A letter from Miss Pressley-Smith to Rhoda Dawson, dated April 26, 1937, states, "The 'prayer rug' pattern was so named by us because of its vague resemblance to Turkish prayer rug designs especially in its original form of leaving the entrance open. I think this was forgotten in the later copies. The design itself I took from an old book on hooked rug patterns where the design was described as one of the earliest patterns existing." A colour photograph of a rug hooked in this pattern appears as the frontispiece of Collecting Hooked Rugs by Elizabeth Waugh and Edith Foley, published in 1927, along with the caption, "One of the earliest hooked rugs known. The design recalls motifs seen on ancient jewelry." A mat of this same design is in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The mat was purchased by Miss Dawson, a designer for the Grenfell Industrial 1930-1935, and donated to the V&A as part of her estate. In the notes accompanying the collection Miss Dawson writes "This large and beautiful mat hung over my fireplace for years, we never knew its origin or where the design came from. I bought it from the annual staff sale. It is called 'Prayer Rug' and has an Oriental flavor." The number "89" is written on the label suggesting that this was design #89.