The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1884-05-07
TIE sLAlE TnEY WEAR.
"here II Comes from md tho Cost or II
Those nenulifal Waves, r

-. .A| n.y."
Exchange. sa. 5IG 4
"Human hair goods arc worn moro now
than they ever were" said a Boston dealer
who does a large business in such articles,
"All classes OF ladies wear tEem-younr,
middle'aged, and old-somo for use, bu.
more Tor ornament. Men wear wigs only
when they cannot help 1t. Women wear
ialse hair to add 10 their charms. Short
mar IS IN demand now, in the form OF Lis.
BON and sea.foam waves and ~irizzeu, and
the .iavolito color Is chestnut.browu, Tho
golden shade, 80 much in fashion a few
years ago, has fallen 80 per cent In price.
There IS a great deal OF competition, and
81 kinds Of hair goods arc cheaper than
they used to be. Switches, especially, can
pc had at y low price. Ladies paid former.
ly Slo TO SO for Il good one, but they can
day."
come lrom?'
"Nearly all from France and Germany,
with a little from other parts OF the Cont.
nent and England. The largest quantity
and best quality is from France. it 10 not
the hair Of dead persons, a smany imayine,
but from the heads Of living peasant girls.
1t is gathered by peddlers, who buy It for
q tritic-a silk handkerchief, OF some other
trltls which pleaaes the fancy. 1t is taken
to Paris and sold TO manufacturers, who
assoitit in lengths and shades for export TO
America and other countries. Here are
some boxes with hair which has not vet
seen light in this country. I will open
one. There, you see the form in which it
comes. Little rolls, which l put out 30,
and you SEQ what will be a part OF a Lisbon
wave. That is the best quality Of hair.
There ia also sn inferior kind, not much
used, which is gathered from ash barrels and
duet heaps Of Paris and Italy, and assorted
lntolengths and shades. Ii is the cheapest
kind OF hair. Dealers pay from six dollars
to twelve dollars a dczsn for the switches,
and sell them at Il dollar and two dollars
each. We see some raw hair in this
country, but very little. It comes nearly
all from the nunneriea. l do not think
there would be liity pounds Of it in the
hall n ton OF hair which I buy in q year,
There are some inferior grades made by
New York jobbers, but all the good hair
ccmeo from abroad. There arc In France
regular hair raisers'-that is, girls who have
there hair cut for sale every four years."
What is the most expensive kind OF
hairY"
Natural silver white, like this, is worth
Sis or SO an ounce; SO you see it is worth
more than its weight in gold. Bleached
white hair is worth only So an ounce. Nat.
nral hair Of ordinary ohsdes is worth from
IS to $50 q pound, except the hair collected
by rag.pickera, which brings only from 81
to So. The value OF different colors OF
hair depends on the fashion. yellow hair
not golden is almcat useless to us?"
II suppose there have been great i'm.
provements made in your art Of late
years?"
"Yes, indeed. You could tell the old.
fashioned wig a mile of, but now I can
make a wig that will defy detection. A
great many top-picces are worn by men,
like this"
Here the hsir.dealer, greatly to the sur.
prise Of t%he.rsporter, lifted up what was 10
all appearances the natural hair on the top
OF his head, and disclosed a Uranium as bare
as a billiard ball.
"Now,S eaid he, "hcre is what We call
the LlAhon wave for ladies. 1t is in the
fashionable shade, but it is worn over ma.
tural OF any color, and wholly conceals il,
a great deal Of hair is required to make
q good wig. The hairs have to be- drawn
through meshes ono by one where the
parting is, ana at that par! the meshes are
made Of white hair woven in pieces Of dill.
ierent lengths and widths. Here are some
OF them"
A few thin packages lay in a small desk
drawer. They looked like coarse muslin,
There arc $500 worth there" eaid the
dealer. "iou can shut your hand on 500
worth. A good wave costs from S. to $50,
according 10 quality and color. Ornaments
for the hair in Iateet style have Rhine
stones in them to sparkle Mt night. These
cost from % cents to S. each. Do I make
false eyebrowH2 Sometimes; but it ia hard
10 do good work with them 30 that they
cannot be detached. I do not make false
mustaches for dudes"
II suppose you sell a good many light.
colored waves to dark.haired ladies p"
"Ah, you may see many a pretty blond
on the street with black eyes, which she
cannot hide, and black hair, which She
can. Fashion rules all. Just now the
color is medium brown, but there are con.
slant changes in style, enough to keep one
Gor tho uoi oil y, t;,,nu