The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1885-08-14
Old STYLE Bric-a-brac.

1.-The business is about as dead as |
am" said white-halred dealer in old
style bric-a-brac. The place was a
second floor front, on the Bowery,
used as both store and living room.
Fifty years ago there was lots Of
money in it, but there's none now.
We can't compete with machinery and
new-fangled notions. Here's samp-
lar, appropriately framed. The field is
white silk. and on it is worked in black
silk floss tomb, willow, and a be-
reaved husband. You see the inscrip-
ton is worked with a coarser and
looser stitch than all the rest. That
! enables the owner to pick it out and
have some other name inserted. 1t
used to take three weeks hard work
| by a tirst-rate sewing woman to make
one, and it would fetch from Sl5 to
$50, according to the tineness Some
times husband would have an 'ele-
giant mortuary,' as we call this sort OF
a thing, made from his deceased wifes
hair. On cardboard it didn't cost
much, but on silk 1T was expensive.
How did we mako the hairs lie f1atP
We soaked them in hot water, and
ironed the whole thing with very
hot, heavy datiron. The samplar |
showed you I sold in 1912 for $50. |
bought it back at an auction last week
for half-dollar, and [ was the only
bidder.
"South sea and West India stells
and corals used to sell well. They
were for the mantleplece and for what
nots. Whatnots are gone out OF fash
ion now, along with what they had to
have on them. Handsome shells
would bring in the old days from 20
cents to 81 apiece. To-day you can
have that case there, containing 2oO
good ones, for 500. case and all, and
the case cost S12
"Corals were all the go in the old
times. The heightened folks wanted
skeleton coral, because they thought
it grew that way. But it didn't. Wed
take branch of cheap coral aud put
1t in pan or trough and cover it with
water In which we'd put little mu,
ratio acid. At the end of week all
the lime would be dissolved out and
only the skeleton was left. 1t looked
just like big cobweb. We'd leave u
white or stain it red with cochlneal,
y
The wives of old sea captains and
shipping merchants were our best Gus
toners. Another popular class of or
naments were carved ivory and ebony
articles from China and Japan. These
cost then, as now, good deal in the
east, and were very expensive. once
1 had carved ebony box, which con-
tanned another, and so on to twenty
boxes. The last one had inside four OF
five little men and women not mucn
bigger than beans, but beautifully
carved. The late Sam Bradford fales
had number of them in his collec-
ton in Philadelphia, and believe
there are samples in the Barlow, Gar
.rett, Packer, and Green collections
but never see thom nowadays.
Then there were the relics: PIECES
of wood from the favorite war shlpso'
America and England, and bullels,,
bayonets, and pieces of shot and sn9I
from famous battlelields These paid
well, because we could always maAo
Fem when we didn't have them ~
hand. The demand for them is nv
quite dead yet. Then, in the old day.,
people liked horrors to ornament tnoh
nariors th-the ropes with Wniodj 4
criminals were hung, the knives anu
pistols with which murders were cor
United. and the iimmies and picklocnnss
Of celebrated thieves. Women we.'
lust as crazy for such things as , %oS
and paid very high prices, for th SsS
times, for some particularly co o
weapon. But there's no use Oh hr Jc
plaining. Chromos, modern ,,,,, of'I MI
brac. and domestic art have kiliea -. -.
business forever, and there's an