Chinese Floral wallpaper pattern blue color in a Schmitz-Horning Company catalog.
By Janet Dodrill
Growing up in the Schmitz family, our house was lined with Schmitz-Horning Company wallpaper! The company was co-founded by my great grandfather, Hugo M. Schmitz I, in 1905, who served as president. After his death in 1938 the company was run by his son and my grandfather, Warren R. Schmitz, until it closed about 1964.
My parents bought the family house from my grandparents, and it had Schmitz-Horning wallpaper in almost every room. Additionally, many family friends and extended family also displayed the company’s wallpaper in their homes. It was high quality and the patterns were beautiful.
After we purchased the house from my grandparents, we remodeled. It was the 1960s and we wanted a more modern look. Luckily my dad took a few interior photographs before all the wallpaper was stripped and removed.
Recently, I was going through one of my grandmother’s photo albums and found a few more shots of the wallpaper she had captured in the homes of friends and family, mostly in the 1940s. Here are a few photos from the albums with their corresponding catalog page.
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Chinese Floral, Schmitz-Horning Company wallpaper pattern, from a Schmitz family photo album.
Chinese Floral wallpaper pattern in a Schmitz-Horning Company catalog.
Westchester Hunt, Schmitz-Horning Company wallpaper pattern, from a Schmitz family photo album.
Schmitz-Horning Company catalog cover showing the Westchester Hunt scenic pattern.
Westchester Hunt wallpaper pattern in a Schmitz-Horning Company catalog.
Westchester Hunt Kro-Mura(TM) wallpaper schematic from a Schmitz-Horning Company catalog.
Old Dominion, Schmitz-Horning Company wall mural, from a family photo, with Warren R. Schmitz pictured on the left.
Old Dominion, scenic wall paper manufactured by Schmitz-Horning Company.
Old Dominion scenic wallpaper detail by Schmitz-Horning Company.
Schmitz-Horning Company scenic wallpaper similar to the Elysia pattern, from a Schmitz family photo album.
Elysia scenic wallpaper pattern in a Schmitz-Horning Company catalog.
World Map, Schmitz-Horning Company scenic wallpaper pattern, from a family photo.
World Map, one sheet wallpaper pattern in a Schmitz-Horning Company catalog.
Ming Floral, Schmitz-Horning Company scenic wall covering, from a Schmitz family photo.
Ming Floral scenic wall paper panel detail from a Schmitz-Horning Company catalog.
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