The analytical research capabilities of CCI have, over the years, been applied to some interesting problems. One good example is a project that developed when Thérèse Charbonneau of the City of Hamilton Museums contacted CCI to ask if it would be possible to re-create some turn-of-the-century wallpaper from a photograph. The wallpaper in question was a bold pattern of flowers, butterflies, and exotic birds that had hung in T.B. McQuesten's bedroom in Whitehern Historic House and Garden¹ in Hamilton.

At the beginning of the project, Ken Heaman (curator of Whitehern) supplied CCI with an original 35-mm colour transparency of a picture of the bedroom that had been taken in the late 1960s or early 1970s. Unfortunately there was some perspective distortion in the slide. The photograph of the wall section had been taken at an angle, making it difficult to establish the details of the wallpaper pattern. But scientific documentation technologist Carl Bigras used digital image processing to get around that difficulty.

With a digital scanning camera, Carl was able to rectify the picture so that the pattern would appear head on. Using the actual measurements of the room, along with the exact width of the wallpaper (which could be discerned from a small original sample that had been supplied), it was then possible to create a picture of the pattern repeat and store it on a CD.

When the imaging process was complete, staff at the historic house used Carl's pattern to have duplicate wallpaper manufactured by a firm in Toronto. This replica wallpaper has now been hung in Whitehern, where it adds to the unique degree of historical accuracy in the restoration of the T.B. McQuesten bedroom.

And did the procedure provide an accurate reproduction? While searching the Archives of the Imperial Home Decor Group (distributor of Sunworthy wallcoverings) in Brampton, Ontario, Ken Heaman found a sample of the original pattern. It matched the re-creation perfectly!

1. Whitehern was the former residence of the Hon. Thomas Baker McQuesten (1882–1948), who was responsible for the development of the Hamilton parks system, the beautification of the city's northwest entrance, the founding of the Royal Botanical Gardens, the re-location of McMaster University to Hamilton, and the construction of the Queen Elizabeth Way highway. The home was bequest to the city of Hamilton, Ontario, in 1968.

Original image of the bedroom, photographed circa 1970 by Ernie Seager.

The rectified image. The wall now appears head on instead of at an angle.

Rectified wallpaper pattern. This was the only complete section from the original image.