A description of the routine examination of paper artifacts is given as it is applied to wallpaper. The salient changes in the history of wallpaper, its manufacture and design, are outlined, together with other factors whose physical presence helps in the dating of unknowns. For the further understanding of the methods and materials associated with wallpaper, detailed information is being gathered on examination forms, a copy of which is illustrated in the article. The procedures used for the study of fibers, the needed reference books and identification stains are described. The initial results are given of the identifications of pigments, by the x-ray fluorescence spectrometer, as used on a series of papers, 1795-1855, taken from the Fisher House, Philadelphia.