A local company that began in 1979 will give visitors to the Benicia Historical Museum insights as to how some of Benicia’s earliest settlers decorated their homes.

The museum’s newest exhibit features the work of Bradbury & Bradbury, an internationally-known company that replicates the interior looks of the past.

Ironically, the Bradbury & Bradbury began its operations in the same building in which the museum has this show on display.

The exhibit opens Sunday with a reception at which Stephen Bauer, the company’s artistic director, will give a presentation. Also attending will be members of the family that started the company.

Executive Director Elizabeth d’Huart said the inspiration to create a Bradbury & Bradbury exhibit came while the museum staff tried to replicate the front parlor of the Mizner family’s Benicia home for temporary exhibit area.

“I brought in my fake fireplace surround into the temporary exhibit area and was trying to duplicate the fabric the Mizners had used to dress the mantle,” she said.

“I was having no luck finding something appropriate online to copy, so late Friday evening before the opening, I called over to Bradbury & Bradbury and asked their help in securing a piece of wallpaper frieze that would approximate the same effect,” she said.

Not only did the company’s staff “bend over backwards” to help, the company gave the museum “a sizable piece of a very expensive paper which really completed the room set beautifully!” she said.

Bradbury & Bradbury employees were given a private tour of the Mizner exhibit as well as the rest of the museum.

After the tour, company employees and the museum staff chatted about Bradbury & Bradbury’s beginnings, its design philosophy and the niche market it serves, primarily the restoration of homes to a specific period style.

The next step, to have an exhibit featuring the accomplishments of a prestigious Benicia company, “was a no-brainer, especially as the company’s original location was our museum building!” d’Huart said. The exhibit will remain at the museum through fall.

Bruce Bradbury started the company specifically to provide wall treatments that are reminiscent of late 19th century styles.

His Victorian-era designs have been credited with the rebirth of art wallpaper, and popularizing patterns and color.

Lead designer Stephen Bauer has expanded the eras from which inspiration is drawn.

While the company has ventured into somewhat newer styles, including the 1950s, its historical recreations have brought Bradbury & Bradbury an array of customers in 30 different countries and widely recognized museums throughout the world, to Benicia City Hall, the Riddell-Fish House and the Camelia Tea Room.

Movie producer George Lucas chose the company’s products for his Skywalker Ranch in Marin County.

Bradbury & Bradbury Art Wallpapers has other ties to motion pictures and entertainment, too.

“Oz the Great and Mighty,” “The Green Mile,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” and other movies have become the company’s clients. Its products also have been seen in such television shows as “Boardwalk Empire,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Suits,” “Call Me Artie” and the pilot episode of “Tim Starr.”

The company’s wall treatments have been used at several Disney theme parks and hotels. Other clients are Abraham Lincoln’s home in Springfield, Ill., the riverboats American Queen and Mississippi Queen, and two railroads, the Great Smokey Mountain and Durango and Silverton.

For the McDonald Mansion, a Bradbury & Bradbury team installed 3,950 yards of one-inch border, 3,551 yards of other borders, 584 rolls and 919 elements such as fans and other details.

“I don’t know if it was the biggest B&B order, but the numbers are impressive!,’ Beverly Phillips, customer service manager, said.

“This is a show that should appeal to those interested in architecture, the visual arts, Benicia industry and Benicia history, and even English history, as a major portion of the inspiration and design motifs come from the Aesthetic Movement and English

designers,” d’Huart said.

The exhibit will have displays of a variety of hand-screened panels, accompanied by narratives describing the printing process starting with color selection to the final stages.

Visitors to the museum will learn how design motifs were developed and about the movements that inspired the designs.

“The company marketing niche is based on those who own historical homes who wish to use historically appropriate papers,” she said. “Everyone here has really enjoyed working with the ‘B&B’ team, and hope to do more exhibits on those Benicia companies that have an interesting history and product.”

The museum show opens at 1 p.m. Sunday with a reception at the museum, 2060 Camel Road.

Museum hours are 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Admission is free to the public the first Wednesday of the month, and free all days to members of the military with identification. Those interested may call the museum at call the Benicia Historical Museum at 707-745-5435.