The San Francisco call., 1901-10-20

II facts In them the history OF ASid
~ is written, the poetry of the East
is pictured, and its religions are
embiematized. When they were only
fads those who knew nothing about them
were merely not in the lead; when they
became the fashion the uninitiated We're
only behind the times. Now that plain
matter of fact underwriters gravely dis
cuss relative values of rugs for purpose
OF taking insurance on them, ana wnen
prudent and economical housefurnishers
find that they are cheaper than our own
make OF carpets, with their patterns.
mostly hideous" as the Encyclopedias
Britannica says ii is almost necessity
20 have some means Of acquiring knowi-
edge concerning them.
II IS q strange thing that an Industry
which occupies much Of the spare time OK
perhaps 1--WE hundred million people
should not until recently have had one
single book written about it.
John Kimberley Mumford has this
blank page OF photography all to him.
self except for such small splutches upon
ft as have been made by a few maSa-
zine articles and some untranslated for
e,rn technical works OF the dyers ana
weaver's craft. which would be useless
10 the head of a family who wishes to
buy q beautiful and serv1ceable floor
covering for the home.
His book Oriental Rugs" was one CT
those uncertainties of which publishers
usually fight shy. 1t had no precedent.
and according 20 all good old rules OF
tne guild should have been a dead fail
ure. II did not appeal to the masses 1t
was neither amusing TO the hippant, nor
full of salacious details for the vulgar.
II lacked the union of fact and fancy
which make the latest style of novel;
warmed over history. with fiction sauce.
slide down the gullet Of popular fancy.
By good luck as well as good manage
ment the deserving book. SO carefully
written and illustrated. succeeded as IL
deserved, and a second issue was called
for.
II is difficult to explain to a person who
knows nothing about rugs" why II is
mat they are so much different from any
piece OF carpet which may happen TO shed
from the loom. l myself not SO many
e-ears ago looked with scorning slight
1-pon a beduest of what L styled in my
ignorance at the time, as "a lot OF their
Id secondhand carpets" But rug of
=, Orient: a true. genuine antique. Is 10
t,e cIsssed rather with pictures. tapes
t-jes. samplers. or hierogiyphic records,
man with carpets or floor coverings as
ne know them. Nevertheless. IL VIII
r,.,ru tbe excellence Of its manufacture
7litwear Iinoleum, mating. body Brus-
<eis OF oilclcth If one Is willing 10 DO Nio-
seace 10 its beauty boy putting 1t down on
2 floor TO be slogged with dust clogged
rrobnaiIs OF course. the Orientals VINO
made il intended il 10 be walked on. but
,hezy take their shoes of upon entering
ia. house and, therefore, their rugs De
fus pressed only by soft-Soled sanoals,
syhich are used indoors, wear for a CEN
.ury and grow brighter with The frlc-
tlua ard polish which age brings tnen'
I5.e all who move III good society
he main points Of difference are these,
f,st the oriental rig is first of all hand
.s.sce. 1t is a handmade. figured velvet,
- which eacn little thread that goes
.-. egaz,ose the pile mas been knotted by
ernd around two threads ot the warp,
-af when one row h2s been Done across
rae entire line Of warp then one or more
threads Of the weft are thrown through
.ser II and beaten down close anu nara
81. q sort OF metal cOElo. after winch an
..Lher row OF knots is tied with the NarE
ssz- s,oI0rs which go To make the pattern
excellence OF aye is another point Oh
-ss..erioritv Only the natural stains WHICH
l=.sz IS long as the fabric itself are usea
t., the dyers who are too Ignorant Oh our
.toaern chemical processes 10 cheat Win
,snantonn aniiines, which have little more
..e-rrauence than the heeting prlsnauc re-
r.ctions Of the coal tar from which they
tFE Ha6L<s HuE-A II - Nhh~
,>ater but the base Of all their endur-
x.a,e Is in the quality Of the wool from
inch they are woven, and the care used
an forming il into nlarnents. Instead ot
tsefiIz wrenched and torn by machinery.
Il IS carefully combed and spun by hand;
d method which time has proven TO De the
only way TO make fabric which will wear.
SO much for the utilitarian View OF II,
isut we cannot live entirely upon food. and
al sufficient for The
picture minded people. This latter class
are particuiarly unfortunate IL they hap
zen TO be born Mohammedans, and SO are
compelled TO d strict observance OF that
me OF Moses commandments which says:
Thou shall not make unto thee any
sraven image or any likeness OF any thing
mat is in heaven above or that is in the
earth beneath. or that is in the water
under the earth
turies after Christ took much Of the re-
Iigion which he had made and all Of that
which mad come before him and added his
own to il. Among the things which he
ioOk 10 mean what IL said was this about
ire making OF pictures. and he enjoined
u most strictly upon his followers: for he
vas evidently not one Of the picture mind
Cd himself. being imaginative enough to
see mental vision OF anything which
written words described for him.
But art, like love. will find Il way. and
the good MOhammedans found two
courses open TO them One was to obey
the letter Of the law and the spirit as
well: confne themselves TO writing, but
make their chirography so beautiful that
it might be studied as a picture would
be. To this day there are many Of this
class who can study a piece of beautiful
Arabic or other handwriting and aualyze
IL as We would a drawing or painting TO
them the writing master includes all that
we know as art
There are others OF the Mohammedans rs
who follow the letter Of the law and
while making no likeness Of anything in
heaven above. or earth beneath, or waters
under the earth, still weave I'm their rugs
and khitms soft sensuous coIors and
mystical designs which fill their yearninC
for art, and even appeal 10 us Of the West
who have been surfeited with pictures of
things that are, until we long for tn.
rest Of the ARE not"
Oriental Rugs" Is book of which it.
owner viii be proud. lie viii loan IL onIy
as mark OF distinction to friends. Ac-
duaintsnces will be permitted giimpge In
passing. II Is large. well bound ycII
printed with good big type, wide space be-