Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-10-31
Gossip about Gloves,

We shall in time have whole librarl
of the wardrobe, and if every article o.
apparel finds as entertaining a chroni
cler as gloves have found in Mr.. L. w
Beck, books about clothes will b,
numbered among the most interesting
that have ever issued from the press
Mr.. Beck traces the history of the
glove from the primitive hand-shOe OF
the earliest times down to the many
buttoned monstrosity of our day. In
clined, like all authors, to magnify hi:
subject, Mr.. Beck claims for gloves 9
descent SO ancient that it is impossible
to arrive ut any certain conclusion
about their age, and so noble, that al
one time they were only worn by royal
persons or rOyal blood. Prehistoric
cave-men are believed to have worn
gloves; the ancient Hebrews wore
them, and they were adopted by Greeks
and Romans. The latter were believed
to have introduced them into Britain.
The early Eaglish, according to Beo-
wulf, had gloves. Before they were
regarded as mark of royal descent the
Church claimed them as her own.
From the time when Boniface VIII
was buried with gloves "of white silk,
beautifully worked with the needle and
ornamented with rich border studded
with pearls'' to the present day, they
have figured as part of ecclesiastical
apparel. Thomas a-Becket, the Can
terbury saint, Wore gloves at his inter-
ment, and many another Church dig
nitary has been laid in the grave with
rlchly-embroidered gloves on his folded
hands. In the inventory of Winchester
Trinity Church, made in 1902, we read
of '.j payre of red gloves with tasselles
wrought with vents (Venice) gold;"
and even long after the Restoration
their use was maintained. In 1878,
perhaps much against the bishops will,
the old custom was still enforced Ito
make presents of gloves to all persons
that come to the conservation dinners
and Others" In Germany and France,
as well as in this country, gloves oc-
cupy a place among the regalia, and as
they frequently appear III medieval
manuscripts we know that they were
white, and had wide pointed cuffs.
-At ihoI SiONCo NOlC usually llduc VI
linen, afterwards of silk. Gloves for
ordinary wear-when the practical
British mind discovered that they would
be an acquisition to our everyday garb
were made of tanned leather; such
were the gloves of Henry vi, which,
though undoubtedly useful, were far
from ornamental. Men and boys wore
gloves long before women adopted
them, and the same extravaganza in
gloves which is noted among fashion,
ble ladies to-day was practiced by the
dandieS of the sixteenth century. A
pair of Queen Elizabeth's gloves have
been preserved, which, though ''Of
very tine white leather, worked with
gold thread" are of size at which our
fashionable beauties would stand
aghast. Good Queen BeSs, however,
had hand that was tit to WELD a
sceptre. The thumb of her glove was
) inches long, and the palm measured
81 inches across. Another royal glove
has. been preserved in Henr WILL
hawkes. glove" in which, if the orig =
nal bears any likeness to the illustra,
ton, a goodly number of ''hawkes'
could find comfortable resting place.
As hawking, when by our forefathers
reduced to a science, had its own pecu-
liar vocabulary, it had also its own
gloves, somatimeS, as those of King
Henry, large sed clumsily made, bu
mostly richlyembroide-ed, edged andn
lined, with heavy tasSelS to correspond.
Perhaps tine reason why some of these
hawking gloves are really artistically
worked is that ladies likewise took part
in the sport of hawking. Archery was
another pastime in which they were
and many I'd. for ''shoot-
ing gloves for my mistress occurs in
the accounts of the stewards of those
times.
Mr.. Beck discourseS pleasantly con-
corning all manner of gloves-royal,
plebeian, sporting, military, judicial,
and ecclesiastical. Sometimes his zeal
carries him away when lie speaks of the
white gloves of the Judge as being
''foret;lSte of the millennium" but he
is generally reasonable and always
Of more interest to the
glove wearers of to-day is his account
of the gloves of famous Queens. Queen
Elizabeth's gloves were of fine white
leather worked with gold thread, and
lined in the cuffs with drab silk. Mary
Queen of Scots gloves cost los. with
out ornaments, tue latter costing sos.
more. One of them, which IS still pre-
served, was of light buff leather, with
a gauntlet embroidered with silver wire