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Object Timeline

1953

  • We acquired this object.

2012

2015

2025

  • You found it!

Imitation Leather (Japan)

This is a Imitation leather . We acquired it in 1953. Its medium is fiber composition impregnated with tung oil, embossed and painted. It is a part of the Wallcoverings department.

This imitation leather sample was found in a box containing several hundred similar pieces, all produced with the same formula that emitted a peculiar petroleum-like odor. A date was established based on the Japanesque style of design. An article in "Decorator and Furnisher", July 1885, mentioned this odor noticeable on earlier samples of these Japanese wallcoverings, and said that the composition had been reworked to remove this issue.

  • Sidewall (Holland)
  • leather, stamped, silvered, painted.
  • Gift of Eleanor Garnier Hewitt.
  • 1903-12-18

Cite this object as

Imitation Leather (Japan); fiber composition impregnated with tung oil, embossed and painted; 1953-156-5-a,b

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<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18395027/ |title=Imitation Leather (Japan) |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=6 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>