Carpet Label

Maker A. and M. Karagheusian

PeriodCirca 1940 - 1950

Place MadeNew Jersey, U.S.A.

MediumSynthetic fibers

Dimensions7 × 2.63 in. (17.8 × 6.7 cm)

ClassificationsA. & M. Karagheusian Rug Mill Collection

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Richard Hurley, 1988

Object number1988.5.11

DescriptionA rectangular woven label with a blue ground, with a central scene depicting Middle Eastern figures on camels flanking the central inscription "Super Gulistan / An American Product of A. & M. Karagheusian Inc. / 295 Fifth Avenue / New York."
Curatorial RemarksThe Karagheusian brothers Arshag (1871 - 1963) and Miran (1874 - 1948) began their rug manufacturing business in Freehold in about 1904 whent they purchased the defunct V. Henry Rothschild Shirt Factory on Jackson Street, converting the plant into a rug weaving factory. The factory operated until 1961, when operations were moved to Georgia and North Carolina. At its peak, the Karagheusian Rug Mill was the second largest privately-held carpet company in the world, and employed more than 1,700 men and women in the Freehold facility. The company was best known for its introduction of the "Gulistan" carpet in 1928. The firm developed a secret chemical process to treat its woven carpeting, resulting in a sheen and gloss greatly resembling coveted hand-woven silk carpeting from the Middle East. The Gulistan carpet line was in part responsible for the company's survival during the Great Depression.NotesThis label belonged to the donor's father, Burt Jackson (1907 - 1987) of Freehold, a Karagheusian Rug Mill employee. Jackson was born in Kidderminster, England, in 1907 and worked as a weaver for the Karagheusian Rug Mill for forty years, retiring in 1961 when the factory closed its doors.

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