v^i^»■r.v» '-5. 



; Jati 



--:-'.-:^- 15 



S.^Pii^A 





'^. 

 1 



Figure 20. — Wilton-tvpe carpet, incdsuring ap- 

 proximately 17;, by 15I2 feet. The color scheme is 

 brown, cream, orange, and gold, with red and 

 white for the striped shield displayed on the breast 

 of the eagle in the center medallion. (USNM 

 18 1 747; Smithsonian photo 63477.) 



mion, Greek-key, and guilloche borders were trans- 

 formed into carpets at the Moorfields manufactory. "'- 



Perhaps a neoclassic design characterized the carpet 

 Wansey saw in Mr. Bingham's Philadelphia residence. 

 This does not seem improbable because the carpet was 

 described as "one of Moore's most expensive pat- 

 terns.'" Mr. Bingham's awareness of current fashions 

 as indicated by his choice of furniture from one of 

 London's most stylish furniture showrooms, Seddon's, 

 further suggests that the carpet was probably an ex- 

 ample of the newest taste in underfoot furnishings 

 then in vogue in England. 



Had he wanted to, Mr. Bingham could have had an 

 equally tasteful Axminster-type carpet made in Phila- 

 delphia and at the same time been in step with other 

 eminent and style-setting .Americans who were en- 

 couraging domestic manufactories. This is what the 

 more patriotic but no less fashion-conscious George 

 Washington had done. The fioor of the large dining 

 room in the President's Philadelphia residence was cov- 

 ered with a carpet made by William Peter Sprague, 



proprietor of the Philadelphia Carpet Manufactory. 

 Washington's account books as well as the contempo- 

 rary newspaper report mentioned here i)ro\idc proof 

 of this. Entries in the President's account books on 

 April 1, 1791, record payments to .Sprague ''for a Car- 

 pet made by him for the large dining room," and aE;.£i)n 

 on April 24 for the same carpet "in the large dining 

 Room." "» 



At one time the large and handsome carpet with a 

 central motif resembling The Great .Seal of the United 

 States (fig. 20), on loan to the United States National 

 Museum from The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association 

 of The Union, was mistakenly attributed to Sprague 

 and identified as the one mentioned above which was 

 made for the dining room of the President's house in 

 Philadelphia. The carpet, however, is neither an 

 Axminster nor an ingrain, the two kinds produced at 

 the Philadelphia Carpet Manufactory. Although 

 most of the pile is worn away making it veiy diflicult 

 to see the structure, during a recent examination of 

 the carpet it was possible to determine that it was of a 

 Wilton construction. Furthermore, the carpet is made 

 up of strips sewed together as was usually the case with 

 Wiltons in contrast to Axminsters which were usually 

 woven in one piece, an advantage they had over most 

 other types of floor coverings. The carpet cannot be 

 attributed to Sprague, therefore, because of its con- 

 struction. Although the origin, ownership and date 

 are still in question, this carpet may perhaps pro\ ide 

 a \isual clue to some of the products of the Philadel- 

 phia Carpet Manufactory. According to a report in 

 the Philadelphia Gazette of the United States on June 22, 

 1791, Sprague's "carpets made for the President, and 

 various other persons, are master-pieces of their kind, 

 particularly that for the Senate chamber of the 

 United States." To prove this, a full description was 

 given of the carpet made by Sprague for the Senate 

 Chamber, Congress Hall, Philadelphia. 



The device wove in the last mentioned, is the Crest 

 and Armorial Achievements appertaining to the United 

 States. Thirteen Stars forming a constellation, diverging 

 from a cloud, occupy the space under the chair of the 

 Vice-President. 1 he AMERICAN E.\GLE is displayed 

 in the centre, holding in his dexter talon an olive branch, 

 in his sinister a bundle of thirteen arrows, and in his 

 beak, a scroll ii scribed willi the motto, R pluribus uniim. 



'"^THOMPsoN.op.cit. (footnote 1 ), figs, l.'innd 17-21, pp.213 

 and 21.')-19; Accessions 1960 by the Winter tliur Corporation, edit. 

 M. Elinor Belts (Winterthur, Del.: The Henry Francis du Pont 

 Winterthur Museum, 1960), fig. 21. 



'"' Mari.an Sadtler Carson, 

 Carpet at Mount Vernon," Antii/w 

 p. 119. 



PAPER 59: FLOOR COVERINGS IN 18TH-CENTURY AMERICA 



■•Washington's .\nierican 

 (February 1947), vol. 51, 



43 



