One of Guelph’s little-known companies from the late 10th century was the “Novelty Rug Making Machine.” It appeared in Guelph in 1884. It remained there until around 1891.
The owner of the company was Robert W. Ross. Initially, he boarded at the Victoria Hotel. By 1889, he had a home at 121 Glasgow. Beyond these basic facts, little is known about the man in both his personal and business life. Although we do know he had at least one employee in 1885/1886 – George Schick, who boarded at the Victoria Hotel.
The Novelty Rug-Making Machine
A booklet currently lodged in the Guelph Museum archives states, “This is an entirely new invention, having been patented March 6, 1882.” The machine had a singular purpose – to decrease the labour and time required to produce rugs for the home. Referred to by historians as a type of “punch hook,” the machine hooked the yarn or rag through a piece of fabric. Using this method, it produced a rug or mat, depending upon its size, in as little as a day.
The booklet also goes on to inform the reader that anyone with practice, including “children of 10,” could use it. Moreover, it was not only simply constructed and easily operated but also inexpensive. The booklet on the machine cost $3, while the machine could be shipped to you for $1.
The patent date is accurate. However, this Guelph machine can also be referenced to a machine of the same name invented by another Ross – Ebenezer Ross, in Toledo, Ohio, in 1881. The product, identical to the one then being sold across Canada, appeared in several newspaper ads across the United States. Various magazines also made note of the machine. The Ladies Home Journal for 1890, for example, noted an improvement. The ad read: “Our improved Novelty Rug Machine uses two needles; coarse needle for rugs, mittens, etc., and fine needle for zephyrs or silk on plush or velvet.”
The specific link between the two companies is not known, although it is possible that R.W. Ross was an agent for Ebenezer Ross (1836-1904). The American census and related genealogical records reveal R.W. was not a son of Ebenezer Ross. However, records do not seem to exist, be accessible, or are even searchable, to clearly indicate and determine the relationship between the two men and their product.
The Sales Pitch
The Novelty Rug Machine, like its American counterpart, was sold in Canada through advertisements. These appeared in various periodicals and newspapers, including Boy’s Own Paper in 1881, the Montreal Witness, a newspaper (1886) and the Markdale Standard (1885). 
The knitting machine was also part of the Colonial and Indian Exhibition held in London in 1886. It stood alone in this event among other better-known Guelph manufacturers, including:
- James Goldie – “Two grades of Winter Wheat Flour, roller process”
- Charles Raymond – “Hand and Treadle Sewing Machines”
- B. Armstrong Manufacturing Company – “Specialists in Hardware for Carriages, Buggies and Sleighs.”
- John Mc Connell – “Top Phaeton Buggy”
- Bell and Company – “Organs in Choice Woods.”
The Novelty Rug Machine exhibit was prominently located in the Central Gallery. Two years later, it made another appearance. This time, the company was part of Ontario’s forty-first Provincial Exhibition in Guelph.
The Demise of the Novelty Rug Machine
By 1890, R. W. Ross was no longer advertising his machine for sale in Guelph. This was not true for E. Ross in Toledo, OH. The ads for his rug-making machine continued into the 1890s and beyond. However, it, too, was being beset by difficulties in the marketplace. There was serious competition from various types of knitting machines. This included a machine made by J. E. Gearheart of Clearwater PA. His invention was called the “High Speed Family Knitter.” It could knit a “stocking, heel and toe in 10 minutes.”
As part of his own attempts to expand the company’s market, Gearheart and a companion, C. F. Carden, came to Guelph in 1891 – the year after Ross and his business disappeared from the Guelph Directory. The two men met with Mayor Thomas Goldie. The council then discussed and later approved a tax exemption for Gearheart and Company.
A year later, in 1892, there was no sign of a factory operated by Gearheart. However, John Groom was selling the “World Star Knitting Machine” in his shop at 148 Quebec Street – just opposite Knox Church.
