Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1884-05-21
An HUMBLE BEGINNING
Origin and Growth of the Popular
ssManicure'' Business.
a Eyide-Awake Yankee Woman Inn.
proves an Accidental Opportunity
---FOrtune from the Tide
Taken at the Flood.
T"H. H. A." in Chicago Tribune.1

III. ii. A. IN chicago IrlDunel
Ten years ago the care and treatment Of
the finger-nails was an unheard-of business.
Its beginning was Of the humblest de-
scription, as I shall relate later on. l
have taken pains to ascertain to what ex-
tent this profession" as it is now called, has
grown, and am informed that in every city
Of the United States of any Importance, and
in many of the smaller towns, there are
from one to twenty manicures, and that in
New York, Boston and Philadelphia they
arc not to be numbered by the score but by
the hundred.
CAUGHT AN IDEA.
Less than ten years ago there happened to
be in New York a certain chiropodist who
was occasionally assisted in the treatment of
lis lady customers by his wife. Fortunately
for all parties concerned, this wife was all
enterprising American woman and typical
eastern girl 1t was her habit when the hus-
band was engaged at his office and call
came for the doctor to attend patient at
his or her residence, when the patient was a
lady, for the wife to attend her. One day
she went to well-known fashionable woman
in New York city, and, after attending to
her duties, was about to leave when the lady,
who had recently returned from Europe,
care of the fingers as well"
Our American had never heard of any par
ticular care of the fingers, but, true to her
trife of this kind, and answered, ooh, GER
tainly," having no idea what was to come
next. The lady then said: "Have you your
instruments with you?" to which the Yankee
replied no, she had not, but would make an
engagement if the lady wished and bring her
them. Accordingly it was arranged that she
should come the following Thursday, and
that she should give the client treatment
| for her fingers. When she returned to her
| partner in the pedicure business she informed
him of the agreement she had made, and they
both began to consult various works On the
treatment of the feet in the vain hope that
they would find something also regarding the
hands AS neither of them spoke French
for it would have been very easy to have
found something on this subject in that
language-they were kept in state Of ignor-
ance and even had no idea that the word
manicure" applied to doctor for the hands.
GETTING THE MATERIAL.
| The wife, however, recollected that she
had seen in the pharmacy showcases certain
little boxes with tools therein which were
|
hands. She accordingly purchased one of
| these boxes at drug store, and upon open
ing the various little pots, found that one
contained a powder, another sort of red
paste, and there was a channels pad, Or pol,
isher, besides the scissors. file, etc. This lit
, tie case was imported, and had slip of paper
| with some writing in French upon it. Our
Yankee girl took the French paper to ten
ant of that nationality living in the same
| house with her who translated the same, by
| which she gained the information that the
| care of the nails was of as much Importance
to women Of fashion as the care of the teeth
| and that as much time should be spent on the
| beauty and preservation of one as the other.
| This was, of course, very instructive and to
the point, but gave no particular informa-
| ton as to what she was to do with the va.
rious instruments of curious shapes which
| the little box contained.
| Nothing daunted, however, bya little trihe
| like the fact that she was prepared to wage
war on the delicate hands of her patient with
the intention of using every blessed one of
these tools, be the effect what it might, she
! proceeded to the house of her patron. The
lady herself unconsciously aided our Yankee
FRIEND and appeared with a dainty bowl of
warm water into which she dipped her rosy
fingers before delivering her hands to her sol
disant manicure" By dint of absolute
Cheek" for there is no other word for it,
the operation was successfully concluded, the
lady appearing very well satisfied. The
manicure, now fully fedged pocketed her
fee after making another engagement for a
| future day, returned to her husband and re-
lated her experience, and resolved forthwith
to set up as sort of branch to his depart
ment a room where she could treat the fingers
| of such of the fair sex as could be inveigled
into her den.
| ALARGE BUSINESS.
| From this simple and most ignorant be-
| ginning the woman of whom write is now,
| I suppose, the most successful manicure by
all odds in America, and should say from q
| pretty fair experience is as good as any OF
the French women who after serving quite q
long apprenticeship undertake the business
which is very old one on the other side OF
| the water do not know how much of 6
fortune this first manicure has made, but
| am certain it is no inconsiderablo sum. She
not only has a suite of large parlors very ele-
| gantly furnished, where, on a bright morn
ing, may at times be seen fifteen'or twenty of
| tie most fashionable New York women but
she has for the last two or three years done q
| large business in the manufacture of the
goods necessary for the proper, care and
treatment of the hands Each lady, OF
course, has her own instruments just as much
as each lady has her own combs and brushes,
and, while am not aware that the fabrica-
ton of them is very expensive am perfectly
convinced that the retail price admits of an
immense profit, most of which, of course,
accrues to the manufacturer. In every city
in the United States these goods are sold.
Most of them are patented, and besides the
instruments the same person manufactures
the powder and paste.
| should think this was one Of the remark
able instances of taking "the tide in the af
fairs of women at the flood, which leads on
to fortune" From a mere accident which,
| to less observant and ready woman, would
have been passed by without perhaps flu
ture thought, has arisen q lucrative and
well-founded business, which not only sup
ports and brings comfortable income to the
woman by whose cleyerness it was created
but is the means of giving livelihood tc
hundreds of others, most Of whom lGve
started out without dollar of capital, and
with nothing to depend upon but their own
aptness and some little skill, for understand
an apprenticeship of three or four days OF q
week is all that is necessary to learn this
business
what Killed the esstriches.
[Philadel Ola CALI
The California ostrich farmer has lost tep
birds this winter. Some foe of his must have
dropped q restaurant pie into the pen.