Carpet Sample

Maker A. and M. Karagheusian

PeriodCirca 1955 - 1960

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

MediumWool, jute

Dimensions55 × 37 in. (139.7 × 94 cm)

ClassificationsA. & M. Karagheusian Rug Mill Collection

Credit LineGift of Mr. Ben Augun, 2003

Object number2003.2.37

DescriptionA rectangular carpet sample in a cut wool pile, with a stylized alternating offset pattern of eight pointed medallions and lozenge scroll medallions in shades of off white, tan, dark tan, and black on a rich green ground. The short ends of the sample are bound in a deep green cotton twill tape. Stenciled on the back of the carpet is "A. & M. KARAGHEUSIAN, INC. / BARCLAY SPECIAL / 09374 - 5." A partial Gulistan tag in the distinctive blue, red, gold and black colors is sewn into the binding with the lower third cut off.
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.NotesDonor 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, at one time heading up the Axminster design department. There were many instances of sons and daughters of Rug Mill employees finding good jobs in the factory in which their parents worked. 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. Very little is known about the specific patterns, their design and development, and specific interactions between customers and the company. Virtually all the Rug Mill's records were deliberately destroyed before the firm moved operations south in 1961.

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