The Legible House

For reasons unknown to Yours Truly, a ridiculous number of people have written on the walls of this house over the years.

As we have been stripping wallpaper, we've uncovered some new signatures along the stairway. Like this WHB, who enthusiastically drew a 30-inch monogram:

And this fellow, whose mark is not quite as clear:

But today's cake has been taken -- nay, walked away with -- by C. F. Stephenson, who in the first days of May 1889 made first this smaller, pencil signature:

And then this extravagant number:

That'd be close on exactly 120 years ago, people. In that time nobody has seen fit to strip the wallpaper down to the plaster.

There are some other interesting signs of life in the walls, of course. Like around the light switch in the hallway, where somebody was trying out paint colours and stencils:

And of course, the previous owners left behind this delightful souvenir of their attempt to find a stud to attach the framework of the dropped ceiling onto:

Somehow, I find I prefer C. F.'s ephemera.

Technorati Tags: found objects, painting, renovations, victorians, wallpaper

posted by ayse on 04/02/09