For the use of some of the plates and photographs acknowledgment is made to Mr. A. U. Dilley, of Boston, Mass.; to H. B. Claflin & Co., of New York City; to Mr. Charles Quill Jones, of New York City; to Miss Lillian Cole, of Sivas, Turkey; to Maj. P. M. Sykes, of Meshed, Persia; to Maj. L. B. Lawton, of Seneca Falls, N. Y.; to the late William E. Curtis, of Washington, D. C.; to _The Scientific American_ and to _Good Housekeeping_ magazines; while thanks are due Mr. A. U. Dilley, of Boston, Mass.; to Liberty & Co., of London; to the Simplicity Co., of Grand Rapids, Mich.; to the Tiffany Studios and to Nahigian Bros., of Chicago, Ill., for some of the colored plates, and to Clifford & Lawton, of New York City, for the map of the Orient.
Age of the weaving art; Biblical reference to the weaving art; a fascinating study; the artistic worth and other advantages of the Oriental products over the domestic; annual importation.
Upon what depends the value; the various profits made; transportation charges; export duties; import duties; cost compared with that of domestic products; some fabulous prices.
Oriental shrewdness; when rugs are bought by the bale; the auction a means of disposing of poor fabrics; fake bidders.
The antique craze; why age enhances value; what constitutes an antique; how to determine age; antiques in the Orient; antiques in America; celebrated antiques; American collectors; artificial aging.
Reliable dealers; difference between Oriental and domestic products; how to examine rugs; making selections; selection of rugs for certain rooms.
The hygienic condition of Oriental factories and homes; condition of rugs when leaving the Orient; condition of rugs when arriving in America; United States laws regarding the disinfection of hides; the duties of retailers.
Erroneous ideas regarding the wearing qualities of Oriental rugs; treatment of rugs in the Orient compared with that in America; how and when cleaned; how and when washed; moths; how straightened; removal of stains, etc.
Wool, goats' hair, camels' hair, cotton, silk, hemp; preparation of the wool; spinning of the wool.
Secrets of the Eastern dye pots; vegetable dyes; aniline dyes; Persian law against the use of aniline; the process of dyeing; favorite colors of different rug-weaving nations; how to distinguish between vegetable and aniline dyes; symbolism of colors; the individual dyes and how made.