Friday, March 18, 2011

Here Kitty, Kitty





A few weeks ago while reading through the Winter 1996 issue of Veranda, I found an article on Harry Hinson and Hinson & Company. That got me excited because Hinson fabrics and wallpapers have always been amongst my favorites. But then, I read the part where Harry mentioned that Van Day Truex once remarked that Kitty, a print introduced in 1972, was "the most stylish wallpaper I have ever seen." Needless to say, I absolutely had to see what Kitty looked like. If VDT said it was the most stylish he had ever seen, then I knew that it just had to be.

Harry was kind enough to send me scans of Kitty samples. As you can seen, it was a loose polka dot print that came in blue, brown, and green colorways. I use the past tense as unfortunately, the print has been discontinued. However, there is a similar print that is still available as part of the Albert Hadley collection for Hinson. Guess what it's called? Van. How appropriate.



PS- I can't write a post about Van Day Truex without mentioning Adam Lewis' terrific book Van Day Truex: The Man Who Defined Twentieth-Century Taste and Style . In my opinion, Truex' work is "the most stylish that I have ever seen."






Kitty in Green




Kitty in Brown




Kitty in Blue



Van in Brown



Image at top: Harry Hinson in Veranda, Winter 1996, Peter Vitale photographer; all other images courtesy of Hinson & Company.

2 comments:

  1. Kitty was a very stylish wallpaper that could make any small room delightful. There are photos of it used in Harry's charming English style cottage when he lived I'm the dunes near the Maidstone Club in East Hampton. I am sure Van would have the same success.

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  2. Every colorway but blue is discontinued

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