FAQ’s Regarding the New Brunswick Mat Registry
The Team will interview you to obtain details about your mat and its maker. Sharing the story of the mat maker-their life and times, paints a picture of our history and the motivations and influences behind the creation of the mat.
The mat will be examined to determine the backing, materials and techniques that were used and the pattern. This helps date the mat and understand how it was made i.e.,
- Is it a printed pattern or hand drawn?
- Is the backing a grain or potato sack or purchased backing?
- Is the material reused from the home or purchased for the project?
- Were the materials dyed for the project?
- What are the hooking and finishing techniques? Do these vary in regions?
It will be photographed, and a label sewn onto the back of the mat with your official registry number. The photos are taken at museum standards with proper lighting. The registry number on the label will link this mat to the Registry database and can be used to search for the mat on the Virtual Exhibit.
Yes – The mat will be returned to you before you leave your appointment.
The Registry does not give written assessments/appraisals. During the registry process the team may give you some feedback on what they find. We are exploring options for providing additional information to mat owners who register their mats.
The registry time varies depending on the number of mats you bring. Your appointment for your interview is usually 30 to 45 minutes long. The examination, photography and sewing the registry label on the mat(s) may take another 40 minutes or more.
You can register 4 mats at one registry. If you have more mats let us know and we can call you for another registry. This allows us to see more people at each registry.
You can view the videos created by the NBMR in the Resources section of our Website, by clicking Video Listing or Education/Learning. They’re also included in the Virtual Exhibit.
It’s important that our Team of textile specialists can examine your mat. It is only during a “hands on” examination that they can determine an approximate age; the type of backing, materials and techniques used and we can sew on the registry number.
All the information is collected with your permission – signed when you register your mat(s). The information collected will be entered into the Registry database maintained by the New Brunswick Museum. The full files will only be available to families and researchers such as historians and genealogists with permission of the museum. Only selected information on the mats and the mat makers will be posted on the Virtual Exhibit on-line.
Yes – any photos and/or memorabilia will be scanned and returned to you when your mat(s) is returned.
The type of backing helps to narrow down the time period when the mat may have been hooked. For example – burlap was first used as grain and potato bags about 1850 and quickly became popular as backing for hooked mats.
In the early 1900’s John Garrett from New Glasgow, NS began selling his “Bluenose Patterns” via mail-order – as well as through T. Eaton, Robert Simpsons, Hudson Bay and Woolworths. Thousands of his patterns were sold throughout North America. These and other manufactured patterns can be identified during the examination of the mat.
Dates and locations of up-coming Mat Registries are posted on the New Brunswick Mat Registry Facebook page.
It is difficult for our volunteer organization to provide the resources to travel to individuals – contact us to discuss options.
If you would like to have your hooked mats registered it would be your responsibility to bring the mats with you or someone you designate to one of our scheduled Registries.
We plan the location of our registries based on 1) number of mats available for registration in an area and 2) if we have volunteers available. We also try to move our registries to different areas of the province.
Hooked mats are an important part of New Brunswick’s heritage. We encourage you to reach out to your provincial museum, the New Brunswick Museum, to see whether your hooked mat might be a valuable addition to the collection. Other museums within the province may also be collecting hooked mats.
Every object is unique and has characteristics that make it special. The cleaning of a hooked mat may require specific considerations. For advice, you can call the Conservation Department at the New Brunswick Museum.
Depending on the overall condition of your mat, repairs may be possible. The Conservation Department at the New Brunswick Museum can direct you to people trained and experienced in this type of work. (The Conservation Department cannot undertake assessment or treatment of objects that are held in private collections.)
Yes. Rug hooking is where mats are made by pulling loops of yarn or fabric through a woven backing such as burlap, linen, or rug warp. The loops are pulled through by using a crochet-type hook mounted in a handle (usually wood) for leverage. In contrast latch-hooking uses a hinged hook to form a knotted pile from short, pre-cut pieces of yarn.
In New Brunswick the following Museums have hooked mats in their collections:
Contact your local Museum to see if they have hooked mats in their collection.
The Hooked Rug Museum of North America, located in Hubbards, Nova Scotia exhibits maritime mats including one room with New Brunswick mats.
Send us your updated information using the “Send message” option on our New Brunswick Mat Registry Facebook page or “contact us” on our website:
The Registry can be reached in two ways – using the “Send message” option on our Facebook page or “contact us” on our website:
