William E. (William Edmund) Wall

Writing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, William E. Wall was best known for books on decorative painting and wood graining. His best-known works include Practical Graining, with Description of Colors Employed and Tools Used and Graining, Ancient and Modern, both aimed at painters and decorators who wanted clear, usable instruction.

In his own writing, Wall described himself as a "grainer to the trade," which gives a good sense of his background: he was not writing from a distance, but from workshop experience. His books focus on technique, tools, color, and the imitation of wood finishes, making them valuable both as manuals and as records of a specialized craft.

Wall also wrote The Oldest Paint Shops in Massachusetts, showing an interest in the history of his profession as well as its practice. Today, his work survives mainly through library and digital archive collections, where it continues to interest craftspeople, historians of decoration, and readers curious about traditional finishing methods.