Archive by
Backdrop
PALAZZO PANEL SET
HORSES
EDITH
TANBARK
Do you happen
to have any walls?
Good. Then you’re a prime prospect for ARCHIVE, a collection of historic yet delightful F. Schumacher & Co. designs from their 135-year-old archives, freshly reimagined by Backdrop.
"Every time I come to New York, I find myself visiting the vast Schumacher archives, going through the company’s incredible treasure trove of historic designs for hours at a time."
– NATALIE EBEL, CO-FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Palazzo Panel Set
| Date of Origin | released by F. Schumacher & Co, August 1956 |
| Original Medium | a 54" cotton chintz fabric |
| Adaptation | redrawn by Backdrop as 16′ x 18′ panel wallcovering |
| Factoid | Backdrop has also added a hand-screen metallic print on the main statue as a nod to the original fabric’s gold touches |
| Detail | PALAZZO PANEL SET, ANTIQUE BLUE BACKDROP, 2025 |
Tanbark
| Date of Origin | 1957, John Groth’s original fabric for Schumacher |
| Original Medium | sheer fabric |
| Adaptation | a modern take on a classic toile |
| Factoid | the horses from the original TANBARK were redrawn and reoriented to create narrative vignettes that highlight the original artwork’s “speed line” quality |
| Detail | TANBARK, EARTHY BROWN, OLIVE, DARK RED, MULTI BACKDROP 2025 |
"ARCHIVE is about more than reissuing the past. It’s about reinterpreting it, taking these historic designs and reviving them through the Backdrop lens for today’s homes."
– NATALIE EBEL
EDITH
| Date of Origin | Neoclassical and Classical 19th & 20th century |
| Original medium | archive document, St. Claire Le Chateau fabric, trompe l’oeil wallcovering |
| Adaptation | a Schumacher Fabric, St. Claire Le Chateau, served as the basis for the Cherubs in EDITH, and is the inspiration for the design name |
| Factoid | the Schumacher Fabric name comes from Sainte-Claire du Chateau, a convent turned estate when purchased by Edith Wharton in 1927 |
| Detail | EDITH, BLACK & IVORY, BLUE BACKDROP, 2025 |
HORSES
| Date of Origin | 1950s |
| Original Medium | sidewall |
| Adaptation | This traditionally printed wallpaper has been converted to a digital print using water-based printing inks |
| Factoid | charming details abound, from a top-hatted gentleman driving a lion-shaped carriage and fanciful pavilions to cavalry troops |
| Detail | HORSES, MULTI ON WHITE BACKDROP, 2025 |
"Designs carry stories with them, of the people who created them, the eras they lived through, and the rooms they once adorned. Reimagining them is our way of continuing that story in a new chapter."
– NATALIE EBEL
Frederic Schumacher
Parisian-born Frederic Schumacher arrives to New York and introduces his line of premium fabrics. Soon Schumacher fabrics line the most sumptuous rooms in the country, from private manses to custom commissions for grand properties like the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
Edith Wharton
Schumacher becomes the go-to source for defining tastemakers, such as Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Edith Wharton, who favored Schumacher's French classical designs.
The Breakers
Cornelius Vanderbilt's extraordinary Palazzo-inspired "The Breakers", now a national historic landmark, is swathed in Schumacher textiles
Paul Poiret
Avant-garde visionary Paul Poiret becomes the first fashion designer to create a groundbreaking collection for Schumacher.
The Big Screen
Schumacher patterns are woven into the fabric of American pop culture as they begin to appear in iconic Hollywood films and TV sets, such as Gone with the Wind and I Love Lucy.
Vera Neumann
Designer Vera Neumann, best known for her vibrantly patterned scarves worn by everyone from Grace Kelly to Marilyn Monroe, embarks on a long and fruitful collaboration with Schumacher that lasts through the 1980s.
Frank Lloyd Wright
America's greatest architect develops a home textiles collection for Schumacher.
Schiaparelli
The house collaborates with cutting-edge couturier Elsa Schiaparelli on a collection of prints that incorporate many of the designer's sought after hallmarks, including graphic florals and shocking pinks.
Jackie Kennedy
Jackie Kennedy puts her elegant and indelible stamp on the White House using a Schumacher Lampas to swathe the walls of the Blue Room.
Mick Jagger
The arbiter of cool poses in his London flat against a wall in the still-popular Queen of Spain design.
Met Opera House
The opening of the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center debuts Schumacher's dazzling gold-and-bronze stage curtain inspired by Matisse's masterful cut-paper works.
Archive by Backdrop
Backdrop launches the ARCHIVE collection, a reinterpretation of iconic Schumacher designs.
ARCHIVE BY BACKDROP
Historic Patterns.
Modern point of view.
