The ascetic aftermath that follows Thanksgiving feasting inspired your scribe to riffle her Colonial American literature and read contemporary accounts of hardship and survival before the New World’s fortunes waxed with tobacco. James I of England blasted tobacco as “lothsome”, “hatefull”, and “harmefull” in his famous (or infamous if you’re a fan of “filthie” smokes) A Counterblaste to Tobacco (1604). But whilst the King condemned the sin, he loved the sinners whose colonial crops provided the Crown with plenty of filthie tobacco tax lucre.
Trigance 100% linen rug in Tobacco by Rose Tarlow Melrose House. Photograph courtesy Rose Tarlow Melrose House.
Love it or loathe it, the cultural and historical significance of tobacco is unabated, and smokey cured fugitive tobacco leaf colour remains resolute as a design inspiration. Venerable US design firm Rose Tarlow Melrose House has several desirable and sublime tobacco coloured rugs in subtle patterns and natural linen weaves.
Rose Tarlow Melrose House Ollie Stripe Irregular 100% linen rug in Tobacco/Oat. Photograph courtesy Rose Tarlow Melrose House.
Your scribe suspects that were the RTMH 100% linen cut and loop weave tobacco “Trigance” rug rolled up and pushed through a wormhole to 17th century colonial America, the fortunate tobacco farmer whose keeping room the rug fell into, might wonder what English merchant ship delivered it but otherwise would not question its suitablity for his home. So too if “Trigance” were arrayed in front of your scribe’s wee Dimplex fire, the look would be equally contemporary and would prove the tipping point for when a luxury does indeed becomes a necessity. DJ
