6 inches by 6 feet 6 inches, as pointed out in connection 

 with the Turkey and Persian carpets which because 

 of their 9- by 9-foot dimensions also were classified 

 as large. It seems likely that the size categories 

 suggested for the terms "large" and "very large" in 

 reference to Orientals also could be applied to the 

 other kinds of movable floor coverings available in 

 the 18th century. The large ijut otherwise uni- 

 dentified carpets that were listed in the Suffolk 

 County inventories of Mary Dorrington in 1776 *' 

 and Mr. Robert Gould and Dr. Pemberton in 1777, 

 as well as in the newspaper advertisements previously 

 cited, probably would have measured no more than 12 

 by 12 feet, since these seem to be the approximate 

 dimensions at which carpets ceased being large and 

 became very large. 



Ingrain carpets of either large or \ery large di- 

 mensions would have been used in sizable parlors or 

 chambers where they probably co\ered a large por- 

 tion or all of the floor. The library was another room 

 where ingrain carpets were used. According to the 

 1797 in\entory of furniture at "Richmond Hill," the 

 floor in "The Library" was covered with "1 Ingrained 

 Carpet." Woven pileless carpets of considerably re- 

 duced dimensions also were used on chamber or bed- 

 room floors because some ingrains were described as 

 "small ... for Bed sides." The entryway, according 

 to the Gould imentory, was another place where 

 Scotch carpets were used. 



Available in "almost all sizes" and known by a 

 number of names, these patterned l)ut pileless, loom- 

 woven, ingrain carpets were offered for sale in many 

 of the larger cities on this side of the Atlantic and 

 provided serxiceable floor covering for American 

 houses during the second half of the 18th century. 



BRUSSELS 



Brussels carpets and carpeting were characterized 

 by a pile surface in contrast to the smooth-surface 

 floor covering just discussed. That is, they had a 

 surface similar to velvet fabric or to Oriental carpets. 

 But, unlike the latter, the pile was woven and not 

 handknotted. The Brussels-type pile was made by 

 weaving extra warp or lengthwise threads over rods in 

 such a way as to form loops standing up on the surface 

 of the carpet. The manufacture of the Brussels carpet, 

 as it was called after its supposed place of origin, is 

 believed to have been first established in England 



" Inventory of Mary Dorrington, Nov. 18, I77(i. In Suffolk 

 Probate Books, vol. 75, pp. 436-38. 



about 1 740 at Wilton. Soon after its introduction, the 

 Brussels pile was transformed by cutting the loops into 

 a new type of pile surface known as Wilton which will 

 be discussed shortly. Kidderminster was another 

 place in England where Brussels-carpet weaving was 

 carried on, having been introduced there about 1750. 

 Place names sometimes may have been used for the 

 loop-pile carpeting made in England, but Brussels 

 carpet was, and in fact remains, the term generally 

 used for this type of floor covering wherever manu- 

 factured. 



When advertised for sale in 18th-century American 

 newspapers, Brussels carpets were sometimes men- 

 tioned among the European imports. Nevertheless, 

 in most cases the actual place of manufacture was the 

 British Isles since Brussels carpets were listed with such 

 other floor coverings of British origin as Scotch, 

 English, and Wilton. For example, a Philadelphia 

 upholsterer and paperhanger, C. Alder, stated in 

 the Pennsylvania Packet of October 31, 1796, that 

 among the goods that he had "received by the late 

 arrivals from Europe" and was "opening for sale" 

 at his shop was a "large quantity of Brussels, ^V'ilton, 

 and Ingrain Scotch Carpeting, of excellent quality." 

 Occasionally a retailer provided information in a 

 newspaper advertisement about the appearance if not 

 the place of origin of his merchandise. A notice in- 

 serted by a \ew York merchant in the Commercial 

 Advertiser of June 21, 1798, read: "Carpets and Car- 

 peting of the very best Brussels quality, to the newest 

 landscape and other elegant patterns, now opening 

 and for sale at John Brower's." As the advertisement 

 implies, Brussels-type floor coverings were sometimes 

 rather elaborate. For the most part, though, they 

 probably had floral or small neat patterns. Patterns, 

 whether simple or elaborate, were created b\- using 

 two or more differently colored threads for the pile, 

 each colored thread lying unseen in the foundation of 

 the carpet until brought to the surface according to 

 the need for that color in the pattern. If the carpet 

 was plain then all the pile threads would, of course, 

 have been the same color. 



Unfortunately most advertisements are not as 

 informative as the above one about the appearance 

 of the items being offered for sale. Usually the 

 merchandise is simply listed by name as in the follow- 

 ing two newspaper advertisements of 1798. On 

 June 16, a New York upholsterer announced in the 

 ]\'eekly Museum that he had "an assortment of Brussels 

 carpeting" for sale and in the New-York Gazette and 

 General Advertiser of August 27, another upholsterer, 



P.\PER 59: FLOOR COVERINGS IN 18TH-CENTURY AMERICA 



35 



