The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-08-06
How Sealskins are PREPARED.


weather reveals busy scene. The fur
that of the seal, after it has been made
into handsome cloaks and boas for ladies,
and into hats and gloves for men. The
skin is usually imported from England
already dyed. Only one firm in the city
dyes the skin, changing it from its ma
tural tawny yellow color into the lustrous
velvety brown seen in the finished ar
ticles of apparel. The natural skin is
moistened after the greasy integuments
are scraped from the pelt, and then put
into an oven to hasten slight decompo-
sition. This is preparatory to removing
the old, coarse hairs that stick out from
the fine thick underground. The coarse
hairs are to be removed and the under
growth is to be retained. The skins in
the oven are closely watched lest they
should become too soft, and thus entirely
ruined. When they are at proper stage
they are taken out and laid on board,
and scraped with blunt iron knife that
pulls out the long hairs and leaves the
underground. If the short growth comes
out with the coarse then the skin is, OF
course, ruined.
Then comes the dyeing. The skin is
painted with a solution, consisting prin--
cipally of nutgalls from Smyrna, and
allowed to dry. It is then shaken and
beaten, and painted another coat-often-
times eighteen or twenty coats. At this
stage the skins are packed and sent to
this country. AS they are unpacked in
bundles and stacked on the shelves in
the fur house they look not unlike the
big bundles Of overcoats that seamstres-
ses may be seen in street cars carrying
to their taskmasters. When skin is
unfolded it is oval, and has at each side
two narrow, oblong Sits. The skin
looks as though it might be fitted to 4
child eight years old by thrusting the
child's arms through the two slits in the
skin and letting the tail hang down to
the child's heels, while the upper part
projects above its head like an ultra
fashionable collar. The skins are always
cleaned before using by putting them
moistened into o wooden cylinder, like
those used in q court room for the jury
ballots, only larger with sawdust. The
skin is cleaned by being revolved in the
cylinder. It is taken out and nailed
upon a flat table to dry, being stretched
as far rs it will go. This was formerly
all that the skin was subjected to before
being cut for garments, but within win
ter or two it has been customary to take
out the coarse hairs that are broken off
by the process of removing them with a
knife after heating, and also those hairs
that are too short to be reached by the
process. The result is to make the fur
"freer," as the furrier would say. That
it is softer and finer to the touch after
the second operation, any one may de-
tect by rubbing the hand over it.
To do this, girl is given skin in the
morning, and seated at table with a
dozen other girls all with skins. Her
left forefnger is put under the pelt side
of the skin and the fur side bent over the
finger. The girl blows the soft fur to
one side and leaves the stiff, coarse hair
exposed. Then she clips the coarse hair
with scissors. The operation is tedious
and requires day or longer TO finish a
skin. The blowing and clipping of a
tableful of girls makes curious sound.
Then the skin is looked over for any
imperfections. The slightest hole is
sewed up. The sewing is commonly
done by hand, but glove stitching ma
chine is used when possible. Then the
cutter receives the skin: He must be a
man of experience. The EXTREMIST eco
nomy is used in selecting different parts
of the skin for various purposes. Even
the bits of fur are saved and sold for
felting fur hats. Around long, low
tables sit women who rapidly makeu p
sealskin cloaks from the pieces furnished
by the cutter. The sewing is entirely
done by hand. The stoutest of needles
are used. In a separate room another
bevy of women quilt Innings for the
cloaks, and when they are fitted the
cloaks are hung within a thick curtain
Mt the side of the wall and afterward
taken to q storeroom and packed in
pasteboard boxes.-Ne10 York Sun.