Ripolin paint was manufactured overseas with factories in London, Paris and Amsterdam. The colour card states that the paint is suitable for general decorative work on a variety of surfaces, including cars.

Walter Buxton Bruce was a painter and decorator from Victor Harbor in the first half of the 20th century century and his archival record group includes price lists, colour cards and decorator's handbooks for this period.

All the rooms of a house were decorated and furnished according to rules of function and taste that had been established over a considerable period of time, and of course, like today the fashion of the time and the means and taste of the householder were the main influences on the decoration of a house.

Improvements in paint technology and the chemical industry added new colours to the range available in Australia during the 1830's and 1840's coinciding with the demise and simplicity of Georgian and Regency colour schemes and the beginning of the complex decorative tastes of the Victorian period. Entrance halls, drawing rooms and dining rooms offered the richest and most interesting decoration for the Victorian period. Wallpaper, gold leaf and stencils were found in profusion. Paint technology continued to develop throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and into the 21st century, allowing increasing diversity of techniques and finishes for the home decorator.

State Library of South Australia: Mortlock Wing. From the ground up August 2004-