On April 29, the Armenian Cultural Foundation (ACF) in Arlington, Massachussetts
announced the release of the second edition of Dr. Hagop Martin
Deranian’s book, President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug.
When this little volume first appeared in the fall of 2013, plans were
well underway for an exhibition of the Ghazir rug, also known as the
Coolidge rug, under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution in
Washington, D.C., in collaboration with the Armenian Cultural Foundation
and the Armenian Rugs Society.
The result of over three decades of research and investigation,
Deranian’s work traces the history of the rug and the Armenian orphans:
their transportation from Urfa to safety to present-day Lebanon by the
great Swiss humanitarian and physician Jakob Künzler, known as the
“Father of the Armenian orphans”; their journey to the United States;
their presentation to President Calvin Coolidge in the White House; the
several decades the rug remained in the possession of the Coolidges; and
its return again to the White House in the mid-1980’s, where it is
stored to this day.
The first edition, published in 2013, was warmly welcomed by the
Smithsonian Institution in Washington, where the rug was supposed to be
displayed and where its story was to be told. Deranian was supposed to
be the keynote speaker at the opening of the one-day exhibition, on December
16, 2013. Then, to great surprise and regret, just as the details of
the exhibition were being finalized, the White House informed the
collaborating organizations of its decision not to lend out the rug.
This abrupt decision resulted in the cancellation of the exhibit, and
spread deep disappointment and heartbreak among the organizers; the
Armenian American community at large was outraged.
A comprehensive article then appeared in the October 21, 2013 issue of
the Washington Post by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Philip
Kennicott, which highlighted the history of the rug and explored the
reasons behind the curious decision. A barrage of critical articles,
essays, reports, press conferences, and discussions, as well as
television and radio programs dedicated to the controversy, followed in
the Armenian and American media. The excuse the White House gave for not
lending out the rug was that it would be “inappropriate” to do so for
an event including a book launch.
Appeals by Armenian advocacy groups, supported by Congressional
figures sympathetic to the Armenian causes, then launched a campaign of
their own, asking the White House and President Barack Obama to release
the rug in honor of the legacy of the Near East Relief Foundation and
the memory of the orphans of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.
The importance of the rug was recognized early in its history. “The
beautiful rug woven by the [Armenian] children in the [Ghazir] orphanage
in the Lebanon has been received. This, their expression of gratitude
for what we have been able to do in this country for their aid, is
accepted by me as a token of their goodwill to the people of the United
States. … The rug has a place of honor in the White House, where it will
be a daily symbol of good-will on earth.” These words by President
Coolidge on December 4, 1925, were made to Dr. John H. Finley, vice-chairman
of the Near East Relief Executive Committee, who presented the rug for
the Armenian orphans who “have tied into it the gratitude of tens of
thousands of children to you and to America. And what they have tied
into it will never be untied. … It is sent to adorn the dearest of our
temples, the White House of our President.”
Born in Worcester, Mass., in 1922, Deranian was born to genocide
survivors from the town of Hussenig, Kharpert Province, in the Ottoman
Empire. He was named Hagop in honor of Hagop Bogigian, his mother’s
uncle, who was a pioneer rug merchant in America and a benefactor of
education for Armenian young women. His mother, born Varter Bogigian,
was a survivor of the genocide, which took from her six children, her
first husband, and parents; she died in 1929. Deranian’s father,
Marderos, who died in 1957, arrived in America in 1900 and operated a
grocery store in Worcester. His father raised him from the age of seven.
Deranian, a graduate of Clark University and the University of
Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, served as Lieutenant (junior
grade) in the United States Navy (1951-53) and has been engaged in the
private practice of dentistry, while at the same time serving on the
faculty of the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine.
His translation of his father’s memoir, Hussenig, The Origin, History and Destruction of an Armenian Town, was published in 1996; an earlier bilingual edition appeared in 1981. His second book, Worcester Is America, the Story of Worcester’s Armenians, appeared in 1995, followed by Miracle Man of the Western Front: Dr. Varaztad H. Kazanjian, Pioneer Plastic Surgeon, which was published in 2007.
In light of the great demand and interest internationally, the Armenian Cultural Foundation has welcomed the publication of President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug
in several languages, including German, Russian, and Armenian. To
obtain copies of the new edition, contact the Armenian Cultural
Foundation during office hours (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) by calling (781) 646
3090 or e-mailing acf.hmh@verizon.net, or check your local Armenian news
outlets.
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