Wallpaper,
ornamental and utilitarian covering for walls made
 from long sheets of paper that have been stenciled, 
painted, or printed with abstract or narrative designs. 
Wallpaper developed soon after the introduction of 
papermaking to Europe during the latter part of the 15th 
century. It is often assumed that the Chinese invented 
wallpaper. But there is no evidence that it was in general 
use in Asia any earlier than the time of its appearance in 
Europe. The earliest wallpapers in England and France were 
hand painted or stenciled. During the 17th century, 
decorative techniques also included block printing and 
flocking, a process whereby powdered wool or metallic 
powders were scattered over paper on which the design had 
been drawn with a slow-drying adhesive or varnish. The 
oldest existing example of flocked wallpaper comes from 
Worcester and was created in approximately 1680. The 
absence of repeat, or repetitive design created when single 
sheets are juxtaposed on the wall, and the studied 
dissimilarity of detail between one length and another gave 
them a unique quality that was highly prized. European 
copies produced by etched plates or woodblocks, with color 
applied by hand or stencil, were usually inferior to the 
originals.
During the 18th century, wallpaper manufacture developed 
far beyond the expectations of the early makers. From the 
very beginning, wallpaper had been regarded as a substitute 
for tapestry, painted cloth, leather, and wood paneling, 
and the first wallpapers were esteemed because they so 
cleverly and inexpensively simulated the appearance of more 
costly hangings. Later designs, however, expressed the 
decorative possibilities inherent in the medium itself. In 
France and England new and varied styles became available 
in chintz patterns, satin grounds, and stripes, to mention 
but a few--and technical advances were making wallpaper 
more widely accessible. In 1785 Christophe-Philippe 
Oberkampf invented the first machine for printing 
wallpaper, and, shortly thereafter, Louis Robert designed a 
process for manufacturing endless rolls.
New processes of manufacturing in the 20th enabled 
designers to decorate wallpaper with photogravure, and high-
speed techniques were developed for the more traditional 
screen-printing and woodblock methods. The wallpaper 
industry has kept abreast of modern trends in design, 
producing papers that range from reproductions of William 
Morris' original designs to those reflecting the latest 
fashions in the visual arts. Improvements in the durability 
and maintenance of wallpaper have been achieved through the 
use of plastic coatings.