Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-09-24

country tAst year by twenty hrms, ot
Of which Is located ia Boston, on
IN Philadelphia. and eighteen In Me-
York. The Philadelphia house deal
only in the finer grades, whic
are purchased by agents Of the firm
The great hnmsn-hair market in Paris
Nearly all Of the hair sold In this conn
Try comes from abroad. Twice yea
agents Of the great Partisan dealer
writ the provincial fairs in France
Germany, and Switzerland and bu,
large quantities from the peasant girl
and women. In Europe the peasan
women do . great deal Of out-doo
work. and long hair interferes will
their business. They are willing I,
sacrifice their locks for q monetary con
siderstion and the hair-cutters do
thriving business all over Europe du
ring the fair season.
The most expensive hair is pur,
white. which is worth double its weigh
in gold. The cheapest hair is worth
about Is per ounce. The white switches
are obtained by selecting hairs from a
hundred different heads that have
turned gray. When head Of hair be.
comes white, particularly among the
pessantry. the sun usually turns the
ends yellow. and this impairs their
money value. The next most expen-
siye hair is gray and the different va
rieties Of drab. Blacks, browns, au-
burns. and goldens are cheaper and
usually coarser. White hair of any
length is usually fine, and the drabs
are like spun silk.
VERY LITTLE BOUGHT IN AMERICA.
When the hair is purchased 1t is made
up into bales and shipped to Paris.
Here it undergoes cleansing and pufi-
flying process. The coarser grades are
treated with borax and potash, but the
finer tints Of drab and the grays and
whites are cleaned with bran. Very
little hair is bought from the growers,
so to speak. in America. Sometimes
combiDgs Of extraordinary length are
sent TO the hair-dressers and made up
into switches, but usually purchasers
prefer the imported goods. The trade
depends much upon the caprice Of fash
ion. Now the style is long hair behind |
and short, fluffy hair in front.
A great many ladies with scanty |
hair have their own locks shorn close |
and wear wigs, which are fashioned so
cleverly that even the most minute in
spection does not discover the decep-
ton. Men do not take to wigs as
readily as women.
al had strange experience once in
human hair" said member of firm
Of human-hair importers yesterday.
"A French lady Of noble blood, who
has been my friend for years. wrote me
a few months ago, enclosing lock Of
hair, which was peculiar shade of
drab and Of silky fineness. She want
ed HE to match it. and set about do
ing so. dispatched my agents all
over Europe, but nowhere could they
find a thread Of hair that would match
the sample.
81 then inserted an advertisement in
the principal Philadelphia, New York,
and Boston papers, offering a liberal
reward for a switch of the desired
quality and color. One day a woman
Of about twenty years of age, shabbily
dressed, but with form and face that
Venus might have envied, entered my
Office.
al came in answer to your adver-
tisement, she said, and removing her
hat, unbound luxuriant coil Of hair
that called from me an involuntary cry
Of admiration. viii this do?' she
asked.
81 examined her hair and compared
i with the sample sent me by the
Countess. The two were so similar I
that when ! mixed them together l '
could not distinguish one from the
other. {
TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS AN OUNCE.
"' This hair is exactly what want .
said. and i will give you 800 an
ounce for it, !
"'Take it off, she said, with
nervous trembling Of her voice that at 4,
once attracted my attention. Il am
starving, ! and my baby, and what you 6
IRE willing to pay is fortune to us $
~ became interested and questioned
her. After little hesitation she told !
me her story. Her husband had been
\ sea captain, and shortly after they !
we're married had sailed for the west ,
coast Of Africa. His vessel was never ,
heard Of after leaving port, and it was
presumed that she had fosndered at sea ,
and all hands had been lost. The pre- ,,
sumed widow had struggled to maintain ,
herself and infant child, but with in
different success. Finally, when suffer-
Dg from the pangs Of hunger, she had
read my advertisement and FASTENED to
my place Of business, praying inward
ly that her hair, which had been her
husbands pride, might be of the re-
quired shade.
"Well, to make long story short,
| bought her hair, which weighed four
ounces. and paid her $500 for it.
sent the switch to my customer, the
and wrote her the history of
the hair. She is woman Of great
wealth and goodness Of heart. The re-
turn mail brought me letter authoriz-
ing me to pay tho poor little sailors
widow $1,000 extra. l did so, and
wrote an account Of the affair to our
official journal, which is published in
New York. The story was so romantic
that the daily paprrs copied it, and |
received several letters from charitable
people offering pecuniary assistance to
the sailors widow. She was proud,
and refused to receive any help.
THE HUSBANDS RETURN.
Ono day, about three weeks after the
publication Of the story, man, who
ives bronzed and bearded, came into
my Office very much excited. He held
In his hand copy Of a New York pa
per, and unfolding it pointed to my
story.
Can you give me the address of
this woman he asked eagerly. she
Us my wife. thought her dead
"While wrote down the address he !
told me his story. His vessel had been '