We Are the Rug Hooking Capital of the World”: Understanding Chéticamp Rugs (1927-2017)

“We are the Rug Hooking Capital of the World”: Understanding Chéticamp Rugs (1927-2017) by © Laura Marie Andrea Sanchini A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies In partial fulfilment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Folklore Memorial University December 3rd, 2018 St John’s Newfoundland Abstract This thesis is the story of how utilitarian material culture was transformed into a cottage industry, and eventually into high art. Chéticamp rug hooking is an artistic practice, one wrapped up in issues of taste, creativity, class and economics. Rug hooking in Chéticamp rose to prominence in the first half of the 20th century when Lillian Burke, a visiting American artist, set up a rug hooking cottage industry in the area. She altered the tradition to suit the tastes of wealthy patrons, who began buying the rugs to outfit their homes. This thesis examines design in rug hooking focusing on Chéticamp-style rugs. Captured within design aesthetics is what the rugs mean to both those who make and consume them. For tourists, the rugs are symbols of a perceived anti-modernism. Through the purchase of a hooked rug, they are able to bring home material reminders of their moment of experience with rural Nova Scotia. For rug hookers, rugs are a symbol of economic need, but also agency and the ability to overcome depressed rural economic conditions. Rug hooking was a way to have a reliable income in an area where much of the labour is dependent on unstable sources, such as natural resources (fishing, lumber, agriculture etc.). This also meant that rug hooking is closely tied to notions of poverty. The motif-index developed for this thesis by examining several hundred hooked rugs demonstrates that consistent structural elements such as motifs are dependent on context. When used in a comparative manner, it also helps illustrate how often those creating hooked rug designs, whether they were sold commercially as patterns or designs to be used as part of a cottage industry, were sharing and borrowing design ideas throughout North America. The motif-index is a typology and a tool that enables i discussion by standardizing language and terminology which allows for comparative examination of hooked rugs from across a variety of traditions. Keywords: material culture, craft, Cape Breton, hooked rug, motif, women, economics ii Acknowledgements There are many people whose help and generosity have made this thesis possible. First and foremost, I would like to thank my participants, both those who I have formally interviewed, as well as those who I have spoken with informally while in the field. I am particularly indebted to Bill and Linda Roach, who always welcomed me into their home, kept me caffeinated, and shared their knowledge of Chéticamp and local art freely. In addition, I am forever thankful to Yvette Muise for letting me interview her many times over the years, and for sharing her art and life stories with me. Thank you to sisters-in law Lola LeLièvre and Yvette LeLièvre for inviting me into your home to talk about your art and for the delicious cups of hot chaga tea. This project was supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) doctoral fellowship, as well as my employer, the Canadian Museum of History. Thank you to the archivists at both the Canadian Museum of History and at the Beaton Institute at Cape Breton University for their help in locating and accessing archival information, notably Nancy Bacon, Benoit Theriault, and Jane Arnold. I extend my gratitude to the Department of Folklore at Memorial University for the support throughout my time as a graduate student – especially my thesis supervisor Dr. Jillian Gould for her enthusiasm and encouragement, as well as to Dr. Maryia Lesiv, Dr. Diane Tye, and Dr. Holly Everett. A special thank you to my fellow folklore graduate students at MUN, who understand the challenging experience of being a doctoral student in ways most people simply cannot. My deepest gratitude to Ben Staple whose Jedi master-level feedback and advice was invaluable to my work. iii I am especially grateful to my colleagues in the Research Department at the Canadian Museum of History who have been my cheerleaders and supporters since I began working there, always willing to offer their listening ears, analytical minds, and advice when needed, especially Dr. Talena Atfield, Dr. Jamie Trepanier, Dr. Judith