to use blockprints from Mauny, Zuber, and others. ( )