The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1878-08-14
IVORY.

IVORY.
What It IL Used for and how It IL Carved ant
Dressed-Skill Of American Artincers-
Three Hundred Thousand Pounds Of 1
Imported Annually.
Ivory, as everybody knows, is tn
substance of elephants tusks, and al
there are more elephants III Africa that
employed as beasts Of burden, and there
fore are not preserved alive with studi
GUS care, the main stpply Of ivory il
derived from Africa. It is gathered
throughout the whole interior Of thu
continent, being exchanged by the re-
mote tribes with those nearer the coas
for articles Of barter, and these in turf
sell to the coast chiefs or to the Arat
traders, who penetrate on semi-annua
purchasing trips az far as they find il
profitable, buying the tusks with cloth
beads, knives, etc., etc., and carrying il
to the seaports upon the backs of the
slaves. Stanley's late letters have con
tanned much information upon the east
coast trade in ivory, and suggestions al
to the cheapenihg OF it by lessenine
(through the use of steamboats) the
difficulty of bringing IL down from the
interior. Ivory Is shipped from the
southwestern coast of Africa; from Oape
Town and by the way Of Egypt; but the
largest quantity and best quality comes
from Zanzibar. India sends some also,
but not much, to the European market,
since the Chinese buy it at as high q
price as it will bring in London, and
have been known even to send to Eng.
land for it's purchase, esteeming it bet
ter than any other material for the pur.
poses of their delicate and complex
carving.
The great central mart for the receiv-
ing and distribution of ivory is the ware
house devoted to it in the London
Docks, London. Here it is consigned
to the care of q corporation which deals
in ivory, pearl, cameo, shells, coral and
other products of the tropical and savage
world, and once in three months IN NC
ton is held, the prices realized at the
previous sale guiding the buyers and
sellers in the succeeding one. The
whole world is represented, and the
sales are sometimes very large. On the
average one hundred tens are sold; at
the last auction about one hundred and
seventy.fve- tons were disposed of,
bringing the large sum Of nine hundred
thousand dollars. 1t would be impossi-
BILE to estimate how many tusks this
represents, since they vary exceedingly
in size. The majority, perhaps, Of those
received do not exceed thirty pounds
in weight, and are not more than two
inches in greatest thickness; but tusks
weighing one hundred pounds each are
not uncommon, and some are even twice
as heavy. These latter are supposed to
belong to very aged animals, and are jet
black outside, while the little ones are
only dirty yellowish white; the black
ness, however, is only O thin layer and
is easily filed away.
The quality of ivory varies according
to hardness and color, though all seems
equally durable, and the choice is main
ly a matter of taste, Americans liking
best that which has an opaque yellowish
cast, and Europeans preferring tie white
transparent variety. The ivory from
Bombay is of q very firm, fne-grained
quality, particularly suitable to elabo-
rate, high-relief work. Inc harder it is,
the more brittle. Nevertheless it does
not break easily. Several cases are re-
corded where, in cutting up ivory, bull.
lets of lead and copper have been found
deeply imbedded in the tusk, which had
grown around the foreign body, leaving
no splintered fracture or trace OF the
wound made by their original entrance
no one knows how many. years before.
Growing from within outward, it must
take a very long time for the tusk to
reach it's maximum size. The great
longevity of elephants is we'll known
ages of a hundred and a hundred and
fifty years being attested and far greater
longevity alleged.
Several firms in this city import ivory
for manufacture. The present annual
consumption reaches the neighborhood
of 800, 900 pounds, representing more
than a million of dollars in value. OF
this the manufacture Of umbrella and
parasol handles in countless ornamental
styles takes the largest part. The next
greatest demand is for piano-forte and
organ keys. In England the thin shell
around the core at the butt-end OF the
tusk, and also great quantities of odd
pieces brought from Bombay, are utll-
lied for this purpose; but in this coun-
try whole tusks are sawed into key
pieces. The making o; combs calls tor
perhaps the next largest proportion OF
ivory; this is done in Connecticut chief
", and by a machine which saws out
ali the teeth on one side Of q fine comb so
delic ately and truly that it requires q
severe effort of the eye to distinguish
one tooth from another. In this branch
the artiicers Of Connecticut are said to
excel all the world of ivory-cutters. A
vast quantity of the toughest ivory is
turned into billiard and pool balls for
home use and for South American trade,
which latter calls for balls very much
larger and heavier than we use, and
without color. The dyeing of ivory is
an easy matter-"if you know what kind
of dye to usel" That is a trade secret.
In addition to those things already
mentioned ivory is made into buttons,
ohess-men, faro-checks, knife handles,
pistol-hilts (which are rasped down and
polished after being attached to the iron
stock), memorandum tablets, paper
knives and a hundred other things.
Lately attention has been turned to the
making of articles of luxury out OF ivory.
Massive hair-brush backs, n solid
piece, which will last q generation and
may be filled again and again with bris.
ties; and tooth, shaving, nail and hat
brushes, which are extremely artistic
and costly. Among all this bVouterie
nothing is more elegant than the back
combs, the delicate tracery of whose in
tricate patterns in the most marvellous
imitation of flowers and winery must e1-
cite the admiration Of every one. some
of these combs are made almost wholly.
out of a single piece of ivory: ....
For the production OF this highly ar
tistic and delicate work foreign workmen
are found necessary, but for all the Or
binary manipulations of Ivory Amer.
cans are competent. Not long agolt
was almost wholly done by hand. Now
the steam driven lathe and cunning
tools hasten the work and cheaper the
results. The lathe is of ordinary con-
struc6ion, and much of the turning is as
..1.: =, Tho ooso NJ uon1 For the