Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-07-31
FORTUNES IN TRIPLES.
Pocket-Books That Cost More
 Than They Ever Garry.
q Rage for Articles in New Kinds ol Leather - Elephant Skin and Lizard Skin in Common Use-walking
 Sticks with Jeweled Hoads.

Skin in Common Use-Walkin9
 Sticks with Jewsled HoAds.
 Half the well-dressed women of New York carry pocket-books that cost moro money than they ever inclosc, says t}se New York Star. Just study the pc1derous, metalbound leather cases, which every woman grasps in her little fist when she goes shopping, and you'll learn something that few men have hitherto suspected. The practice of carrying tho feminine purse high aloft III tho fist will not die out so long as this furnishes chance to exhibit costly trifies in leather to wondering world of men.
 Nearly S1OO for little bit of gold-bound leather that scarce fills the rosy palm for which it was madel That is the price. The leather is gold tinted lizard skin, with all the scales shining. The gold is richly chased. Every thing within and without is costly and beautiful. Perhaps New York has not yet reached the point of making silk purses out of certain material proverbially unfit for such use, but very pretty pockct-books arc made out of the polecat's skin. Odorousl Not in the least; the beast has been slan- dered. Its skin Is beautifully grained, soft and pliant. A famous concern in this town has recently been making odd experiments in feathers. Tho result is that the Austra- Han rabbit, the American elk, tho peccary, the reindeer, tho anteater, tho badger, the monkey, the coon, the buffalo and even the elephant havc yielded up their outer cover ing to gratify the whims of fair women. You may buy an elephant purse for t20 or $S0. The skin looks like cork, being of neu- tral tint, with odd pin holes penetrating the surface It Is tough and marvelously durable. A few travelling bags have been made of 1t. They weigh good deal when shaving case, brushes, combs and fasks have been fitted in, and they fetch rather more than e25O apiece. Pocket-books of buffalo skin are pretty, and the leather is extremely pliant, though stout.
 All these new feathers have driven out the old-fashioned morocco. Every thing must be expensively ornamented with sill yer or gold. The lizard skin comes in twenty or thirty varieties. They are brought ready-cured from South America They are big enough, by careful piecing, to be made into small travelling bags. There Is Q popular notion that every scaled and mottled skin Is that of snake. As mat ter of fact, snake skins are comparatively FHrs. The las. elephant skin used in New York was cured here, and very successfully cured. It went into pocket-books, note books, portfolios, travelling bags, and what not. The thickest portions had to be split. It is so tough that 1t has to be worked with specially strong tools. When ell the skin had been worked up one of the great feet was made the pedestal of 8 unique umbrel- la stand. The great toes, looking like big and badly-brushed teeth, had an odd ap- pearance. The body of the stand Is of brass, with a large elephants head in front armed with fantastically exaggerated nickel plated tusks.
 Among the rich there Is @ rage for unique objects, such as pocket-books, purses, trav- cling bags. These things are made up for the general public in sufficiently costly form, one would think, but with men to whom $500 Is @ trihe, costly things that have duplicates will not serve. Travelling bags costing $2OO to $500 are constantly made to order. They are wrought of curious leather, and the customer picks out silver mounted hasks, brushes, razors and the like to make up an expensive dressing case, which is fitted into the bag. Odd and origi- nal designs in hammered silver are made to order as binding for leather pocket books. There is no limit to the cost of gold netted purses for ladies. Some of them have a great jewel in the bottom. A tiny one to serve as a watch charm and, per haps, to carry carfare. Is marked $16 while &13O is not high price for larger sizes. Walking sticks are made the excuse for curious indulgence of extravagant tastes. Nobody buys gold-headed canes now except to present to public men, who never carry the l showy gifts. Much costlier canes, however 1 are those ornamented with enamel or gold One has a small head of Etruscan gold en- | ameled in garnet and three shades of blue l Not many buy such stick for S45. An. other has head of red rhodonite in net
 work of gold. It costs s100. Still another
 has for head a delicately wrought golden coronet topped with brilliant rhodonite ir l imitation of red velvet A costlier one stil
 has great star sapphire set into Q head o1
 rich Etruscan gold. It sells for s200. A head
 made of Q cluster of children's heads
 in silver sells for so. Prices then TUT down to $50, $40 and $20. On such sticks the heads have moro or less familiar designs.
 The costliest sticks are malacc2 A cer
 tain variety of small diameter brings, un
 mounted, more than 80 per stick. Price.
 then run down to $2 per stick. An ode
 stick is of wood completely veneered witt tortoise shell. It looks like solid stick O.
 shell.
 There is something of Q rage for turning | relics into heads for umbrellas and walk ing sticks. Ono man had the handle of
 handsome old dagger placed on an umbrella
 Ancient coins arc also turned into cam
 heads.
 GAAQMlNC RO0K.AGENT: