'White House' wallpaper on sale

Jackie Kennedy is said to have chosen the wallpaper for the Oval Room

Thirty-one rolls of wallpaper, identical to that which adorns the oval diplomatic reception room of the White House, are up for auction.

The rolls - discovered in a skip - are one of 20 sets called Les Vues de L'Amerique du Nord, first printed by Jean Zuber et Cie in France in 1834.

Placed together, they depict famous landmarks of New York Bay over a continuous panoramic picture.

They go under the hammer in Cirencester in Gloucestershire on 26 September.

"These particular rolls have an incredible story," said a spokesman for auction house Moore Allen and Innocent.

"Hand printed by craftsmen at Zuber in Rixhelm, France, they were bought from one of a handful of outlets, presumably Zuber's Pimlico Road showroom in London, before being disposed of in a skip in Lechlade some years ago."

The rolls were recovered in good condition before reaching the tip and were first sold in December 2005 for just under £4,000.

The current owner has put them up for re-sale and they now have an estimated value of £1,000 to £1,500.

Auctioneer Philip Allwood said the paper was designed by artist Jean-Julien Deltil in 1834 and based on his travels and the writings and travels of Jacques-Gérard Milbert.

To hang the panoramic view [the buyer] will need over 47ft (14m) of continuous wall space and very high ceilings Philip Allwood, auctioneer

"Deltil portrayed free African Americans engaged in middle-class activities dressed in fine attire, which was unusual for early19th Century artists," he said.

"Both Milbert and Deltil saw Americans as devoid of class and racial inequality. Perhaps this is why the scenes appealed to Jackie Kennedy nearly 130 years later.

"Now we hope that this wallpaper will appeal to a new buyer, perhaps from the States, although he or she will certainly need the right room for it - to hang the panoramic view they will need over 47ft (14m) of continuous wall space and very high ceilings."