In the early 1800s, enterprising Yankees created a cottage industry sewing fabric scraps into rag rugs. Hand-hooked versions (made by using a sailor’s hook to pull scraps through a burlap backing) soon followed. This early-20th-century hand-hooked wool runner is a close descendant of those New England predecessors, says antiques appraiser Helaine Fendelman.
What it’s worth: $750
