Rug Art-RESCUED FROM OBLIVION is a delightful tale of discovery, but a sad reflection on the lack of preservation of North America's most endangered art form that has literally and figuratively been "tramped on" for much too long. Abandoned for more than half a century in the basement of a damp and mould filled former New Glasgow, Nova Scotia rug pattern factory, a determined research team found amazing pen and ink rug art created by an artist who is said to have studied in the same New York art class with noted folk artist Norman Rockwell. Under a leaking sewage pipe in that same factory they unearthed amazing hand cut Mystery stencils that are now rewriting the arts heritage . Their discovery heralds the oldest known commercial designs recovered in Canada, and possibly in North America and a unique pattern printing system hitherto unknown. The searchers found, and rescued from imminent oblivion some 550 pieces of original pen and ink art created by the 1892 factory founder John Garrett and his son Frank. In acquiring remnants of the oldest known rug pattern factory in the world (1892) they also unearthed three unique hand-carved full size rug pattern blocks and a mass of records of early pattern designs from across North America. An intriguing bonus was the salvaging of some 300 hand cut stencils created by a talented unknown artist. Measuring only 3x5" in size-each contained two rug pattern designs. Designated the MYSTERY PATTERNS preliminary research indicates they are the oldest Canadian rug designs ever discovered and possibly the oldest in the world.
Rug Art - Rescued From Oblivion
A Hooked Rug Museum of North America Research projectBy Suzanne Conrod Hugh ConrodAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2010 Suzanne and Hugh Conrod
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4520-0237-8 Contents
Foreword.....................................ixPrologue.....................................xiiiChapter 1....................................1Chapter 2....................................21Chapter 3....................................39Chapter 4....................................67Chapter 5....................................103Chapter 6....................................119Chapter 7....................................135Chapter 8....................................155Chapter 9....................................165Garrett Family Genealogy.....................185Index........................................195
Chapter One
Rescued from Oblivion
"In those days our great-grandmothers were greatly handicapped by lack of proper materials. Her first move was to get an oat bag or potato sack, cut it open and sew it on a frame. Then came the design. If she wanted a strictly geometrical pattern, she often used small plates and butter chips and even bricks by laying them on the burlap and tracing around them" (The New Glasgow Evening News 1934)
The Drama of Discovery
A '"bit of antiquing" unexpectedly evolved into an exciting and hazardous adventure that crisp 2004 Fall day in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.
It all transpired in a century old basement infused with the grime, dust, cobwebs and mould accumulated from a long forgotten past. Unknown to us two retirees starting out on a romantic wedding anniversary trip it would be the curtain raiser to a project that would consume the rest of our lives.
Garrett's By-the-Bridge Antiques is a rambling frame structure- a combination of two 19th century buildings which were later joined in the middle for expansion of a once booming international rug pattern factory. Its location was near the centre of a historic industrial area with strong Scottish overtones.
The shop's current owner-manager Edward "Eddy" MacArthur purchased the property and remnants of stock and equipment left in the former John E. Garrett (1892) Rug Pattern Factory during the mid 1970's when Cameron Garrett (the last of the Garrett dynasty of rug pattern manufacturers) decided to wind down the business. Eddy also happened to be the last working manager of that old factory.
We found the antique emporium's stock that day to be a mixture of new and old. A few faded old hooked rugs were displayed on the floor but it was a unique cylinder type of rug hooking device nestled in a showcase that caught our eye upon entry. Overall the scene was a conglomeration of old pictures, books, antique furniture and stacks of early phonograph records-seemingly out of place amongst the gleaming Paderno stainless steel cookware, utensils and sparking new guitars with which they shared shelf space.
The genial owner was on his way to make his bank deposit but paused to greet us and enquire about our wants. Having researched the early beginnings of this antique emporium before starting our holiday excursion we had knowingly targeted this particular shop in our challenging search for more artifacts and archival materials to add to a growing personal collection of heritage rug hooking items being assembled by Suzanne.
When Eddy stepped forward to offer aid, our first question was whether any vestiges of the old Garrett factory still remained after the closure of the plant some 30 years earlier. He pointed to the rugs we had spotted earlier and noted that one was an image of the last pattern ever designed and manufactured in the old factory. He explained that the cylindrical device in the showcase was an experimental rug hook designed in the early 1920's at another old New Glasgow firm of Steeves and Sutherland. It took little consideration for us to quickly add these two rare items to our artifact collection.
Our still unanswered enquiry begged a more complete answer. "Is there anything left of the old factory?" we asked.
Eddy's reply-"I haven't been down in the basement in the last five years, but there's still some equipment and odds and ends there!"
This unexpected response, coming after the factory's closure more than a quarter century ago gave us a shiver of anticipation.
A disappointing minute followed when we asked if we could visit the basement and its owner explained that it was a damp and hazardous area with minimal lighting and treacherous access stairs. Crippled himself by an earlier illness that limited use of one of his legs, it was obvious and understandable why Eddy was reluctant to venture into such conditions.
Sensing our disappointment and contemplating our offer to acquire a flashlight to augment the search, Mr. Mac Arthur agreed that if we returned later in the morning he would try to take us into the basement.
It turned out to be a difficult climb for both us seniors and the owner as we cautiously ventured down a narrow and near vertical stairway which opened into a seemingly endless maze of beams, nooks and crannies, with its darkened twists and turns. The cavernous basement was liberally decorated with cobwebs. The blackened walls wore a cloak of grime and probably splattered printer's ink.
Dripping water pipes, pools of leaking water and rotting cardboard cartons flirted with each other amidst the musty smells and creeping mould prevalent in damp areas. Piles of burlap once the key for rug pattern making lay crumpled near a home made metal trough, at one time a system for washing surplus ink from paper stencils utilized to reproduce Garrett rug designs.
No Hollywood horror movie could have more dramatically replicated this inhibiting scene. It was a panorama of which nightmares are made. Flashes of dusty old equipment, a stack of water-soaked stencils, abandoned tools and a tray of varnished rug hook handles gleamed between a veil of cobwebs, all appearing in flickering glimpses under the prying beam of our new flashlight.
There was only minimal electric power supply to the basement, some not functioning. Awareness that electricity and water do not make comfortable partners did little to calm our nerves. A bare overhead bulb provided light for the stairwell but most others had long since expired. One of them did cast a pale aura on a distant corner.
Eddy indicated an old table lamp nearby and with his help Suzanne connected it to a seemingly endless stretch of aged extension cords to provide a fraction more illumination. It was a single-file parade led by Eddy, followed by Suzanne "the lady of the lamp" and tailed by myself (Hugh) with my flashlight and a digital camera, itching for action. Each of us constantly brushing aside the cobwebs, pondering the dubious friendliness of the creepy crawlies that created them, and all the while peering excitedly into each box and container we passed. We intently scanned each blackened corner for rug hooking history as we carefully edged forward on the broken concrete that still clung to survival on an uneven floor.
From time to time Eddy would point out an item of abandoned old factory equipment, -there, he explained, was the tumbler once used to polish the metal components of rug hooks, nearby, the unusual upright lathe used to fashion them, over here a tool rack with implements still projecting from their appointed...
