Morning journal and courier., 1883-09-05
Fans and How They are Made.

Stimulated by the midsummer heat, a New York Tribune reporter started out recently on tour of inquiry in regard to the sources from which New York draws the immense number of fans sold there. He first con- versed with an extensive importer of Japa- nese fans, who said in answer to his inquir- ies:
 ''For more than one thousand years fan making has been principal industry of Ja- pan Lying partly in warm attitudes Gts ex- tremes being 310 and 550) that country has naturally felt the need of fans. In this gagged out of 8 population of l, 500, ,000 in the three fan districts of Osaka, Kioto and Nagoya. Millions of fans are made every year, good share of which have within the last five years been imported into this coun- try and scattered broadcast-the Japanese fans combining ightness with artistic work manship and, in the ordinary grades, cheap prices. Their cheapness in price is due largely to the low cost of living in Japan, a few cents a day being sufficient for the na- tive worker. The artistic workmanship is due to natural talent cultivated through many generations; while the ightness of the fans comes from the fact that most of the fan sticks are made out of bamboo, indigenous to the country and growing over all of it's extent.
 "There are many varieties in bamboo, diff fsring in strength. It's natural color is yell low, or brown, or a brown spotted with black sometimes it is colored artifcially Q maroon or a black. Frequently, slso, the stick is lacquered-sn art in which the Japa- nese are yet unrivaled, and the lacquer is in turn sprinkled with figures in relief, made out of lacquer mixed with the dust of cop per. brass, silver or gold. Other materials used for the fan-sticks are bone, ivory and wood. The ivory Is sometimes carved and inlaid with mother of pearl, gold and silver. The wood used for sticks is ebony, mahogany and chestnut. and is generally lacquered.
 ''The tops of Japanese fan are made of paper, parchment, cotton and silk: The paper is the fiber obtained from boiling down the bark of the paper tree, to the cultivation of which whole districts are devoted. Mulberry bark is also used for the same purpose. though it is much more expensive. The Japanese so called parch- ment comes from rare tree and Is favored because of it's strength. These tops are ornamented with pictures, which in the cheaper grades are, of course, printed, and in the more expensive fans are hand painted. The coloring in the lower grades is vivid in the more expensive it is invariably supdued. For the trade in this country, however, particularly for the western trade, bright colors are more often found among the expensive fans. The prices vary largely with the tops silk costing twice as much as any other material. But, in general, fans with bamboo sticks run from one cent to $2 bone stick fans cost from ten cents to $5 wood stick fans from $1 to $25 and those of ivory sticks begin at $5 and run as high as $125. Mourning fans, with the tops of either paper or silk, cost from 25 cents to BIO. The Japanese palm leaf, or, as it is sometimes called, the church fan, is still popular It is sold as low as three or four cents"
 Then the reporter turned his steps to Tiff fany's, where he obtained these rays of light on the subject of fans imported from Flu rope
 though the Vienness dress fan has of late found favor here. The French fans in the cheaper grades CPS cents to $15) were for g time pressed out of the market by the Japa nese fans but they are now rapidly recover ing their former favor. The sticks of these are usually of wood or bone, and the tops oi cretonne, silk or satin. The French dress fans have their sticks made of shell, mother of pearl or ivory; the tops are either of silk ostrich feathers or lace, sometimes satin or kid. The shell stick fans have usually nc painting on their tops. and cost from x2O to $25. The lace fans usually have sticks o1 mother of pearl, and cost from $5o to $25O. The ivory-sticks are seldom combined with lace tops, silk being Preferred tnese cost about t-$25 The fans of ostrich feathers be gin at about $45, an especially attractive ar rangement being number of broad feathers covered with smaller ones. In the decora ton of the silk topped fans, Albert of Paril has won an especial reputation. Another fan used is one of silk, top embroidered , With stick of ivory, these cost about $30
 with one of bone, from $12 or $15 upward The mourning fan most popular is combi nation of black silk with ebonized wood ol dark shell.
 s'In the cheaper grades of Vienna fans