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The earliest known effort to organize rug manufacture in Persia with foreign capital was the Ziegler enterprise in [[Arak Rug|Solṭānābād]]<ref>now Arāk</ref>. Ziegler’s was a firm of Manchester-based factors primarily involved in the import to the Near and Middle East of European printed cottons and the export of a wide variety of raw and manufactured goods for remittances. The firm’s first Persian agencies were established in Tabrīz and Rašt in 1284/1867. Although the common hypothesis of a connection between pébrine and the carpet boom has often been applied specifically to Ziegler’s organization of a cottage industry in Solṭānābād, the facts that the firm did not establish its first Persian agencies until two years after the onset of the disease and that it subsequently expanded commercial operations<ref>including the exporting of silk</ref> in Gīlān during the 1290s/1870s<ref>U.K., House of Commons, Parliamentary Papers XLVII, p. 363; U.K. Foreign Office Records, Public Record Office, 60.401, no. 13</ref> are evidence that it was not seeking alternative commodities to silk for export. Rather, the decision to reinvest capital in carpet production at Solṭānābād appears to have been influenced primarily by contemporary growth in Western demand for Oriental carpets<ref>Ittig, 1983, pp. 133-36</ref>.<br>

The earliest known effort to organize rug manufacture in Persia with foreign capital was the Ziegler enterprise in [[Arak Rug|Solṭānābād]]<ref>now Arāk</ref>. Ziegler’s was a firm of Manchester-based factors primarily involved in the import to the Near and Middle East of European printed cottons and the export of a wide variety of raw and manufactured goods for remittances. The firm’s first Persian agencies were established in Tabrīz and Rašt in 1284/1867. Although the common hypothesis of a connection between pébrine and the carpet boom has often been applied specifically to Ziegler’s organization of a cottage industry in Solṭānābād, the facts that the firm did not establish its first Persian agencies until two years after the onset of the disease and that it subsequently expanded commercial operations<ref>including the exporting of silk</ref> in Gīlān during the 1290s/1870s<ref>U.K., House of Commons, Parliamentary Papers XLVII, p. 363; U.K. Foreign Office Records, Public Record Office, 60.401, no. 13</ref> are evidence that it was not seeking alternative commodities to silk for export. Rather, the decision to reinvest capital in carpet production at Solṭānābād appears to have been influenced primarily by contemporary growth in Western demand for Oriental carpets<ref>Ittig, 1983, pp. 133-36</ref>.<br>

Ziegler’s initial involvement in the Persian carpet trade was limited to the purchase and export of both new and “used” rugs that were available on the market<ref>Ittig, 1983, I, p. 138 and appendix</ref>; undoubtedly the most famous antique carpets to be handled by the firm were the so-called [[Ardabil Carpet|Ardabīls]]. The necessity for a dependable supply of suitable carpets to meet the ever-increasing demands of Western retailers was a major factor in establishment of an agency in Solṭānābād between 1294/1877 and 1299/1882<ref>Ittig, 1983, I, pp. 139-40 and notes 33, 37</ref>. The choice of this town was influenced not only by its role as market center for a major carpet-weaving area but also by its position on the route between Tehran and Baghdad via Hamadān and [[Kermanshah Rug|Kermānšāh]], through which the company had already begun to import goods into Persia.<br>

Ziegler’s initial involvement in the Persian carpet trade was limited to the purchase and export of both new and “used” rugs that were available on the market<ref>Ittig, 1983, I, p. 138 and appendix</ref>; undoubtedly the most famous antique carpets to be handled by the firm were the so-called [[Ardabil Carpet|Ardabīls]]. The necessity for a dependable supply of suitable carpets to meet the ever-increasing demands of Western retailers was a major factor in establishment of an agency in Solṭānābād between 1294/1877 and 1299/1882<ref>Ittig, 1983, I, pp. 139-40 and notes 33, 37</ref>. The choice of this town was influenced not only by its role as market center for a major carpet-weaving area but also by its position on the route between Tehran and Baghdad via Hamadān and [[Kermanshah Rug|Kermānšāh]], through which the company had already begun to import goods into Persia.<br>

Ziegler’s manufacturing activities involved the already-existing locally financed cottage industry. The firm negotiated agreements with local agents<ref>ʿāmels; Dehqān, II, pp. 165ff.</ref>, through whom it provided raw materials, including dyed wool and patterns<ref>Plate CXIV, Plate CXV</ref> prepared by specialized dyers and designers engaged by Ziegler’s, and cash advances toward the finished carpets<ref>Ittig, 1983, I, pp. 165-66, 175-78; Whigham, p. 5; U.K. Foreign Office Records, Diplomatic and Consular Reports, A.S. no. 1376, pp. 57, 59</ref>. The ʿāmels then distributed the materials to the weavers, who were often their own kinswomen<ref>Aubin, p. 315; Dehqān, II, pp. 165ff.; U.K. Foreign Office Records, Diplomatic and Consular Reports, A.S., no. 1376, p. 57</ref>. They also supervised the weaving process and collected the finished carpets for delivery to Ziegler’s compound in Solṭānābād, where the rugs were carefully inspected before being packed for export.<br>

Ziegler’s manufacturing activities involved the already-existing locally financed cottage industry. The firm negotiated agreements with local agents<ref>ʿāmels; Dehqān, II, pp. 165ff.</ref>, through whom it provided raw materials, including dyed [[wool]] and patterns<ref>Plate CXIV, Plate CXV</ref> prepared by specialized dyers and designers engaged by Ziegler’s, and cash advances toward the finished carpets<ref>Ittig, 1983, I, pp. 165-66, 175-78; Whigham, p. 5; U.K. Foreign Office Records, Diplomatic and Consular Reports, A.S. no. 1376, pp. 57, 59</ref>. The ʿāmels then distributed the materials to the weavers, who were often their own kinswomen<ref>Aubin, p. 315; Dehqān, II, pp. 165ff.; U.K. Foreign Office Records, Diplomatic and Consular Reports, A.S., no. 1376, p. 57</ref>. They also supervised the weaving process and collected the finished carpets for delivery to Ziegler’s compound in Solṭānābād, where the rugs were carefully inspected before being packed for export.<br>

Ziegler’s production was oriented particularly toward European and American consumers, and the firm altered traditional palettes, dimensions, and designs to the specifications of Western retailers<ref>see below; U.K. Foreign Office Records, Diplomatic and Consular Reports 69, p. 499; Dehqān, II, pp. 166-68</ref>. Although such changes were deplored as contributing to the commercialization and deterioration of the Persian carpet<ref>Whigham, p. 5</ref>, Ziegler’s product sold extremely well, and by 1311/1894 the firm had expanded its operations to include 111 villages around Solṭānābād<ref>see below; U.K. Foreign Office Records, Diplomatic and Consular Reports, A.S. no. 1376, p. 58</ref>. The firm’s success encouraged other Western entrepreneurs to invest in the carpet industry, and before World War I such foreign firms as Oriental Carpet Manufacturers, Nearco Castelli & Brothers, and Persische Teppichgesellschaft-AG were in competition in various carpet-weaving centers in Persia<ref>see xii, below</ref>. Ziegler’s organization of a cottage industry provided the model for these “second generation” companies, but they operated with a significant difference: In addition to organizing cottage and workshop production through local agents<ref>e.g., Ittig, 1985, pp. 120-21</ref>, they also established their own weaving factories<ref>e.g., U.K. Foreign Office Records, Public Record Office, 248.1147, no. 42, p. 16</ref>, which permitted greater quality control through more immediate supervision of weavers. The factory weavers were salaried<ref>U.K. Foreign Office Records, Public Record Office, 368.38, file 393R, pp. 93-94</ref>, which obviated the risk inherent in making advances payments when little redress was possible in instances of default<ref>U.K. Foreign Office Records, Public Record Office, 248.1177, 24 October 1917</ref>.<br>

