74/131/3

Brown's Wool Mat Mc (Manufacturer)

This is a Brown’s spring-action rug-maker, a type of hook used in making rag rugs out of pieces of wool. It consists of a long, sharp metal spike and a spring grip set in a wooden handle. It was used to push the pieces of wool through the backing of the rug and knot them together. This hook is stamped ‘Browns Patent Rd. 673864 Made in England’ on the spring. It is part of the Hemeon Collection of rug-making tools and thrift rugs, and is associated with the samples 74/131/46–51.

1 hook: wood, metal

MERL Catalogue Form (temporary) – ‘Object name: HOOK // … // Notes: The BROWN’S SPRING-ACTION Rug-Maker consists of a long sharp metal spike and a spring grip set in a wooden handle. The inscription BROWNS PATENT Rd. 673864, Made in England is stamped on the metal spring. // The method of use is as follows: // “Take 2 pieces of wool and double them, catching the four ends between the thumb and fingers of the left hand. Take the rug hook, push it through the loop made (without opening the hook) and push the hook under two weft threads of canvas in the bottom right hand corner next to the border row. Now press the thumb on the spring and open the hook, put extreme ends of looped wool in the mouth of the hook, close the hook and draw the ends through together. Release the spring and repeat.”’, MERL Miscellaneous Note, Greta Bertram, 10 December 2013 – The Hemeon Collection of rug-making tools and thrift rugs (74/131/1–74) was put together by Maidie F. Hemeon. Mrs Hemeon was interested in the tradition of ‘thrift’ rugs – rugs made using old fabrics and home-made or home-adapted tools. This type of rug has many names, including ‘rag’, ‘proddie’, ‘peggie’, ‘hooky’, ‘proggy’, ‘clippy’ and ‘bodgy’ rug. These rugs became widespread during the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century, but by the 1920s the craft was dying out except in areas of poverty or where tradition had a stronger hold. The necessity for thrift during World War II brought a brief revival, but it did not last long. Mrs Hemeon published a letter in the June 1970 edition of the Women’s Institute ‘Home & Country’ magazine in which she expressed her ambition to trace and preserve all the tools used in the craft before it was industrialised. She hoped to build up a display of samples, materials, tools and coloured photos of finished work in use, for demonstration, exhibition and educational purposes, and to simulate interest in making rag rugs as a living craft rather than as the remains of a dead one. She received many donations in response to the article, and in due course the collection came to MERL. It is likely that some of the samples in the collection were made by Mrs Hemeon. Further information can be found in the MERL Archives, D79/31.

Wood, Metal