The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1889-08-23

u'ursd augustus >ala says: III =
thorn was the first needle no doubt q
palm leaf was tho first FAM and
ancient monuments show us that such
natural objects as the palm leaf and
the birds sing were originally adapted
othis use To the present day al shops
dealing in Eastern produce may be
purchased palm-leaf fans exactly sim
liar 10 those we see figured on monu-
nents dated from long before tho
Christian era. Frcscocs on the temple
% Melinet- iahan at Thotcs repre-
sent RamcSes III. (whose reign began
I'D u 90 accompanied b. Princes
bearing scrcen-shapcd fans These
ians were scmi-circular in shape.
painted in brilliant colors. with lon,
handles twisted or pafii-coiored-
They served as standards. and werc
borne only BY royal Princes. or men
.; high rank and approved bravery.
lland-scrccn fans made Of leaves and
Of ostrich feathers were also in zen
cral use. In the British Museum may
b. seen specimens with half yari-iong
\ wooden handles.
\ In India the earliest fans we're OF
! palm leaves. In Persia and among the
/ Arabs o-trlch-feathcr fans wcrc in use
4 early in the Christian era Screen
\ fans are mentioned as being ia use in
\ China about the same date that
Raneses iii. was rcignins In Egypt.
and. - in Egypt. they were carried as
standards in war. The earliest kinds.
( made Of feathers. were royal Oh inn
perial gift-- Later on white and en-
Droidercd silk was apparently used.
for we find it, application u this pur-
pose forbidden in los a. ID Ivory
had been employed 1t an anterior date.
and in the early part Of the Christian
era I. Chinese workman whose name
j. handed down as Chi-ki-lon-. was re-
nowncu for Screen-shaped hand fans.
which he made BY beating on; sh, ct
OF gold TO excessive thinncss. lilo
then painted them with gods. with cx-
traordinary birds and with rare ami
mails: vanished them and covered
them with transparent sheets Of mica "
The fan i mentioned By Euripides.
Virgil. Ovid. ctc. and il j. frequently
10 be found figured on Etruscan vases.
BOeitiser states that the earliest Greek
screen fans were shaped like the plane
tree leaf But in the fifth century H.
u the fashion 81 peacock feather fans
was introduced from Asia Minor. and
Wa readily adopted by the Greek
women. a frc~co az Hercuancum de-
pict~ an ostrich-feaiher fan. The
"'abelIse" mentioned ~ Ovid and
(, PrOpertsu- were hand screens Of thin
wood; AZ times these were trimmed
with feathers
\ But none ~ these screen fans. large
O. small. whether made on feathers. Of
leaves 81 ivory or 81 gold, whethcr
serii-circuiar or taii-shaped. could DO
folded. They were either attached TO
\ long handles. like the Chinese and
Egyptian war fans. or 10 small han
dies for the convenience OF personal
us.
With the last OF the Cnsars the
screen fan disappears from Europe,
not 70 reaper until the time OF the
Crusades. when the fag-shaped fan.
probably Of Saracenic origin. was in
Produced. and continued in use in Ven
ice. Naples and Padua.
In the meantime Christianity had
Transmitted the far into an instrument
Of devotion ST. jerome had NAMED il
a. the emblem of chastity. and hence
forth il took its place in the sanctuary.
where at the altar it served TO keep
flies from the chalicc and the suns
rays from the ceIebrant. The ''fab-
elIum" thus used has come down TO
US in actual specimens as the
fabcllum Of the Abbey Of Tonrnus. fig
urcd ia NJ du Sommerard's work
The fahellum Is also mentioned in
many Inventories. notably one OF silk
a, Salisbury. A. ID 1914: one in pea
cocks feathers at st. Paul's Cathedral.
1895. They continued in general uso
until the end OF the thirteenth century.
and still form one Of the most marked
features in all grand papal ceremonies.
Closely related in shape TO tho
iabellum were the earliest fans or
peacocSs' feathers worn by ladies.
Such fan is held by Maria Luisa do
Tassis in her portrait By Van Dyck.
These fans are known to have been
Of considerable value, worth E4o or
more. The handles were Of ivory or
Of gold. worked and jewelcd- Tho
feathers were ostrich. peacock or some
other bright plumage. and the IAN
hung BY a slender chain from the
heavier girdlc then worn round tho
waist This mode OF hanging the fan
continued fashionable to the seven
tecnth century.
In illuminated manuscripts OF tho
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries
NAV be seen flag fans similar in form
10 that in use in Tunis to this day. and
in an inventory Of Charles the Fifth
81 France. dated 1880. we read FOR tho
first time Of ''un ssmonch2ir rond qui
SC playc. en- Qnoirc, aux armes do
France ct De Navarro. mancho