An Important Turning Point in the History of Hooked Rugs: The Arrival of Miss Lillian Burke
Anselme Chiasson and Annie-Rose Deveau
Miss Lillian Burke, an important artist from New York, had an incomparable and dominating influence on Chéticamp’s rug industry. In 1927, Miss Lillian Burke came to Chéticamp in search of women interested in producing hooked rugs, which she would then sell to tourists outside the area. Upon her arrival in Chéticamp, she connected with Mrs. Marie-Jane Doucet, a restaurant owner, who was fairly conversant in the English language.
Miss Burke explained to her the intent of the endeavour she wished to start in Chéticamp and invited her to act as intermediary between herself and the ladies of the region. Mrs. Doucet gladly accepted. She and Ms. Burke visited several women who were making rugs. Everywhere they visited, they were received cordially and warmly. Miss Burke quickly recognized the talent of the Chéticamp women in rug making. She was also quite happy to see that they were receptive to her advice on how to improve their rugs and ready to subscribe to her project.
Miss Burke taught the ladies new techniques for dyeing wool and introduced them to a new form of dye, manufactured in Germany called Irvin Dyestuff. She insisted that only pale and soft colours be used and recommended the use of high quality wool. This changed the style of the rugs significantly and the new look was the turning point which would eventually ensure that this handcraft produced in Chéticamp would become world renowned.
Gradually, Miss Burke had larger rugs made and eventually some were produced that covered more than one hundred square feet. In the latter case, as many as ten women would gather in a home with enough room to accommodate a frame suitable for the dimensions of the rug, and there they would work on the rug for many weeks, even many months. In one case, a wall separating two rooms had to be knocked down in order to create the necessary space. In some cases rugs were set up and worked on in barns. Such was the case with the largest rug Mrs. Doucet produced under Miss Burke’s supervision. It measured 400 square feet and required a frame which was much too big to be installed in a house. This rug, which featured a floral design, required months of work by ten women.
In a rather short time, Miss Burke was successful in starting a genuine rug making business in Chéticamp. She started by selling the rugs to tourists in Baddeck, but she soon opened up other markets, particularly in New York. Miss Burke spent her winters in New York and opened a studio and gallery where she displayed the Chéticamp rugs. She spent all of her time finding buyers, and stamping designs on the large rugs that they ordered. In the spring, she would arrive with many new orders and different patterns. Miss Burke would send money with her orders so that the women could pay for the wool and dye. After she received the rugs, she sent the money which represented the salaries of the women who had worked on the rugs. Mrs. Marie (à Willie à Hélène) Aucoin, the successor to Mrs. Doucet, apportioned the money to the women according to the number of hours or days they had worked on the project.
Élizabeth LeFort.
Les Trois Pignons Cultural Centre.
Miss Burke was very demanding. In the summer when she came to Chéticamp she visited her employees along with Mrs. Aucoin. She would have the finished rugs rolled out on the floor and if a certain shade in the rug, which she herself had ordered, did not please her, she thought nothing of it to have that part of the rug unravelled and redone in another shade. These alterations meant a lot of work. The large rug had to be remounted on the farme. The wool which did not please Mademoiselle because of its shade, had to be removed, new wool had to be died in the desired shade and worked into the rug again. Of course, Miss Burke paid for the rug by square foot once the rug had been finished to her satisfaction. After such experiences, it was not without hesitation that the workers anticipated Miss Burke’s visits.
In the past, all the rugs had a practical use although a decorative purpose was not necessarily excluded. While it is true that some hooked rugs still have practical uses, due to the evolution in their workmanship and due to the demand for them across North America, Chéticamp rugs have become predominantly high quality, decorative and artistic works.
These excerpts originally appeared in The Story of the Hooked Rugs of Chéticamp and their artisans, a project of La Société Saint-Pierre. It was first published in 1988 by Lescarbot Publications and again in 2006 by Breton Books. Edited by Father Anselme Chiasson, researched by Annie-Rose Deveau, and translated by Marcel LeBlanc.
© 1988, 2006 La Société Saint-Pierre
© C@P Society of Cape Breton County, 2009
