The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1885-08-22
CARPETS AND RUGS.
Fine Grades of Each Which Are Manufact-
ured in America.

rIhe Uraues OF Each Which Are Manufact-
ured in America.
can increased demand for the luxu-
ries of life indicates the advancement
Of community in art, taste and re-
inement, said an experienced sales
man in the carpet and rug department
Of a great wholesale house to re-
porter for the Daily Neacs. "Take
carpets and rugs alone, for instance.
Ten years ago the stocks of the lead
ing jobbing houses in Chicago would
not average more than two hundred or
two hundred and fifty pieces each.
Now they carry from five hundred to
seven hundred pieces each of body
Brussels and the higher grades. The
heaviest trade is in extra super-ingrain,
and tapestry Brussels comes next. Are
the finer grades importedP Well, |
should say not. We make better car
pets in America than are made any,
where else in the world, and the same
may be said of rugs. OF course you
can not include among the latter the
rare India and Persian imported rugs.
| have seen in a well-known house IN
New York small rugs six by two feet
in size worth fifty and sixty dollars,
while larger India rugs fifty and one
hundred years old, on which whole
families have worked for year or two,
and which look like the rare old
drapery taken from some picture, are
worth fifteen to eighteen hundred dol
lars. There is not much competition
in rugs. The leading industries in this
country are confined to the manufac-
ture of tapestry Brussels, body Brus-
sells, and Smyrna rugs, while there is a
large manufacture and importation of
velvets, moquettes. and puniaubs. A
firm in Halifax, N. S., are the largest
manufacturers in the world of velvets
and Brussels. The Smyrna and mo-
quette rugs are the most costly. The
Smyrnas are alike on both sides and
run to high colors, while most of the
others are in patterns of flowers, ami
mails, and an infinite variety of de-
signs.
Some time ago the favorite design
in Brussels and velvet rugs was the
Jumbo pattern, while the figures of
horses, dogs and stays were placed in
many. The Smyrna rug is the most
difficult to make and the costliest; the
body Brussels comes next, while the
tapestry Brussels is much cheaper.
The process of manufacture is difficult
to explain. 1t would require a trip
through the manufactures to become
acquainted with the details. The tapes
try Brussels is printed first and then
woven into mats and rugs. The body
Brussels patterns are formed on JAG
guard looms and cards. The leaves
and flowers are formed and cut by ma
chinery on the cards, by the same pro-
cess employed in making carpets.
Velvets, moquettes and puniaubs are
made on power looms, the same as vel
vet carpets. They are woven out of
worsted, and the pile is cut or sheared
down. In Smyrna and limitations of
imported rugs, the material is woven in
colors, and then cut into strips and
woven in stripes or broad grounding
ures on hand looms. They are entirely
alike on both sides, and are an ex-
tremely favorite rug. They vary in
size from one foot square to twelve or
fifteen feet, with borders. Some of the
looms in which these rugs are woven
'VAS lCCb w are sew
eral varieties of cheap and inferior
rugs made by individuals, but they do
not come into contact or competition
with the regular trade. They are made
on much the same plan as the old
fashioned rag carpet. 1t requires es-
pecial talent and skill to manufacture
the different varieties of rugs. For in
stance, the body Brussels and ingram
carpets are very nearly alike in process
OF manufacture, but the maker of these
is not capable of making tapestries, in
which the pattern is stamped first. BY
the way, the weavers of ingram two
ply carpets in Philadelphia have been
on strike for twenty-one weeks, and
this variety of carpets is much higher
in the market in consequence. '-Cht-
cGgo Ne,0S.
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