CARPETS AND RUGS 



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CARPETS AND RUGS 



Modern Carpets. In all Western countries 

 the steam power loom has entirely superseded 

 the weaving of carpets and nigs by hand. The 

 origin of carpet weaving in the United States 

 is found in the rag-carpet industry, which flour- 

 ished as recently as the early part of the nine- 

 teenth century. Careful housewives preserved 

 their rags, which they cut into long, narrow 

 strips and then sewed together. These strips 

 were then made into carpets by local or travel- 

 ing carpet makers. Later, women in the home 

 learned the art, and the majority of men and 

 women living to-day remember this familiar 

 home process. 



In 1791 the first carpet-weaving factory was 

 erected in Philadelphia. Since that date the 

 industry has grown until at the present time 

 the United States produces and uses more 

 carpets than any other country in the world. 

 In 1841 Erastus Bigelow perfected the first 

 power loom in the United States. This greatly 

 reduced the cost of production and made it 

 possible to do in one day by machinery what 

 had previously required many weeks to do 

 by hand. The Bigelow company manufactures 

 two of the finest domestic rugs on the market 

 the Anglo-Persian and Anglo-Indian. Both 

 are imitations of Oriental weaves. 



Varieties of Oriental Rugs. The art of mak- 

 ing Oriental rugs is so ancient that it is difficult 

 definitely to trace to its origin. It is not im- 

 probable that Egypt improved the crude work 

 of its predecessors, for the similarity of the 

 forms and designs found in modern Oriental 

 rugs to forms and inscriptions of Egyptian 

 architecture carries the art of weaving back 

 to that ancient civilization. Rugs are written 

 pages. In their chaotic designs is a symbol 

 language, the key of which, through the passing 

 of centuries, is all but lost. The Ispahan 

 rug, with its gorgeous field of Ispahan red and 

 varied floral designs, with a fine tracing of 

 puzzling, fascinating lines, inaugurated a new 

 era of rug making. This rug is hardly in 

 existence to-day, only a few perfect specimens 

 and many fragments being preserved in private 

 collections. 



Oriental rugs of the present time are classi- 

 fied into six distinct groups Persian, Turkish, 

 Turkestan, Caucasian, Chinese and Indian. 

 Each group may be subdivided, the names of 

 the rugs being derived from the various districts 

 and towns in which they are made. Persia 

 leads in the production of beautiful and costly 

 rugs, and there are about nineteen varieties of 

 this class. The Kermanshah, Tabriz, Shiraz, 



Saruk, Sehna, Kurdistan and Scrape are among 

 the finest weaves. Of the Turkestan family, the 

 Bokhara, Khiva and Samarkand are probably 

 the best known. Ghiordes, Anatolian, Kiz- 

 Kilm and Hamidic are prominent names' among 

 those of the Turkish group, and Karabagh, 

 Kazak, Cashmere and Daghestan are familiar 

 patterns in the Caucasian division. Chinese 

 rugs form a distinct type, odd geometrical 

 designs or unique varieties of the lotus flower 

 being distributed on harmonious grounds of 

 blue, red or yellow. Some fine Indian rugs 

 come from Tanjore and Benares. These are 

 usually distinguished by a medallion center. 



One of the most pronounced patterns in 

 Oriental rugs is the prayer rug, which always 

 accompanies the devout Mohammedan. Upon 

 this rug he performs his devotions, his face 

 and the point of the pattern being directed 

 toward Mecca. Eastern rugs are the most 

 durable and most valuable of all rugs; some 

 have been in use for 300 years and their price 

 runs into thousands of dollars. Large rugs 

 of fine weave have commanded a price as 

 high as $45,000; a rug nine by twelve feet 

 may command a price of $2,000, and one about 

 two by three feet may cost from $50 to $150. 



Modern Makers. Possibly the rug most fa- 

 miliar at the present time is the Brussels, 

 sold either as a rug, or "art square," as it is 

 sometimes called, or as a carpet. Originally 

 made in Brussels, it was copied in England, 

 whence it was introduced into America. The 

 Axminster, named after a small town in Eng- 

 land where it was first manufactured, is a com- 

 paratively inexpensive and attractive copy of 

 the Turkish designs. The Wilton, somewhat 

 more expensive than the Brussels or Axminster, 

 is also made in Oriental patterns. Imitation 

 Brussels and Wilton carpets and rugs are sold 

 as Tapestry Brussels, attractive in color and 

 design but lacking in the wearing qualities of 

 the genuine Turkish articles or the better 

 qualities of American rugs. A variety of 

 Axminster with the nap or pile on both sides 

 is now extensively manufactured in the United 

 States and is sometimes called a Smyrna. Some 

 cheaper forms of carpet are manufactured of 

 undyed material, and a pattern is afterwards 

 stamped by a printing machine similar to 

 that used in calico printing. 



It is only within comparatively recent years 

 that the use of carpets has become universal. 

 Modern methods of manufacture have placed 

 floor coverings within the reach of families 

 in the most moderate circumstances, and there 



