Notes on A. Cecil Edwards

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Edwards is considered by many people the single greatest western expert on The Persian Carpet. If he isn't then he is among the very best. Edwards was the buyer for OCM the major British importer and he traveled extensively in Persia buying carpets for 14 years. Edwards, A. Cecil. The Persian Carpet. London 1953. The standard text on the subject. Edwards, A. Cecil. The Persian Carpet. London: 1991. Edwards, A. C. The Persian Carpet. 1977 (1983 impression), Edwards, Cecil A., The Persian Carpet, Duckworth, London, 1975 Edwards was the nephew of James Baker who was one of the founders of OCM. Baker was the son of George Baker the official gardener for the Turkish sultan. 83 Textile Museum Conference.

• CLARA CAREY CASE EDWARDS
  
  Clara Carey Case Edwards, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Case, was a graduate of Bryn Mawr College (class of 1904). Her twin sisters, Mary C. Case and Adelaide T. Case, also attended Bryn Mawr (class of 1908). In 1909, Clara married Cecil Edwards, who worked for The Oriental Carpet Manufacturers Ltd. The business was based in Istanbul, Turkey and manufactured and exported oriental carpets, both Turkish and Persian, to the West. In 1911, the Edwards moved to Hamadan, Iran, so that Cecil could take charge of the business there, and while in Hamadan, Clara taught for some time at The American Boys' School. Their son, Arthur, was born in Hamadan on 11 February 1918. The Edwards traveled in Iran and Russia, partly for Cecil's work, and partly in reaction to events related to World War I. They also made several trips to the United States to visit Clara's family.
  
  In 1923, they left Iran and spent eight months in India (now Pakistan) visiting carpet weaving centers before arriving in England. The Edwards settled in London, where they became friends with historian Arnold Toynbee and the William Blake bibliographer Geoffrey Keynes. During World War II, they moved to Oxford, returning to London after the war was over.
  
  The Edwards returned to Iran once more, in 1948, so that Cecil could complete research for his book, The Persian Carpet: A Survey of the Carpet Weaving Industry of Persia (London: Duckworth, 1953). Around 1946, Clara's mind had begun to fail, and in 1951, she entered St. George's Retreat near Brighton. Cecil died in 1953; Clara, in 1955. http://www.brynmawr.edu/Library/SpecColl/Guides/edwards.html

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Thanks and best wishes,

J. Barry O'Connell Jr.

Index to JBOC's Rug Notes

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