How To Identify Persian Rugs And Other Oriental Rugs By C.J. Delabere May
How To Identify Persian Rugs And Other Oriental Rugs (Collectible Vintage Hardcover Edition)
A Classic Mid-Century Manual on the Classification, Authentication, and Valuation of Eastern Carpets
A Classic Mid-Century Manual on the Classification, Authentication, and Valuation of Eastern Carpets
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: How To Identify Persian Rugs And Other Oriental Rugs
- Author: C. J. Delabere May
- Publisher: G. Bell & Sons Ltd., London
- Publication Date: 1957
- ISBN-10: None (Pre-ISBN Era)
- Edition Details: Late vintage printing of the original 1920 classic. Highly sought-after collectible edition presenting the unrevised text and foundational archival artwork under the prestigious G. Bell imprint.
- Binding: Original publisher's premium full-cloth boards, structurally sound with crisp, distinct typography along the spine face.
- Physical Format: Octavo (8vo), 168 pages. Comprehensively illustrated with full-page monochrome photographic plates, localized weaving maps, and essential text-line sketches detailing border motifs and fringe patterns.
- Language: English
Official Condition Report
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The Book: Very Good (VG)
- Exterior Boards: The original full-cloth hardboards are exceptionally straight, solid, and flat. The spine remains completely unbroken, firm, and uncreased, with corners holding square lines. Only microscopic shelf-friction is observable along the spine extremities from decades of precise shelving. The entire volume is wrapped in a high-grade cellophane protective sleeve.
- Interior: The structural text block is robust, bright, and tightly bound. Internal leaves and text-line sketches are exceptionally clean, crisp, and free from user ink highlighting, pencil notations, or folding creases. Free from modern library stamps or heavy foxing.
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The Dust Jacket: Very Good (VG)
- Condition & Integrity: The original mid-century illustrated dust jacket is present. It exhibits limited signs of age-appropriate edge wear, light surface friction, and minor micro-chipping at the crown, but remains completely intact and unclipped without deep tears or paper loss. The vintage jacket is fully stabilized and preserved under the protective cellophane cover wrap.
Synopsis & Historical Value
First conceived in the early 20th century and beautifully preserved in this 1957 G. Bell & Sons printing, C. J. Delabere May’s How To Identify Persian Rugs And Other Oriental Rugs is widely regarded as a fundamental milestone in textile literature. Written with the technical clarity of a master appraiser, this classic handbook provides step-by-step instructions on the key physical attributes needed to identify any typical specimen of the better-known classes of Oriental rugs.
The work delivers detailed guidance on systematic classification, teaching collectors how to analyze knot variations, pile materials, warp lines, and fringe finishes to deduce an antique's true geographic origin, age, and market value. While modern books offer glossier prints, May’s structural parsing of geometric motifs, border styles, and field patterns remains highly practical, accurate, and indispensable for field identification today. This well-maintained volume offers collectors a scarce opportunity to own a mid-century reference piece before the original text blocks became prohibitively expensive.
Author Profile: C. J. Delabere May
C. J. Delabere May was an elite British textile scholar, appraiser, and pioneering antiquarian who specialized in Near Eastern and Asian decorative arts during the early-to-mid 20th century. Frustrated by the lack of clear, structured material for novice collectors, May devised a highly mathematical, formulaic system for identifying hand-knotted rugs based on empirical observation of border anatomy and structural weaves. His logical, clear prose style stripped the elitism from textile collecting, making his guidebooks essential reference tools for international auctioneers, estate dealers, and gallery curators for generations.
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