Wool on wool backing, 53 by 28 inches, 1870-1880. From the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Although by no means a typical Waldoboro, this rug is said to have been made in Waldoboro, adding a new dimension to the history of rugmaking in that town. The scene is presumed to be General Henry Knox's homecoming at Montpelier, his home in Thomaston, Me., near Waldoboro. A reproduction of his home still stands, but it is unlike the building depicted in the rug. Information in the Met's documentation suggests that a colored etching of General Knox's headquarters "with a very similar mounted figure facing the other way in a somewhat similar scene" may have been the source of the design for "L.C.," as the rugmaker signed herself. The rug in embroidered in a tent stitch on a natural ground of wool. There are no other known rugs of this type made in Waldoboro.

 

Art UnderFoot

The Story of Waldoboro Hooked Rugs at The American Textile History Museum

LOWELL, MASS. - As an admirer of Waldoboro rugs for some 20 years, Mildred Cole Peladeau knows well how the women of Waldoboro, Me., a small coastal community, created some of the most highly regarded and sought-after hooked rugs of the past century.

Over the past year, Peladeau's groundbreaking research has created the first show of its kind in the country to celebrate the Waldoboro hooked rug.

"Art UnderFoot" showcases 51 rugs dating from 1838 to the early Twentieth Century. Guest curator Mildred C. Peladeau of Readfield, Me. has chosen authentic to enigmatic pieces to offer an understanding of what constitutes a Waldoboro or Waldoboro-type rug in terms of textile, design, motif, hooking technique, texture, color and provenance.

The works are characterized by central ovals, borders, lush floral, basket, leaf, wreath, fruit, animal, scroll and geometric motifs in clipped or unclipped, raised designs and shadings. They include beautiful examples of early period rugs by Margaret Wellman and Minnie Light from private collections; a unique rug embroidered in tent stitch on a natural ground of wool commemorating General Henry Knox's Homecoming in Thomaston, Me. from the Metropolitan Museum of Art; a lush central oval filled with raised flowers and encircled by a scroll of leaves, fruit and flowers, and framed with a black border from the Shelburne Museum; and an intensely designed rug in an unusual treatment of flowers and scroll work border with very little open space from the Winterthur Museum.

"Art UnderFoot," says Peladeau, "comes at a time when hooked rugs are `in' and prices are going up fantastically. Yet while the Waldoboro is considered by many to be the cream of the crop," says Peladeau, she is often asked, "What is a Waldoboro?" and many people mistake newer pieces for the early original rugs.

Commenting on the project, guest curator Peladeau said, "This exhibition is dedicated to the women of Waldoboro and the art they created. Through newly-discovered documentation merged with old legends and myths, we hope to more accurately define the rug that has come to be known for the unusual beauty of its workmanship as the Waldoboro."

While the origins of the Waldoboro rug remain obscure, the craft of hooking is generally considered by scholars to be an indigenous American folk art originating in Maine or the Canadian Maritimes.

Social attitudes make the field of hooking difficult to document. "Unlike things made by men, like a chest of drawers, rugs weren't mentioned in wills, nor were they documented in other ways; they were just `women's work,'" said Peladeau. "That makes it hard to pin down dates."

While documentation is scarce, Peladeau found in reports a glimpse into rug hooking activity. The first clue came from reports on an event sponsored by the Maine Charitable Mechanic Association. Held in Portland in September 1838, the fair impressed one correspondent to write glowingly, "The most beautiful part of the whole is the profusion of needlework, which tells well for the taste and industry of this city, and among which are numerous specimens of tufted hearth rugs, many of which for richness of colors and firmness of make, would vie successfully with the most costly Wilton Rugs [an imported Oriental rug]."

Rug making was alive and well in the Broad Bay region of Maine during the last half of the Nineteenth Century. That several women were exhibiting "raised" designs simultaneously coincides with what dealers and collectors call the "early period" of the greatest quality, both in technique and design.

The most easily recognizable trait of Waldoboro rugs, though not found in every piece, is "raised work," a hooking technique that created a three-dimensional design motif. This modeling, or sculpting, quickly sets Waldoboro rugs apart from other styles of hooked rugs.

Other fundamental characteristics are the materials: linen and wool. Linen backing is the most significant feature of the early rugs, and some of the finest examples of Waldoboro rugs are found to be worked on a woven homespun so closely woven, wrote one admirer, "That the resulting texture is a marvel of velvety softness."

"Well shaded" is another term that appears in descriptions of the rugs. Creating the delicate floral designs was nearly impossible when using bulky woolen strips; they were just too heavy and coarse. Rug makers used woolen strips for backgrounds and for large areas that did not require fine details, while using yarn for finer details.

Designs usually included a central oval filled with large, lush flowers, baskets, wreaths, fruit or animals. Colors have remained consistent through the years; backgrounds are usually black, cream or sage green and sometimes gray. It was common for women to dye their materials with colors extracted and mixed from berries and barks gathered from the fields and forest.

Special rugs were made for special occasions as well. Memorial rugs were used, for instance, for wintertime funerals; a lovely floral rug draped over the foot of a coffin would create the illusion of fresh-cut flowers. Family and friends would also join in making wedding rugs to furnish a new home; often the design was a full wreath, signifying the completion of the family circle.

"Clearly, women were talented designers and rug hookers," said Peladeau. "The completion of a rug was cause for celebration, not only because they were beautiful, but because they were such an enormous task.

"Women grew the flax, turned it into threads for weaving the linen, spun the woolen yarn, gathered natural ingredients for dyeing the fabrics, cut cloths into strips, created a design and finally, undertook the long process of hooking. If they applied themselves, they might finish two rugs in a winter. It was a creative challenge, a social effort, and a work of original craftsmanship."

In 1925 Warren Weston Creamer, a Waldoboro antiques dealer, invited visitors to browse his "old Furniture, Prints, Hooked Rugs, Glass, Pewter, Books etc, which belonged to the early settlers of this town."

In July 1930 he boasted, "As for hooked rugs, the finest ever made come from Maine and Warren Weston Creamer has the best of these." Then, in 1931, he made the first use of the term in print, and perhaps played the most significant role in making Waldoboro rugs known outside the local area.

The event, however, that may have catapulted the Waldoboro rugs into the consciousness of the public happened on May 9 and 10, 1930, at the exhibition and sale of "Early American Furniture, Historical and Pedigreed Pieces Including Many Heirlooms of the Reed Family, Waldoboro, Maine," at the American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, in New York City.

The Waldoboro rugs distinguished themselves easily by the stunningly high prices they commanded. A matching pair of Waldoboros garnered an impressive $1,500, while a mahogany block-front chest of drawers, circa 1779, brought only $310.

Today the rugs continue to fetch high prices on the antiques market, although Peladeau cautions buyers to pay close attention to key characteristics of the real Waldoboro. Commercially stenciled rug patterns, and Waldoboro-type rugs hooked on burlap, made their appearance as early as the 1860s and can be easily mistaken for early, original Waldoboro rugs.

Many Waldoboro-type rugs came onto the market in 1940 when a commercial producer of burlap rug patterns used motifs bought from a talented Waldoboro rug designer, Minnie Light, whose reputation extended far beyond her village.

But training the eye for authenticity isn't all that Peladeau hopes will come of this unique exhibition. Most important, she hopes viewers will also come away with a new appreciation for these American treasures.

"I would like to see people enjoy viewing the rugs and, perhaps, try a hand at hooking," she said. "There are some beautiful rugs in the exhibit and they are pure pleasure to see."

This special exhibition runs through Sunday, October 3. Hours are Tuesday through Friday, 9 am to 4 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm. An exhibition catalog is available for purchase from the museum gift shop.

The American Textile History Museum is the nation's first full-scale museum devoted to American textile machines, and is home to the world's largest collection of textiles, costumes and everyday clothing, coverlets, tools, machinery and workplace artifacts relating to American textile history.

Founded by the Stevens family, the museum opened in 1960 in North Andover, Mass., and re-opened in Lowell in 1997 to better serve the public. The Lowell facility features the "Textiles in America" permanent installation, the Special Exhibition Gallery, the Museum Collections, the Textiles Conservation Center, the Osborne Library and the Webster Education Center.

The Museum is located at 491 Dutton Street adjacent to the Lowell National Historic Park. The building is wheelchair accessible. For more information, call 978/441-0400.