VERY OLD Waldoboro Type HOOKED RUG Needs TLC

It was not until 1877 that an example of what was to become known as the "Waldoboro rug" was first mentioned in a newspaper account of that year's Bristol Farmers' Festival. What distinguished these rugs then from other hand-crafted floor coverings were the sculpted surfaces and the fine-linen backing. Today, what makes these rugs so important is their quality, rarity, and their ability to have withstood the tests of time and shoe leather. Though more pragmatic owners often left them inverted, and then quickly turned them up when guests arrived, most of the rugs have been used daily.

Not intended for commercial sale, the coverings, nevertheless, were laboriously constructed. Many of the women grew flax, home spun it, and wove their own linen backings. They also sheared sheep, and then dyed the wool with vegetable dyes obtained from their gardens or from colors distilled from barks and berries. The design was penciled on the stretched linen, and long woolen strips were painstakingly picked through the backing with a handmade metal hook. At best, an individual might be able to hook two rugs a year.