Carpet Sample

PeriodCirca 1955 - 1960

MediumWool, jute, cotton

Dimensions36 × 27.75 in. (91.4 × 70.5 cm)

ClassificationsA. & M. Karagheusian Rug Mill Collection

Credit LineGift of Mr. Ben Augun, 2002

Object number2002.2.2

DescriptionA carpet sample featuring the distinctive Playboy Bunny logo repeat in hot pink and pale pink speckled ground, bound with cotton twill tape on the short ends.
Curatorial RemarksThis carpet sample, woven circa 1955 - 1960, was produced in the Research and Design Department of the A. & M. Karagheusian Rug Mill. The Design Department was located in the old Brakeley Cannery Factory plant on the corner of Manalapan and Bowne Avenues in Freehold. The department had one of each type of loom (narrow jacquard, broad jacquard, and axminster) in order to set up and experiment with new patterns without disturbing the normal run at the main mill. Liittle is known regarding specific patterns and their development or introduction, as virtually all company records were deliberately destroyed prior to the move south.NotesDonor Ben Augun's wife was the niece of Andrew "Andy" Dale. Born in Philadelphia in 1912, Andy Dale's father John L. Dale emigrated from Scotland and was a weaver for many years in the Karaghuesian Rug Mill. Andy Dale worked as a designer for the Mill, at one time heading up the Axminster design department. There were many instances of sons and daughters of Rug Mill employees finding good jobs in the factory in which their parents worked. The Research and Design Department was the last department of the company to remain in Freehold, closing in 1962. Dale then worked as a traffic investigator for Monmouth County. Andrew Dale died in 1994 at the age of 82 and was interred in Maplewood Cemetery in Freehold.

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