J. B. MOORE & HIS CATALOG DID HE REALLY INVENT THE CRYSTAL DESIGN RUG?
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J.B. MOORE BEHIND COUNTER AT CRYSTAL
hough the distinctive Navajo textile tradition is hardly more than two centuries old, it has gone far beyond the Pueblo and Spanish techniques and designs that gave it birth. By the close of the blanket era, the bold colors and often eye-wrenchingly, asymmetrical designs indicate a strong personal statement in taste and aesthetic vision. By the turn of the last century, as body blankets were dying out, replaced by cheaper, machine-made products, the Navajos needed a cash commodity to sell besides the wool in the spring and the lambs in the fall. At that moment silverwork was not yet widespread. The jump from blanket to rug was hardly a great one, as many Navajo weavings had already found their way onto floors, especially in the Southwest.
A heavier, more durable product was needed; but without changing the looms and tools. It is common knowledge that most early rugs were bought by the pound, so there was no great incentive to clean the wool too well, nor spin too fine, nor take great care in the weaving. Consumers soon demanded a better product and dealers obliged. They were, after all, businessmen. John Bradford Moore (1855-1926) was only one of the many traders involved in the crucial transition period of Navajo weaving, but a combination of factors got him a substantial amount of credit for
Navajo weaving give him considerable space and high regard. Turn of the century, Navajo weavers were already using commercial yarns, notably the famous
Curiously, Moore identified the weavers as the designers. Germantowns. But the large majority of weaving was done with native wool, scarcely cleaned of burs and slick with lanolin. This handicap had been inflicted on the Navajos after they returned to their homeland following the four years at Bosque Redondo in 1868. The new sheep produced inferior,
the movement. Though he and other traders, notably C. N. Cotton, had done catalogues before, his 1911 gem, titled simply The Navajo, was a seismic move. Photographs by Simeon Schwemberger illustrated information on the exotic Navajo people. What made this catalog special were the fifteen full-color plates illustrating his products. He left New Mexico shortly after the catalog appeared and other traders stamped their names and addresses on them and mailed them out. John B. Moore established his Chuska Mountain post in 1896, the first permanent business in MOORE POSING FOR HIS CATALOG the area. Located near Narbona (Washington) Pass, a trail used short staple wool which was hard to clean and card. since ancient times, the area was mostly Moore tried to deal with this major problem by occupied seasonally. The country around sending a percentage of the clip back East to be Crystal is breathtakingly beautiful, but commercially cleaned. the winters are harsh with deep snows Brighter colors were also being introduced, and and sub-zero temperatures in the winter. Moore decided to dye his yarn before he issued it Reservation traders had to provision to some of his better weavers. For some reason he well, then hunker down to endure the chose to process the wool in his own sink. It turned long winter in lonely isolation. out that early commercial dyes had some sickening That doesn’t give much insight into his properties. thinking when he decided to standardize Having the wool processed before it reached some designs and appeal to the fledgling the weaver allowed for standardizing colors, SHIRLEY NEWCOMB KELSEY ENJOYS trade. All the same, virtually all works on strengthening the yarn, and cutting out a difficult and CRYSTAL IN WINTER
