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wallpaper
wallpaper was used in Europe in the 16th and 17th cent. as an inexpensive substitute for costly hangings. The French developed marbled papers, introduced from the East via Italy and used at first for box coverings, into larger sheets for wall coverings and also made other papers in small designs. O...
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Cavan
Cavan , county (1991 pop. 52,796), 730 sq mi (1,891 sq km), N Republic of Ireland. The county seat is Cavan . The county is a hilly region of lakes (Lough Oughter chief among them) and bogs, and the climate is extremely damp and cool. Most of the soil is clay. The Erne is the principal river, and t...
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wallflower
wallflower Mediterranean perennial ( Cheiranthus cheiri ) of the family Cruciferae ( mustard family), particularly popular in Europe, where it flourishes on old walls. An old-fashioned garden flower, it is similar in appearance to the related stock and is also sometimes called gillyflower. The ear...
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silverfish
silverfish common name for primitive, wingless insects of the family Lepismatidae. The silverfish, which has two long antennae and three long tail bristles, is named for its covering of tiny, silvery scales. It develops directly in six or more molts into an adult about 1/2 in. (1.27 cm) long....
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Christopher Dresser
Christopher Dresser 1834-1904, British designer, pioneer of modern industrial design, b. Scotland, He moved (1847) to London, where he studied (1847-54) at the Government School of Design. He began his career as a botanist, teaching and writing several books. Dresser contributed floral designs to O...
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Charles Percier
Charles Percier , 1764-1838, French architect. He won (1786) the Grand Prix de Rome, and in 1794 he became associated with Pierre François Léonard Fontaine . Napoleon appointed them as government architects, and this post lasted until the emperor's fall. In the development of the Empi...
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stencil
stencil cutout device of oiled or shellacked tough and resistant paper, thin metal, or other material used in applying paint, dye, or ink to reproduce its design or lettering upon a surface. Designing an art stencil differs from ordinary drawing, since the design itself must be cut away, and ties m...
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William Morris
William Morris 1834-96, English poet, artist, craftsman, designer, social reformer, and printer. He has long been considered one of the great Victorians and has been called the greatest English designer of the 19th cent.
While at Oxford, Morris, along with his lifelong friend Edward Burne-Jon...
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stock
stock in botany, common name for any species of the genus Matthiola, for Malcomia maritima (Virginia stock), and for the wallflower, all belonging to the family Cruciferae ( mustard family), and for a carnation of the family Caryophyllaceae ( pink family). Most are herbs indigenous to the Med...
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moonstone
moonstone an orthoclase feldspar , found in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Madagascar (and formerly in the St. Gotthard district of Switzerland). In spite of its pronounced cleavage, it is widely used as a gem . The refraction of light by its thin, paired internal layers causes its milky, bluish sheen. ...
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