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                                    THE
                              PRACTICAL BOOK
                             OF ORIENTAL RUGS

                              FOURTH EDITION




                                    THE
                             PRACTICAL BOOKS
                         OF HOME LIFE ENRICHMENT

                       _EACH PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED,
                             HANDSOMELY BOUND.
                      Octavo. Cloth. In a slip case._

                           THE PRACTICAL BOOK
                           OF EARLY AMERICAN
                             ARTS AND CRAFTS
                      BY HAROLD DONALDSON EBERLEIN
                            AND ABBOT MCCLURE

                           THE PRACTICAL BOOK
                             OF ARCHITECTURE
                           BY C. MATLACK PRICE

                           THE PRACTICAL BOOK
                            OF ORIENTAL RUGS
                        BY DR. G. GRIFFIN LEWIS
                   NEW EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED

                          THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF
                           GARDEN ARCHITECTURE
                       BY PHEBE WESTCOTT HUMPHREYS

                           THE PRACTICAL BOOK
                           OF PERIOD FURNITURE
                      BY HAROLD DONALDSON EBERLEIN
                            AND ABBOT MCCLURE

                          THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF
                           OUTDOOR ROSE GROWING
                         BY GEORGE C. THOMAS, JR.
                           NEW REVISED EDITION

                          THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF
                           INTERIOR DECORATION




  [Illustration: TEKKE BOKHARA RUG
                 Size 5'6" × 6'4"
                 PROPERTY OF MR. F. A. TURNER, BOSTON, MASS.

  This piece is unusual in many ways. The background of old
  ivory both in the borders and in the field; the old rose color of the
  octagons; the difference in the number of border stripes and in the
  designs of same on the sides and ends are all non-Turkoman features.
  It is the only so called "white Bokhara" of which we have
  any knowledge.]




                                    THE
                              PRACTICAL BOOK
                             OF ORIENTAL RUGS

                                    BY
                           DR. G. GRIFFIN LEWIS

            WITH 20 ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR, 93 IN DOUBLETONE
                    70 DESIGNS IN LINE, CHART AND MAP

                   _NEW EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED_

                           [Illustration: logo]

                           PHILADELPHIA & LONDON
                         J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY




             COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
             COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY

                 PRINTED BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
                    AT THE WASHINGTON SQUARE PRESS
                          PHILADELPHIA, U.S.A.




PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION


It is most gratifying to both author and publishers that the first
edition of "The Practical Book of Oriental Rugs" has been so quickly
exhausted. Its rather remarkable sale, in spite of the fact that within
the past decade, no less than seven books on the subject have been
printed in English, proves that it is the practical part of the book
that appeals to the majority.

The second edition has been prepared with the same practical idea
paramount and quite a few new features have been introduced.

The color plates have been increased from ten to twenty; a chapter on
Chinese rugs has been inserted; descriptions of three more rugs have
been added and numerous changes and additions have been made to the text
in general.




PREFACE


Oriental rugs have become as much a necessity in our beautiful,
artistic homes as are the paintings on the walls and the various other
works of art. Their admirers are rapidly increasing, and with this
increased interest there is naturally an increased demand for more
reliable information regarding them.

The aim of the present writer has been practical--no such systematized
and tabulated information regarding each variety of rug in the market
has previously been attempted. The particulars on identification by
prominent characteristics and detail of weaving, the detailed chapter
on design, illustrated throughout with text cuts, thus enabling the
reader to identify the different varieties by their patterns; and the
price per square foot at which each variety is held by retail dealers,
are features new in rug literature. Instructions are also given for
the selection, purchase, care and cleaning of rugs, as well as for the
detection of fake antiques, aniline dyes, etc.

In furtherance of this practical idea the illustrations are not of
museum pieces and priceless specimens in the possession of wealthy
collectors, but of fine and attractive examples which with knowledge
and care can be bought in the open market to-day. These illustrations
will therefore be found of the greatest practical value to modern
purchasers. In the chapter on famous rugs some few specimens
illustrative of notable pieces have been added.

In brief, the author has hoped to provide within reasonable limits and
at a reasonable price a volume from which purchasers of Oriental rugs
can learn in a short time all that is necessary for their guidance,
and from which dealers and connoisseurs can with the greatest ease of
reference refresh their knowledge and determine points which may be in
question.

For many valuable hints the author wishes to acknowledge indebtedness
to the publications referred to in the bibliography; to Miss Lillian
Cole, of Sivas, Turkey; to Major P. M. Sykes, the English Consulate
General at Meshed, Persia; to B. A. Gupte, F. Z. S., Assistant Director
of Ethnography at the Indian Museum, Calcutta, India; to Prof. du
Bois-Reymond, of Shanghai, China; to Dr. John G. Wishard, of the
American Hospital at Teheran, Persia; to Miss Alice C. Bewer, of
the American Hospital at Aintab, Turkey; to Miss Annie T. Allen, of
Brousa, Turkey; to Mr. Charles C. Tracy, president of Anatolia College,
Morsovan, Turkey; to Mr. John Tyler, of Teheran, Persia; to Mr. E. L.
Harris, United States Consulate General of Smyrna, Turkey; to Dr. J.
Arthur Frank, Hamadan, Persia; and to Miss Kate G. Ainslie, of Morash,
Turkey.

For the use of some of the plates and photographs acknowledgment is
made to Mr. A. U. Dilley, of Boston, Mass.; to H. B. Claflin & Co., of
New York City; to Mr. Charles Quill Jones, of New York City; to Miss
Lillian Cole, of Sivas, Turkey; to Maj. P. M. Sykes, of Meshed, Persia;
to Maj. L. B. Lawton, of Seneca Falls, N. Y.; to the late William E.
Curtis, of Washington, D. C.; to _The Scientific American_ and to
_Good Housekeeping_ magazines; while thanks are due Mr. A. U. Dilley,
of Boston, Mass.; to Liberty & Co., of London; to the Simplicity Co.,
of Grand Rapids, Mich.; to the Tiffany Studios and to Nahigian Bros.,
of Chicago, Ill., for some of the  plates, and to Clifford &
Lawton, of New York City, for the map of the Orient.




TABLE OF CONTENTS


                                   PART I

                                                                    PAGE

         INTRODUCTION                                                 17

         Age of the weaving art; Biblical reference to the weaving
         art; a fascinating study; the artistic worth and other
         advantages of the Oriental products over the domestic;
         annual importation.

      I. COST AND TARIFF                                              25

         Upon what depends the value; the various profits made;
         transportation charges; export duties; import duties;
         cost compared with that of domestic products; some
         fabulous prices.

     II. DEALERS AND AUCTIONS                                         31

         Oriental shrewdness; when rugs are bought by the bale;
         the auction a means of disposing of poor fabrics; fake
         bidders.

    III. ANTIQUES                                                     35

         The antique craze; why age enhances value; what constitutes
         an antique; how to determine age; antiques in
         the Orient; antiques in America; celebrated antiques;
         American collectors; artificial aging.

     IV. ADVICE TO BUYERS                                             43

         Reliable dealers; difference between Oriental and domestic
         products; how to examine rugs; making selections;
         selection of rugs for certain rooms.

      V. THE HYGIENE OF THE RUG                                       55

         The hygienic condition of Oriental factories and homes;
         condition of rugs when leaving the Orient; condition of
         rugs when arriving in America; United States laws regarding
         the disinfection of hides; the duties of retailers.

     VI. THE CARE OF RUGS                                             63

         Erroneous ideas regarding the wearing qualities of
         Oriental rugs; treatment of rugs in the Orient compared
        