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Rug Fandom
May. 2nd, 2024 08:36 amI was introducing myself on a discord and I was trying to say that I like rpgs, but either slippery fingers or autocorrect turned it into I like rugs. I went back later and couldn't immediately remember what I'd intended to say, but I found it funny enough to buy a book about rugs. Five books later... So I guess I'm into rugs fandom now. And for the same reason that I'm not allowed to watch Doctor Who, this is seriously dangerous, because it turns out that rug fandom is deep and I've never been good at not committing to the joke.
Initial readings from rug fandom.
The Story of Carpets by Essie Sakhai
The first book I read on rugs. Focuses specifically on traditional Persian rugs, and is magisterial but not systematic. That makes the book fascinating but not recommended as first reading, it probably requires a lot more context than I had to truly appreciate what the book is doing. Some excellent storytelling, though, and it got me hooked on rug fandom as more than just a discord joke.
The Carpet: Origins, Art and History by Enza Milanesi
A better beginner's guide to rug fandom. Has excellent illustrations that show the different kinds of knots and piles and artistic motifs and tries to teach how it all fits together into the landscape of traditional carpetmaking.
The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya Volume 1 by Reimena Yee
Instant, massive recommendation for this graphic novel about a beautiful and tragic love story in eighteenth century Turkey. The art work is stunning, especially the way it interweaves carpet imagery onto the page, and the storytelling is simple and direct but incredibly effective, it made me feel so much. Volume II is on order and I will be reading it as soon as I get it.
Carpet Capital by Randall Patton
A fascinating study of the American carpet industries- the prologue offers a clear and concise summary of the first American carpet industry, creating woven carpets largely in the Northeast. The rest of the book shows how this industry suddenly collapsed in the 1950s under the threat of the new technology of tufted carpets, and offers a detailed case study of the growth of the industry in Dalton Georgia, the tufted carpet capital of the world. Patton shows how the complicated dynamics of Northern vs. Southern industry, labor vs. capital, rapidly improving technology, and evolving post-war consumer demand shaped the industry and was shaped by it.
Tufting Legacies by Robert Tamasy
A commissioned history of the Card-Monroe Corporation and its forebears, leading manufacturers of equipment to make tufted carpet. A shitty self-aggrandizing effort that still does have some illuminating moments, along with a ton of, um, let's call it unfortunate revelations. The anti-union tone is striking, but my least favorite part was the chapter on how CMC is a Christian company that tries to pressure its workers to become Christians.
Soon to read:
The Root of Wild Madder: Chasing the History, Mystery, and Lore of the Persian Carpet by Brian Murphy
The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya Volume 2 by Reimena Yee
Broadlooms and Businessmen: A History of the Bigelow-Sanford Carpet Company by John Ewing and Nancy Norton
Also I have purchased a few cheap but lovely tufted carpets and there may be more actual rugs in my future, and possibly tufting classes. But the reading is a good start.
Initial readings from rug fandom.
The Story of Carpets by Essie Sakhai
The first book I read on rugs. Focuses specifically on traditional Persian rugs, and is magisterial but not systematic. That makes the book fascinating but not recommended as first reading, it probably requires a lot more context than I had to truly appreciate what the book is doing. Some excellent storytelling, though, and it got me hooked on rug fandom as more than just a discord joke.
The Carpet: Origins, Art and History by Enza Milanesi
A better beginner's guide to rug fandom. Has excellent illustrations that show the different kinds of knots and piles and artistic motifs and tries to teach how it all fits together into the landscape of traditional carpetmaking.
The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya Volume 1 by Reimena Yee
Instant, massive recommendation for this graphic novel about a beautiful and tragic love story in eighteenth century Turkey. The art work is stunning, especially the way it interweaves carpet imagery onto the page, and the storytelling is simple and direct but incredibly effective, it made me feel so much. Volume II is on order and I will be reading it as soon as I get it.
Carpet Capital by Randall Patton
A fascinating study of the American carpet industries- the prologue offers a clear and concise summary of the first American carpet industry, creating woven carpets largely in the Northeast. The rest of the book shows how this industry suddenly collapsed in the 1950s under the threat of the new technology of tufted carpets, and offers a detailed case study of the growth of the industry in Dalton Georgia, the tufted carpet capital of the world. Patton shows how the complicated dynamics of Northern vs. Southern industry, labor vs. capital, rapidly improving technology, and evolving post-war consumer demand shaped the industry and was shaped by it.
Tufting Legacies by Robert Tamasy
A commissioned history of the Card-Monroe Corporation and its forebears, leading manufacturers of equipment to make tufted carpet. A shitty self-aggrandizing effort that still does have some illuminating moments, along with a ton of, um, let's call it unfortunate revelations. The anti-union tone is striking, but my least favorite part was the chapter on how CMC is a Christian company that tries to pressure its workers to become Christians.
Soon to read:
The Root of Wild Madder: Chasing the History, Mystery, and Lore of the Persian Carpet by Brian Murphy
The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya Volume 2 by Reimena Yee
Broadlooms and Businessmen: A History of the Bigelow-Sanford Carpet Company by John Ewing and Nancy Norton
Also I have purchased a few cheap but lovely tufted carpets and there may be more actual rugs in my future, and possibly tufting classes. But the reading is a good start.