Ziegler’s production was oriented particularly toward European and American consumers, and the firm altered traditional palettes, dimensions, and designs to the specifications of Western retailers<ref>see below; U.K. Foreign Office Records, Diplomatic and Consular Reports 69, p. 499; Dehqān, II, pp. 166-68</ref>. Although such changes were deplored as contributing to the commercialization and deterioration of the Persian carpet<ref>Whigham, p. 5</ref>, Ziegler’s product sold extremely well, and by 1311/1894 the firm had expanded its operations to include 111 villages around Solṭānābād<ref>see below; U.K. Foreign Office Records, Diplomatic and Consular Reports, A.S. no. 1376, p. 58</ref>. The firm’s success encouraged other Western entrepreneurs to invest in the carpet industry, and before World War I such foreign firms as Oriental Carpet Manufacturers, Nearco Castelli & Brothers, and Persische Teppichgesellschaft-AG were in competition in various carpet-weaving centers in Persia<ref>see xii, below</ref>. Ziegler’s organization of a cottage industry provided the model for these “second generation” companies, but they operated with a significant difference: In addition to organizing cottage and workshop production through local agents<ref>e.g., Ittig, 1985, pp. 120-21</ref>, they also established their own weaving factories<ref>e.g., U.K. Foreign Office Records, Public Record Office, 248.1147, no. 42, p. 16</ref>, which permitted greater quality control through more immediate supervision of weavers. The factory weavers were salaried<ref>U.K. Foreign Office Records, Public Record Office, 368.38, file 393R, pp. 93-94</ref>, which obviated the risk inherent in making advances payments when little redress was possible in instances of default<ref>U.K. Foreign Office Records, Public Record Office, 248.1177, 24 October 1917</ref>.<br>

Production of carpets in Persia for export was influenced by fluctuations in supply and demand on the world market, as well as by the state of international trade generally. The industry thus suffered a slump in 1322/1904, a period of worldwide recession, which was aggravated by a surplus of inventory on the British market<ref>Sykes, 1906, p. 427; U.K. Foreign Office Records, Public Record Office, 368.38, file 3938, pp. 50, 94; U.K. Foreign Office Records, Diplomatic and Consular Reports, A.S. 3374, pp. 5-6</ref>. The industry soon recovered, however, and the value of Persian carpet exports seems to have peaked in 1324/1906-07<ref>Ittig, 1983, I, table I</ref>, despite considerable domestic insecurity in Persia during the period of the Constitutional movement. Production was interrupted during World War I, and hostilities between German- and British-protected interests in Persia resulted in substantial losses for both local and foreign carpet manufacturers there<ref>e.g., U.K. Foreign Office Records, Public Record Office, 248.1147, 42/16, 42/206, 76</ref>. With resumption of large-scale manufacturing for export after the war an even larger proportion of production was geared to the American market<ref>Edwards, pp. 92-93, 136, 140-41, 208</ref>, though locally financed commercial and custom carpet weaving continued throughout the period.<br>

Production of carpets in Persia for export was influenced by fluctuations in supply and demand on the world market, as well as by the state of international trade generally. The industry thus suffered a slump in 1322/1904, a period of worldwide recession, which was aggravated by a surplus of inventory on the British market<ref>Sykes, 1906, p. 427; U.K. Foreign Office Records, Public Record Office, 368.38, file 3938, pp. 50, 94; U.K. Foreign Office Records, Diplomatic and Consular Reports, A.S. 3374, pp. 5-6</ref>. The industry soon recovered, however, and the value of Persian carpet exports seems to have peaked in 1324/1906-07<ref>Ittig, 1983, I, table I</ref>, despite considerable domestic insecurity in Persia during the period of the Constitutional movement. Production was interrupted during World War I, and hostilities between German- and British-protected interests in Persia resulted in substantial losses for both local and foreign carpet manufacturers there<ref>e.g., U.K. Foreign Office Records, Public Record Office, 248.1147, 42/16, 42/206, 76</ref>. With resumption of large-scale manufacturing for export after the war an even larger proportion of production was geared to the American market<ref>Edwards, pp. 92-93, 136, 140-41, 208</ref>, though locally financed commercial and custom carpet weaving continued throughout the period.<br>