Klassen and Dr. Karen Ryan. I thank Bianca Gendreau and Dr. Dean Oliver for their kind and encouraging words at various difficult stages of the writing process. Thank you to the research assistants who have helped me with interview transcriptions, especially Jeffery Learning, Julie Aalders and Dr. Jennifer Boivin. Thank you to my parents Paola and Rick, and my brother David for supporting me throughout this project and for being gentle and patient with how long this thesis has taken. To my in-laws Ann and George, thank you for always welcoming me into your home during my fieldwork trips when storms and floods wreak havoc on country roads and for making sure I always felt like Cape Breton was home. Ian – words can’t express how grateful I am for you. You’ve kept me sane throughout this process. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a partner who can wear multiple hats so well; academic sounding board, editor, cheerleader. Your indefatigable support has been my greatest source of encouragement. To Lulu, Lily and Daisy, thank you for keeping me company during the lonely writing process, and for making sure I remember that sometimes it’s best to stop writing, have a cup or tea, and cuddle a cat, or three. iv Table of Contents Abstract i Acknowledgements iii List of Figures vii List of Appendices ix Chapter One: Introduction 1 1.1 Chapter Outlines 6 1.2 Research Methodology 9 1.2.1 Meet the Hookers 13 1.3 Theoretical Frameworks 15 1.4 Studies on Hooked Rugs 19 1.5 You Can’t Spell Craft Without Art 21 1.5.1 The Folk Art-Craft-Art Continuum 25 1.6 Stepping into Material Culture 28 1.7 Chéticamp, Rug-Hooking Capital of the World 35 1.8 Cape Breton Folkloristics 40 1.8.1 Tartanization and Cultural Revival 41 1.8.2 Cultural Politics and Identity 43 1.8.3 Labour and Economics 47 1.9 Conclusion 49 Chapter Two: Early Rug-Making Traditions in Chéticamp 51 2.1 Yarn 51 2.2 Searching for Rugs 52 2.3 Rug Hooking 101 54 2.4 Origin (Theories) of the Hooked Rug 56 2.5 Early Designs and Patterns 66 2.6 Early (Pre-1920s) Rugs in Chéticamp 69 2.6.1 A Possible Maritime Origin 74 2.7 Structure Matters – How Rugs Communicate 78 2.7.1 The Hooked Rug Motif-Index 79 2.7.2 Symmetry in Early Rug Design 84 2.7.3 Examples of Symmetry Patterns in Hooked Rugs 86 2.8 Early Commercial Designs and Consumption 94 2.8.1 Hooked Handicrafts and the Rug Hunters 110 2.9 Conclusion 112 v Chapter Three: Rags to Yarn, The Rise of The Cottage Industry 117 3.1 Design 117 3.2 The Rise of Rug Hooking Cottage Industries 117 3.3 Lillian Burke and Chéticamp 119 3.4 Lillian Burke’s Designs 127 3.5 Burke’s Aesthetic, Defined 146 3.6 The Cottage Industries in Labrador and Charlevoix 152 3.7 Conclusion 164 Chapter Four: Contemporary Rug Hooking in Chéticamp 166 4.1 Rug 166 4.2 Chéticamp Since Lillian Burke 166 4.3 Contemporary Chéticamp Rug Styles 180 4.4 Social Hierarchies 184 4.5 Vocational Rug Hookers 185 4.6 Fibre Artists 190 4.7 Hobbyists 199 4.8 An Economic Tradition 209 4.9 Conclusion 214 Chapter Five: Conclusion 216 5.1 On the Wall 216 5.2 What is a Chéticamp Rug? 217 5.3 Chéticamp Rugs and Art 219 5.4 Chéticamp Rugs and Economics 220 5.5 Chéticamp Rugs and Aesthetics 221 5.6 New Directions 224 Bibliography 225 Appendix 1 Motif-Index for Hooked Rugs 239 Appendix 2 Symmetry Pattern Types 247 vi List of Figures Figures Page Figure 1.1 Welcome to Chéticamp sign 1 Figure 1.1.2 Folk Art-Craft-Art Matrix 26 Figure 1.1.3 Folk Art-Craft-Art Matrix Populated 28 Figure 2.1 How to hook a rug 55 Figure 2.2 Burlap weave 56 Figure 2.3 Hook used for rug hooking 56 Figure 2.4 Defaisure rug 72 Figure 2.4.1 Braided Rug 73 Figure 2.4.2 Breillon rug 73 Figure 2.5 Basic structure of a wallpaper type hooked rug 81 Figure 2.5.1 Basic structure of a pictorial type hooked rug 81 Figure 2.5.2 Basic structure of a carpet type hooked rug 82 Figure 2.6 The four motions of a repeating pattern 85 Figure 2.6.1 Pgg symmetry pattern 88 Figure 2.6.2 Basket weave hooked rug, c. 1900 88 Figure 2.6.3 Chéticamp basket weave rug 89 Figure 2.7 P1 symmetry pattern 90 Figure 2.7.1 Shell pattern hooked rug, c.1900 90 Figure 2.7.2 Diamond pattern hooked rug 91 Figure 2.8 Basic log cabin design 93 Figure 2.8.1 P4 symmetry pattern 93 Figure 2.8.2 Log Cabin design hooked rug 94 Figure 2.9 Edward Frost pattern #176 99 Figure 2.9.1 Hooked Rug, Mrs. McKee, c. 1860-1880 99 Figure 2.9.2 Edward Frost pattern #49 100 Figure 2.9.3 Hooked Rug, Joseph Longpré, c.

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