Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1860-10-11
YANKEE JEwELRY N SOUTHERN
GULLIBILITY.

SoUN Ao~S ~S~
little manufacturing village called N. E. Village,
and learned something about making the bogus
~iewelry with which the country is flooded. either
by pedlers or gift book enterprise. One COM
pany is making ear-drops of q composition called
oieide, which will sell for gold, but is not worth
as much as brass. The other company is manu-.
featuring gold chains out of German silver, brass,
or oreide. The process Of making was interest
ing to me, and may be to others. I'll give it:
The links are cut from wire or plate, accord
ing 10 the kind of chnin sometimes soldered be-
fore putting into a chain, and sometimes after
ward. After it is linked, it is drawn through a
machine to even it-boiled in vitriol water to
take off the scales caused by h~eating-drawn
through q limbering machine, and dipped in
acid, to clean it, after which it is dipped in a
solution of pure silver, and finally dipped in gold
coloring-making a chain which they sell at the
rate of Sl2 to Sl8 per dozen. This is gift
enterprise jewelry, which is marked "Lady's
splendid gold chain, S12," sGent's guard chain,
S." or $50" etc. The ear drops cost less,
and are often marked higher"
These items come from the pen of q CORES
pendent to the Ncw Hampshire Journal of Agri-
culture; and may be regarded as a truthful
statement of the case. 1t is a little humiliating
to the Southerner to think that this spurious
jewelry-this worthless melanSe of the baser
metals with a specious gloss on the outside
has given a greater impetus to the book.trade
with US than almost any thing else within the
last few years. We would be glad to see this
increased demand for books, if it really indicated
a corresponding improvement of the reading
appetite of our people; but unfortunately it
shows no such thing. 1t marks the desire for
speculation and empty show which is only too
rife among the young men and women of our
land. This is proven by the fact in many cases,
that the buyer of the books does not wish and
scarcely expects ever to read it, but is simply
gambling for the ~jewelry.
The books, too, are gotten up usually in mis-
cradle style and while the proprietors of Gift
Book Enterprises propose to give the purchaser
double 'svalue received" he often makes one or
two hundred per cent, perhaps, on the capital
invested. We have no doubt hundreds and
thousands of our young folks have been bit by
tliSl Udl 1A0SSuI w Ae'S SSSa ooJo "aO
had lain in a pretty heavy stock of these 'Yan.
kee notions,' actually have a mock auction to
get rid of them. The whole affair from beginning
to end is n cheat, a swindle, that is supported 10
a great exteut by Southern gullibility.
Again, if We look at this bogus jewelry" in
its bearings upon the security, harmony and
I, on;oo,c &c So,tborn eoo;ot, - 20 aoro1lu nm
evil. 1t cultivates q taste and tendency for
gambling end other immoral speculation. Ped
dlers find it no inconsiderable source of their
profits while travelling among US and they are
generally regarded by our wisest and best citi-
zens as O public nuisance. They certainly, il
they do nothing worse, take no little trade out
of the hands, especially ofour country merchants,
who are our neighbors and friends, and uertebre
of the backbone of the country. These men just.
ly feel that they have claims to the custom Of
their acquaintances, infinitely superior to those
of strolling adventures and, it may be, abo
li~tionists in disguise. The patronage given to
these latter, then, has a direct tendency t.
estrange those who have common interests, and
who, as they live in the same neighborbood
should be bound together by ties of social good
feeling and sympathy. We might pursue these
thoughts further; but we have said enough to
set each reader to thinking for himself and we
hope the result will be an abandonment of the
practice, if ever followed, of selling his birth
RICH: of cummon-sense for the poor pottage o.
a "Yankee notion" that thrives only as q 'prac
teal Joke upon our gullibility.