Podcasts
Sharon MacDonald University of New Brunswick, Fredricton, New Brunswick, Canada.
This podcast is intended for educational use only.
Outside of the famous Cheticamp story, historians and economists have overlooked the economic impact of the hooked mat trade for Nova Scotians during the first half of the twentieth century. Primarily women's work done within the domestic sphere, hooked mats were most often traded or sold through informal channels (in many cases, traveling peddlers exchanged goods for mats); therefore, little accounting exists to calculate what significance this work played in the larger economy. However, period newspapers, oral and organizational accounts provide hints as to the importance of hooked mats in local economies. The trades and their American buyers and sellers stood to gain the most profit from the labours of rural Nova Scotians. Nevertheless, there would have been economic spin-offs for local hotels, eating establishments and gas stations because of the influx of tourists and collectors during the height of the hooked mat collecting "mania". The provincial government made attempts to realize the economic potential of this informal industry; however, initiatives met with limited success due to several factors. In contrast to Cheticamp where an outside designer created a technique and design repertoire that is now completely "naturalized" as the Cheticamp style, the mat hooking industry in the rest of the province remained more informal, flexible, and regionally and individually distinctive. This paper will explore a remarkable period of craft industry and its importance to the rural economy at a time when earning options for women were limited.
---
L'auteure présente l'histoire du tapis crocheté à Chéticamp au début du 20e siècle, et souligne l'importance de cet art dans l'économie rurale en Nouvelle-écosse.