Yarn Sample Case

Maker A. and M. Karagheusian

PeriodCirca 1960

Place MadeFreehold, New Jersey, U.S.A.

MediumVarnished maple, brass, wool yarn, cardboard

Dimensions4.75 × 10.38 × 18.75 in. (12.1 × 26.4 × 47.6 cm)

InscribedThe name "Andy" is scratched on the top of the case.

ClassificationsA. & M. Karagheusian Rug Mill Collection

Credit LineGift of Ben Augun, 2003

Object number2003.2.41

DescriptionA rectangular suitcase-style portable carrying case of varnished maple wood, with brass metal handle and two snap closures. The lid opens to reveal a black painted wooden tray with 98 7/8" diameter circular holes for yellow cardboard tubes (66 tubes, with fifteen empty unnumbered tubes) used as receptacles for tufts of sample yarns. Each tube is hand numbered with specific dye color numbers, and some with additional notations regarding color corrections and other information.
Curatorial RemarksArshag and Miran Karagheusian emigrated from Turkey during the government's persecution of the Armenian people in the late 19th century. After living for a time in England, the brothers came to the United States and began a small carpet import business. In 1906, the brothers purchased the old Rothschild Shirt Factory complex on Jackson Street in Freehold, New Jersey. There they imported carpet looms from England and invited seasoned weavers from the British Isles to relocate to Freehold as their first employees. By 1928, with the introduction of the "Gulistan" line of high-quality carpeting, the company became the second largest privately-owned carpet company in the world. At its peak, over 1,700 men and women worked at the Rug Mill. The company produced carpeting for Radio City Music Hall in 1932 and the United States Supreme Court building in 1935, and for such notables as movie star Jean Harlow, who sent the company a lock of her famed platinum blonde hair to match a custom carpet, and Fred Astaire, who purchased Karagheusian-made carpeting for his office. During World War II, the factory converted to wartime production, weaving a type of cotton canvas material known as "duck," which was used for tank covers, gun covers, tents, and bags. After the war, union troubles and new technology, combined with an obsolete factory complex, resulted in management's decision to close the factory and relocate to Georgia. By 1961, the entire operation had moved South.NotesThis sample case appears to have been custom made, most likely in the Carpentry shop in the Freehold Mill location. Donor Ben Augun's wife was the niece of Andrew "Andy" Dale. Born in Philadelphia in 1912, Andy Dale's father John L. Dale emigrated from Scotland and was a weaver for many years in the Karaghuesian Rug Mill. Andy Dale worked as a designer for the Mill for many years. There were many instances of sons and daughters of Rug Mill employees finding good jobs in the factory in which their parents had worked for years. The Research and Design Department was the last department of the company to remain in Freehold, closing in 1962. Dale then worked as a traffic investigator for Monmouth County. Andrew Dale died in 1994 at the age of 82 and was interred in Maplewood Cemetery in Freehold.

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