Original 1905 W. & J. Sloane “Art and Utility” Imperial Smyrna Rug Catalog For Sale

Original 1905 W. & J. Sloane “Art and Utility” Imperial Smyrna Rug Catalog

Offered here is an original 1905 illustrated advertising catalog titled “Art and Utility,” published by W. & J. Sloane of New York, one of America’s important historic furniture, carpet and interior furnishings firms.

The booklet was produced to advertise the celebrated “Imperial” Smyrna Rug, manufactured by McCleary, Wallin & Crouse, Mohawk Mills, Amsterdam, New York, with W. & J. Sloane serving as sole selling agents.

Copyright page is clearly dated 1905.

A particularly attractive feature of this catalog is its series of full-color rug illustrations, showing actual period patterns and color combinations. Examples include the Bokhara Design – Pattern 2140 and Moorish Design – Pattern 9143, with available rug sizes printed beneath the illustrations.

The booklet also includes:

• Decorative embossed/printed “Art and Utility” cover
• Imperial Smyrna trademark illustration
• W. & J. Sloane New York information
• Mohawk Mills / McCleary, Wallin & Crouse information
• Period rug descriptions and advertising text
• Detailed color plates showing Imperial Smyrna patterns
• Illustration of the W. & J. Sloane headquarters and salesrooms
• Illustration of the Mohawk Mills factory in Amsterdam, New York

This is an especially interesting survivor for collectors of early American advertising, antique rugs and carpets, textile history, interior design, W. & J. Sloane, Mohawk Mills, New York history, and early 20th-century decorative arts.

Provenance: This catalog came from the historic material preserved with the Elks Opera House / Tabor Opera House collection in Leadville, Colorado. Unlike some of the other Opera House material being offered separately, there is no correspondence with this particular catalog, so it is being offered individually at a more accessible price.

Please see photographs for condition and contents. Additional photographs are available upon request.

Original antique item — not a reproduction.

This is where I would deliberately separate it from the more expensive Casey/Elks Opera House groups.

There are other copies of the exact catalog on , so the catalog itself isn’t unique. The thing I don’t want to do is inflate its value simply because yours came out of the Opera House material. Without correspondence or an inscription actually tying this copy to Casey or the Opera House, that provenance is interesting but shouldn’t multiply the price.