Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-11-08
Prom the New York Times.

PRESERVATION OF FURs.
Prom the New York Times.
From time imnemorial furs have PLAYED an
Important part in dress. The idea OF royalty is
lnseparabiy connected with them for even in the
east. where they cannot well be worn. they fi3ure
largely as mats and rugs. Perhaps. with the eX
feption Of Russia and n0rthern Germany, they are
more uaiver sally worn here than in any other
country. Theseverity of the winterin the north
trn states of course mainly accounts for this. but
hot altogether. The goddess of fashion dictates
that fuTs shall BE worn. and. we all knew. it
Is unnecessary 10 attempt To account for her
whins. Even III London, where very severe
winters are rare. fuT-ilncd cioakS aud mantles
are de rPgueur. and here they become more
usual every winter Ii ia quite matter OF in
terest to inquire from whence all these ma"niff-
cent furs come. when o.! the stores are display
Ing them In SUCH quantities that one might sun
pose the forests and shores would in time be-
come depOpuiatCd OF their inmates Oddly
enough. considering the vast resources of this
country. the majority Of sealskins. which are
the principal furs ROW in use are imported and
this fact is vet stranger when we learn that they
came formerly from the great tracts of Northern
America belonging to the Hudson Bay Com
pany.
The skins are sent 10 London to be prenared
and dyed. and are bought at the large public
sales in that city by American traders who re-
import them to this country. At present there
Is but one man in America who has succeeded
as a seaiskin dyer. and Yet the dye used in Lon
don was discovered by an American and is made
In New York. There are several varieties of
seaiskin, OF which the best are the Alaska but
those known as Copper Island skins, which are
very largely imported, can only be distinguished
from the Alaska by experts. They are inferior
I'm staple but this season particularly they have
been so well dressed and dyed that they are
more popular than they have ever been. They
are extremely handsome. and many OF the most
fgGh hin doll md
with them. Experts detect the difference be-
tween them and the Alaska seal by their being
more thinly furred round the edges Another
variety OF seal. known as the Victoria are of
lower price; indeed. at the Hudson Bay sale i'm
London last week large portion We're with
drawn in hopes of keeping up the price. Shet-
land Island sealskns rank almost as equal to
Alaska. but there are very few OF them i'm the
market this year. Up to this date no Victorias
have arrived in New York from the regular
March sale in London, but from 1900 to 5000
skins are expected between the 18th of Novem-
Der and the LIST of January.
Sealskins are principally used for ladies' wear
OF for mems caps and gloves. good sealskin
differs from poor one in the length and thick
ness of the staple, In its glossiness and general
appearance A preference is given this season
to dark-cOlOred skins, but as they have been az
fifeay cOlored they do not wear SO well as
those Of the natural tint. Fur dealers are of
opinion that the process resOrted 10 for obtain
Ing very dark color is injurious to the skins
upon tnal account SklitS Hillcn We're lightly
dyed ten years ago wear better than those
which now fashionable The varieties we
have mentioned are ali-fur seals but there are
other kinds of seal known as the hair SEAL or
Due black. which are also caught in the north
ern seas and are used for caps and gloves
Wool seal, again. which is also called white
coat is in appearance not unlike sheepskin
and is dyed and much used for trimmings The
various dyes used in the preparation of skins
are trade secrets. Se.ISkins vary greatly i'm
n no
tiOn sales in London.
Apart from sealskn there are MANY fayOrite
varieties of furs, and the impOrtations this year
Seem to have comprised them ALL Beaver black
dyed rabbit, called comics: otter of different
kinds. sableS. Nutria skins, Persanas and As |
tra&han, and every variety of fancy fur The |
price OF all these furs is necessarily increased by
the adherence 10 the old custom of sending them
In Immense quantities to certain large central |
markets. such as London. NOygOrod or Iep- |
Gle. whence they find their way back to the gen !
eral trade Such a course seems thoroughly
opposed TO the modern spirit eff business, which
cuts on every extra expense and brings goods
direct to the market where they will most easily
reach the public Furs in their arfstocratc
security are uni1f1uenced by the telegraph
or cable, by fast freight lines or cheap canal or
water freight or other modern improvements
which decide the fate and value of less favored.
II mere necessary. articles TOR wear or food
The fact that furs are thus sent i'm accumulated
quantities to great markets which have existed
dIfnculty OF overcoming conservatism in trade
or of diverting 1t from well-defned and familiar
channels. The concourse of buyers at Leipsc
and Novgorod is immense and seems to increase
nom year to year
Skins. both Of land and sea offers. are i'm
ported in their natural state. The latter. simply
dressed and undyed, Is largely used for trim
mings. and is the most expensive of all furs ex-
cept sable This season the New York trade is
supplied with more expensive otter than ever
before. q
Such skins are very fine and of great length
being often as much as 9 to feet long: and
DO precious are they that skin would be looked
upon as damaged If single hair were uluck.d
from It, For the last fveOr six years no sables
have been imported direct to New York but
few have found their way into the market from
Russia by way of China and San Francisco
Since sealskin became the fashion there has been
literally no demand for sable-it is entirely
and completely out Of date. The reason
Tor this lies, perhaps, in the fact that it is
much heavier than sealskin, aud q sacque
lined with sable or mink is somewhat clumsy
sable sacque would cost as much as 81 200
10 81 500. and then not have so fine an appear
ance a. one OF seal From South America the
trade receives skin known as Nutria which
Is very similar to beaver and Is very expensive
IL is principally used for making the finest felt
Tor mems hats. Persianas and Astrakhans are
becoming very fashionable for trimmings. and
are very scarce. For some six or seven wears
they have scarcely been imported at ALL but as
t'Ao S'"-'u IAcs are 10 Dt Worn Chfy again
In the market. yaluin9 from So to as ward
furs used Tor making garments are called fancy
furs, and pay duty of 81 per cent Only one
or two houses, however. import them for most
OF the fur garments worn by American women
Of fashion are made here expressly to meet their
taste Fur garments OF French make are a lit
tie too dressy. and are often overturned. while
those made in England are somewhat clumsy
and heavy. The American manufacturers have
succeeded in producing an article which is
happy medium between the two
When we come to q consideration of what are
called hatters' furs. skins used for gentlemen's
hats. we find they are almost invariably French
and are mainly rabbit-skins. 10 is true that
hare-sklnS are also used and these come from
Frankfort-On-the-Ma A few English cony or
Tabbt-skins are imported. but the number Of
these lessons every year. not because there is
any scarcity of skins. bat because the cutting of
fairs Is now successfully &C complished here But
furs pay a duty OF 20 per cent and as they can
becut here ar cost OF only 10 per cent more
than In London 10 per cent is gained bv prepar-
ing them here During the past few wears a
number of factories have been established i'm
this country for the cutting OF furs and as a re-
suit the importation of hatters' prepared furs
Hac haoi. aaYs 1v1ap, tirat, ut