Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1882-11-22
A FORTUNE IN SHELLS.
REieni aad yalas ~ tbs sea.shsli Trade u
Los AHzsies, Gal,

'HN 49, f'fSN'H' NF""f @HfFyfWH'
In q recent ISSUE saysi Away down
on Also street, In ono OF the quletest
parts Of Los Angeles. there Is 20 uR'
pretending building which, Ut u super
icial glance, appears TO be devoted 10
the retail sale Of sea'shelh, There isa
meagef supply Of all sorts OF small
stacks Of shells In the window, o. wcll
a. large stacks Of shells In tho store,
Hut there Is glass Office with deals
aud books aud other indications OF
business, aud these In q quiet, oNt-Or'
the-way street, Indicated 10 the suS
ccptlble mind Of the Telegram reporter
that thIa was not u retail sea'shcll
store, Yet no ono outside appeared u
know what II was, No one In Los
Angeles had or has any suspicion that
trade amounting 10 hundreds Of
thousands Of dollars per annum ID car
r!el on In this modest little store 90
Also street II IL Kept by a polite
and wldcawake little man, who, with
q polite bow and outstreteh6d banda
announced as his title In this world
the Indicative name. "slmOn Levy"
Simon Is ostensIbly n forwarding and
commission merchant, dealer In hides,
wool. etc, but In fact Il the principal
dealer and has almost tho entire
monopoly OF the sea.shell exporting
trade Of the Pacific cpast, he Is q po.
lite and ready conyGrsat!onallst and
readily impaired the information the
inqui5itlyc reporter desired,
Upon the top OF II lar safe In tho
Office was displayed an assortment Of
shells which ut once attracted the
reportorlal eye, They were OF various
sizes, almost round and Hat as shells
can DO made, Tho largest were about
eight inches In diameter, the smallest
about five inches, They can be seen In
almost every window In San Francisco
or New York, where lae paintings are
sold, and usually have pretty little
landscape painting upon their face.
They are oyerlaId with u bright milk
white pearl, which Is cyquisitely beau-
tiful, and which eXcitcs immediate ad.
miration and attention. In response
to the rcportorlal interrogatory, Mr..
Levy eyplaincd: "Thosc shells. sir,
are called in trade the Tahiti shell, but
they are better known rs the Mother
of-Pearl shell" to those who buy
them, They are brought to California
from the island Of Tahiti, where the
natives dive for them and bring them
to the surface Of the sea for barter
with our traders. You have little idea
Of the value Of the shells (taking down
one about the size Of tea saucer
This one is worth $3.50 at wholesale,
and this (taking down one as large ai
dinner p!atc) is worth 81. / sold u
pair in san Francisco the other day
not much larger than these for $50.
You look sikeptlcal and incredulous I!
Yet what l say is true. l will tell you
something more which will surprise
you. A few weeks ago received an
order from one Of my correspondents
in Paris for q lot Of mother Of pearl
shells was in San Francisco next
day, and in three days filed an order
ior shells amounting to $4,000, which
was shipped direct to Paris.
"That basket you see there is full of
pearl oysters from La Paz, on the Mex
lean coast" There was, perhaps, half
a bushel Of the shells, which We're of
the size of the second size Eastern
oyster" sold in our restaurants. These
pearl oysters are more fat and regu-
lar, and upon the outside have radia-
ting rows Of grooves from the thick
portion of the she'll "That little bas-
ket of oyster shells is worth S75," con-
tinued Mr.. Levy. "What for?" ooh,
for button making. They are used for
the surface of pearl buttons, and
sometimes are more valuable than at
this time. Just now the fashion or
rage for pearl buttons is not in vogue,
hence we pay less and have smaller
demand for pearl oyster shells"
"Our trade is largely dependent upon
fashion, and when people want pearl
buttons we send for more shells from
the Mexican coast and pay better
price. AT present the demand is light
and the trade dull"
Noticing the large assortment of
abalono shells on hand, the reporter
asked for information relative to the
trade. There are four varieties known
to the trade, one of which, the large
blue,green shell, is most valuable in
commerce.
These blue-green abalone shells are
found upon the coast of Mexico and
Lower California, and are gathered by
trading and fishing boats and brought
to this city via Wilmington. They are
larger and more beautiful than the
California abalone shells, and COM
mand a high price. Mr.. Levy states
that he has q standing order from
Paris for all these shells he can
obtain of this variety. The black
California abalone shell is theneXt most
desirable of sea-shells in commerce.
This is gathered principally by China.
men along the coast, who dry the
meat and sell the shells. These are
used for inlaid work upon boxes, fur
niture, knife handles and jewelry, and
are bringing about $1,000 per ton.
Europe is the principal market for
them. There is the common gray
abalone shell, which is annually gath
cred all along the coast and has a
market value of 800 per ton. These
shells are stored at San Diego, San
Pedro, Los Angeles and Santa Bar
bara, and shipped as the trade de-
mands direct to all parts Of Europe.
Several hundred thousand dollars are
annually invested in these shells, which
are used in the manufacture Of buttons
and ornaments for the European mar
ket. In addition to the large shells
mentioned, immense numbers Of fine
shells are imported for this trade from
the coasts of Japan, China and the
South Sea ISLANDS. The principal Office
for the trade is here in Los Angeles.
Another important branch of the shell
trade is that Of "small SHE'LL" which
are sold at the rate Of $50 to seventy.
five per 100 pounds. These are gath.
cred upon the shores of the southern
coast and the islands in the Pacific
ocean and shipped here in sacks, and
again reshipped by vessels from vii.
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