Grenfell Chair Mat

Labrador lies more than 600 miles north and 1000 miles east of New York City and its area is the size of New England and New York State combined.  When Dr. Wilfred Grenfell arrived there with a British hospital ship in 1892 he found the living conditions extremely bleak and spartan.  For 8 months of the year the natives subsisted mainly on fishing and fur trapping.  The rest of the year they were virtually landlocked by ice.  Grenfell decided to stay and devote his life to missionary work, establishing hospitals and encouraging productive activity during the months of idleness that the natives were forced to endure. While rug hooking was already a craft indigenous to the area before his arrival, with the help of his wife he turned a cottage industry into one that would provide some income to the natives and he actively set forth to market the output of their labors to provide a source of income during those long winter months.

The rugs made by the colony had definite characteristics that reflected their circumstances and environment. The subjects were all distinctively Northern in nature. The rugs were hooked from very thin scrap material . . . wool and cotton-knit jerseys such as stockings, underwear, etc. . . even bits of leftover burlap were raveled and used in hooking.  The strips were tightly pulled together through every opening in the burlap foundation . . . sometimes as many as 200 loops to the inch were used. This created the tightly woven durable rug with a smooth surface that looked and felt almost like needlepoint. In the 1920's, silk stockings were discovered to be an ideal material for making the rugs.  Legend has it that the slogan "When your stocking runs, let it run to Labrador" was often uttered and heeded.

Grenfell mats, rugs and bags have a special place in the hearts of many collectors and they are not all that plentiful. From a cottage industry to a highly desirable collectible item, these textile treasures have a unique story of their own within the genre of hooked and sewn rugs.  This very desirable chair mat features three gulls, two swooping and one swimming in a lavender-blue ocean.  It has been mounted on medium gray felt that covers a plywood board and is ready to hang.  It is in exceptionally fine condition and measures 24" x 24" overall with the mat being 19" x 17-1/2".  The colors of the lavender and grays really "work".  At least they do for me! 
$1450.00
R07J10578

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