A Catalog For $25?
You know you’re in trouble when a catalog costs $25! What catalog might cost this much, you ask?
The Claremont Rug Company’s catalog, which sells 19th Century Oriental carpets. For how much, you ask? Wait for it … starting at $20,000 and ending up in the six figures. Not a popular catalog, I’m sure, during this doleful economy. Perhaps Donald Trump, Madonna, and Alex Rodriguez chat about these catalog offerings over a light breakfast in Trump’s helicopter as they peruse the New York City skyline?
The company has been around since 1980, so apparently people are purchasing these antique rugs. The 32-page catalog, produced semiannually, highlights three collections recently acquired. Included in this collection is “an absolutely drop-dead” 150-year-old Persian Kermanshah, according to a release, referred to as “the crown jewel of a long-established collection from Charlottesville, VA.”
Photos and descriptions of rare carpets from Claremont’s inventory are included. The Fall 2008 catalog contains photographs of 34 rugs. Jan David Winitz, internationally recognized rug connoisseur and president of Claremont Rug Company, said in the release that oriental rugs “at the highest levels are a phenomenal artistic medium. Our clients include many serious art collectors who tell me their antique carpets are their most beloved art form.” Winitz is known for building family collections for clients with several estate-level homes, including 30 members on the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans.
Clients, Winitz added, are “stockpiling” rare rugs. In a recent lecture, Winitz said: “They are an excellent depository of wealth. Historically, they always have been used as a buffer against the erosion of wealth in uncertain economic times.”
These are certainly uncertain economic times for most of us, but something tells me, not so uncertain for the buyers of these Oriental rugs. If you’re interested in purchasing one of these rugs, call the Claremont Rug Company at 1-800-441-1332 or register at the Gallery’s website ( www.claremontrug.com).
Given the bleak economic era, I’m guessing a holiday gift of the Claremont catalog ought to do it.
