YORK, Maine — The search for a rare 18th-century wallpaper has led the curation staff of George Washington’s historic Mount Vernon plantation to York, Maine.

Kept safe in the Old York Research Center on Beech Ridge Road are pieces of French wallpaper known as Réveillon arabesque, believed to have been made in the early 1790s. Once adorning the walls of the Emerson Homestead in York, the wallpaper was carefully removed, preserved by the family, and eventually donated to the Old York Historical Society.

According to Mount Vernon Curator Amanda Isaac, the wallpaper was an ideal choice for the restoration project at the first President’s mansion. Her team connected with the Old York Historical Society through a mutual contact in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to have it reproduced and put on Washington’s bedroom walls.

Last month, the wallpaper was sent from York to a company in New York to be reproduced for the Mount Vernon restoration.

“I can think of only two other houses where that Réveillon paper survived intact,” Mount Vernon Curator Amanda Isaac said. “It’s really incredible.”

George Washington Papers lead to Mount Vernon restoration

Staff at Mount Vernon have been working on restoring each of the rooms in the Mount Vernon mansion since new evidence about Washington’s life surfaced in the last 10 years. Those have been found in a set of documents known as the Washington Papers, which have recently been transcribed and digitized.

“We finally had access to this holistic view of Washington’s purchases and consumer habits,” Isaac said. “We knew from the document of records the Washingtons likely had wallpaper in the room.”

Isaac noted that while it was previously known Washington purchased wallpaper from England in the late 1750s, newly discovered documents reveal the Washingtons installed new wallpaper in their home during the 1790s. Another key resource was the Fairfax ledger, a document detailing purchases Washington made from the Fairfax family, who sold much of their furniture to him before leaving for England.

Isaac said these documents provided valuable insights into the individuals and businesses from whom Washington was purchasing items. She said they learned Washington purchased large amounts of wallpaper and borders from Philadelphia stationers William Poyntell and Georges Bertault in late 1796 or early 1797, just before he left the presidency and returned to Mount Vernon.

“We do not exactly know what the patterns were, but we knew those men sold patterns by Réveillon, Jacquemart et Benard (the preeminent French wallpaper firm),” Isaac wrote via email. “We also had confirmation that Washington had purchased a Réveillon pattern.”

Old York plays key role in Mount Vernon wallpaper restoration

According to Peggy Wishart, director of the Old York Research Center, it was Richard Nylander, a Portsmouth historian, who connected Mount Vernon with York.

Nylander, an expert on wallpaper and a consultant for Mount Vernon, recently contacted Wishart about wallpaper he remembered being part of the Emerson Homestead. He later visited the research center to examine the pieces in person.

Wishart said the Old York Historical Society knows the Emerson Homestead was purchased by the Emersons between 1794 and 1795 when they put on an addition that included the Réveillon paper. The family kept the home over the years and, at one point, covered the wallpaper, she said.

In the 1950s, the family had the home redone and decided to have the wallpaper removed from the wall and kept in their attic.

“I think because they understood it was important,” Wishart said. “In the mid-century historic wallpapers like this kind of came to fashion again.”

The wallpaper was given to the Old York Historical Society in the 1990s, Wishard said. On Nylander’s visit, he saw the wallpaper had been stamped by Réveillon, Jaquemart et Bernard, Paris about 1795. Wishart said Nylander then advised Mount Vernon’s team to consider the wallpaper, and Isaac flew up to York to confirm it was the right fit.

Wishart personally drove a sample of the wallpaper to Adelphi Paper Hangings for the paper to be reproduced. The wallpaper is fabric-based and printed with blocks.

York, one of Maine’s most historic towns

Old York Historical Society Executive Director Joel Lefever said it is not a surprise that York was able to help. He said Old York has the most significant collection of colonial Maine objects that exist. The town was the seat of county government until 1760 and remained a prominent location after.

“There were sophisticated folks living in York who were buying nice things,” Lefever said. “We just have a lot of those things in our collection.”

Isaac said the team at Mount Vernon is grateful for the chance to use the wallpaper from the Emerson-Wilcox home to finish their work. The restoration of the Washington bedchamber and the main floors of the mansion will be complete by spring 2026. Visitors will be able to view the restored bedchamber with the reproduction of the wallpaper from York as part of the regular tour.

“The bedroom where George died, and the bed he died in is still there,” Lefever said. “It’s exciting to have the reproduction made, and we’re really looking forward to seeing what it looked like when it was fresh.”