St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-12-07
GOOD AND BAD CARPETS.
Pras'ieaI Suggestions to HoWsekeepers
fn Need of Floor Coverings


Pras;ieaI Suggestions to HoHsekeepers
iiI Need Of Floor Coverings.
The mania for art fabrics and furniture
has proved an incentive for great deal of
fraud on the part of the dealers. But while
Oriental carpet weaving has deteriorated
through the influence OF commerce, the do
nestle craft has taken giant strides in pro-
erosion. Time was when a knowledge of
the Oriental weaving arts descended from
father to son an constituted valuable in
heritance, but commerce has recently de-
manded greater quantities, and natives Of
India, the Orient aud the Levant, who never
saw a loom or touched a shuttle, were in
dueed TO attempt the work and became sud-
denly full-hedged carpet weavers, and the
old masters, with their art at their finger
tips, found it more profitable 10 turn instrue-
tors than 10 compete with them; so We soon
find these FORMULATING artists traversing
all Asia, introducing the characteristics of
their special weayes and designs, and thus
merging the Indian, Persian, Moorish and
Oriental styles till they became an indis
cernible mixture upon an indifferent fabric.
And commerce did more. England soon had
her idle weavers establishing factories in
India; the cOnvicts in the jails were put to
the looms. The designs, the dyes and the
yarns were all from England; but they were,
and are yet, sold as Indian carpets; but the
industry, understand, is not entirely perpet-
uated by amateurs. Some few old Turkish
families continue the arts their ancestors
taught them and preserve the individuslities
Of their weaves. With the exception of their
limited products, however, the goods now
produced in that far-ofT country are sad ex-
amples Of the degeneracy of a once classic
art.
Thousands Of yards of smyrna" rugs are
made in this country; thousands more in
Great Britain. The name Of a carpet sig
mites little in these days; even the kid der
Minister" or ingram carpet is no longe-
made in Kidderminster, nor the Mecca pray
er rug in Mecca Philadelphia to-day makes
more goods than all England, and she call 5
them Brussels, Venetians, Dutch, Amin
sters. What, indeed, is in a nsmel Massa-
chusetts produces the highest grade Brussels,
Wiltons and ingrains. The time Is past
when the fact that carpet is Of English orr =
gin has any influence in a sale. Compet-
ton is sharp, and not only are the yarns doc
tored with foreign substances but the colors
used are, in many cases, reduced, when dry
and old, TO mere dust which can be liter
ally swept with a stiff broom from the floor.
A practice which has crept into the retail
trade is this, II buyer discovers that he
has certain goods which are unsatisfactory
he puts premium on them Of five or six
cents yard, and this induces the statesmen
to pay special attention to them. They are
what are commonly known as 'stickersn in
stock and the purchaser Is very likely 10
have this undesirable rubbish palmed OF up
on him if be IS at al Influenced by the en-
thusiasm or assurances of the average sales
man, who reaps direct extra profits by the
transaction.
The standard American carpet is the
| Brussels, and although England made It for
many years previous 10 its introduction IN
this country, IL remained for an American to
discover the application of steam-power 10
the Brussels loom. Few dealers are so scru-
| pulous that they hesitate in showing a
tapestry carpet for 4 Brussels, and if one ex-
postulates one is assured that "this is 3
Brussels tapestry Brussels. II you wish
a body Brussels. that's another thing" The
best grade Of body Brussels carpet Is worth
| 81. 40 yard at wholesale-three-quart OF
a yard wide; the best grade tapestry, S71<
cents per yard. Both have a raised surface
in line ridges When this pile is cut on &
Brussels carpet and the surface becomes vel
yety, it is known as Wilton, and sells for
$3.50 per wholesale. When n tapestry
is cut it is termed velvet, and sells for $1.55
per yard A tapestry is easily distinguished
from Brussels by the fact that its back is
OF one color, whereas in the back Of the
Brussels the eolors employed in the pattern