At the Historic Houses Trust of NSW, to protect or conceal earlier walls,
we have built timber frames and tensioned fabric over them and
Monel-stapled the textile into place. With the right fabric, such as
artist's canvas, etc, this can be painted over or wall-papered. The problem
of hanging pictures on this protective "wall" can be addressed by placing a
timber support on the horizontal  in the place where you need to attach the
fixings.

Imagine a large contemporary painting...



>     I am involved with a project that will require the protection of
>     historic wall surfaces for exhibition purposes. We are looking to
>     cover the walls in a group of rooms that have never been painted (only
>     wallpapered) so as to protect the signatures and notations from the
>     18th C. craftspeople who worked on the construction of the house, as
>     well as early repairs done by prior owners. We therefore need some
>     sort of system that is reversible, should future architects and
>     preservationists want to change the interpretation of the site, or
>     allow them to study a specific area in more depth.
>
>     Is anyone out there on the list familiar with possibly either a
>     fine-weave cloth or wallpaper that could be installed using reversible
>     wallpaper paste or else attached to a "frame" around the perimeter of
>     each wall? Paper is not ideal, given the structural movement going on
>     in the house, but we would consider it if deemed appropriate for our
>     needs. We want something that would be esthetically pleasing to the
>     visitor, but would hide many of the plaster cracks, early repairs,
>     etc. that are found at historic sites such as this. (We do plan to
>     show some of these areas as part of the exhibition, so we aren't
>     covering everything up!)
>
>     Any sources, experiences, etc. that you might provide would be greatly
>     appreciated.
>
>
>     Melissa Heaver
>     Director-Museum Collections
>     National Trust for Historic Preservation 202-588-6148
>     202-588-6232 (fax)
>     [log in to unmask]