Wichita eagle., 1889-03-14
9aily - eagle
WEDDING PRESENTS.
Tokens Of Friendship in the Hands
Of Jewelry Merchants.
More Gifts Sold by NewIy-Wedded
Couples Than Society dreams Of-In-
side Facts Concerning a Very Inter
estipg and Profitable Business.
N. Y. Cor. Washington Post.l

The subject of wedding presents is al.
ways an agreeable one to contemplate.
Sometimes it causes the heart to quicken
its pulsations, and now and then it has a
depressing influence upon ones pocket
book. In that sweet little book called
"Memoirs and Letters of Mrs. Madison"
read:
"The wedding presents of eighty years
ago differed from the present gorgeous
display of jewels, brio a-brac, ETC., mas
much as they were tokens of love or
friendship made by tho hand of the friend
elaborate EN- broideries from sleeves to
pin-cushions, paintings and original poe
try"
If "original poetry" should ever again
come into fashion for wedding presents
what brilliant opportunity it would af-
fordi
Articles of silver are always standard
" wedding presents. Once, in Washington,
at wedding, the wife of the Russian
Minister, Nine. Dashcof, sent the usual
wedding presen: of her country-two sill
yer wine coolers, one filled with salt, the
essence of life, and the other with bread,
the staff of life. At the recent Drexel
wedding at Elberon, N. J., the generous
Mr.. George W. Childs presented the bride
with a silver tea set. That is the regula-
tion American present, and sometimes a
bride has such an embarrassment of riches
in the shape of silver, especially if she is
to live in a French fat or hotel, that she
is perplexed with the problem of how to
dispose of the collection.
Knowing of no one in New Y ork who is
better informed on this subject than Mr..
j. H. Johnston who invented the traffic in
duplicate wedding presents, which has
now grown to be a large business. inter-
viewed him on the subject, and he told me
the following remarkable story:
"Here," he said, showing me tall,
handsome ornamental piece intended for
holding fruit, 'is a dish that cost $3.50
when it was bought for wedding pres
ent. / will sell it for $3.50. 1t has never
been used, and is just as good as when
first purchased. 1t came with a couple of
barrels full of wedding presents l bought
the other day of Chicago millionaire.
His wife died year or so ago. She had
hosts of wedding presents. They were all
left to her husband. He is thinking of
marrying again. Money! is no considera.
ton with him. He wished to get rid of
the presents to his first wife, and could not
dispose of them in Chicago very well lest
some of those who bought them might
make the discovery, so he came to me and
sold the whole lot for so much an ounce,
according to their weight-that is, little
more than the price Of old silver. The
more work there is on silver dish the
cheaper can sell it in proportion"
Then he opened box and showed me a
lovely ice cream set-a central dish with
a solid silver Cupid for a handle, six
smaller dishes for serving the cream, and
six spoons, all lined with gold and beauti-
fully designed. 'These cost, at one of the
first houses in the city, S225. l ask SS5 for
them. 81 suppose" he continued, ''that
there are 5000 trunks filled with silver in
the storage warehouse es of this city. In
time people grow tired of paying storage
.on them. Some times 1 buy two or three
trunkfuls day. A lady came into my
store few days since and sold me a
trunkful. All / could give her was 500.
She remark ed that that was Just the sum
she had already paid for storage. Dupli-
cate wedding presents are very common
Often a bride will receive half dozen
clocks, a dozen castors and three or four
silver tea sets. She decides to sell
one, and picks out the least at.
tractive or the one which was pre-
sented by some one for whom she cares
very little. Here is just such a set" said
Mr.. Johnston, opening a magnificent
IL
by the Gorham Manufacturing Company,
was sold by a well -kn own house on John
street, and cost 500. / can sell it for
$500. The box alone cost over 500. Here
are six magnificent pieces which have
never been used. And here" handing me
a handsome hammered silver soup tureen,
made in the shape of turtle, sis a dish
which costs $3.50 at Tiffany's | will sell it
for 500. 1t was brought in here by a
young man from Wall street who was
married not long ago. He is the son of
one of the best-known men in America.
Do not ask me why he sold it, do not
know. There may have been thousand
reasons. You can guess as well as l."
The next article inspected was an old
English soup tureen standing on a
large silver platter. For theMdish
alone $3.50 was paid. The platter
was worth 500 more The who'll could be
bought of Mr.. Johnston for S45e, differ
ence of $500. An exquisite silver vase,
with rose in relief on one side, which cost
$50. was offered for $40. jewelers. in all
parts of the country send word TO Mr..
Johnston that they have a lot of wedding
presents on hand, which, from motives of
delicacy, can not he sold in KeokUk, or
Nashville, or Albany, and will he purchase
them and throw them upon the great
metropolitan market? So they ccne to
New York and fill the shelves of the
store, where customers throng in search
for bargains.
Recently a gentleman called on Mr..
J 1bnston and picked out a silver tea ket-
tie for $3.50, which he proposed to buy for
a wedding present. He agreed to call
the next forenoon and conclude the bar
gain. Failing to do so the silver
tea kettle stood on the shelf in sight of
Gu ustomers In the afternoon a lady came
in and picked out ST, 200 worth of silver
ware, including the tea kettle. OF course,
the man came back the next day, hot to
paw for the tea kettle and take it away.
He was told that il had been sold. He
was furious. The lady was appealed to.
Sic insisted upon that Identical kettle or
she would not take piece of silver out of
the house. Ii was a regular tempest in a
teapot, with a man holding the spout and
a woman at the handle. Matters were
finally arranged. 1t was agreed that the
$50 kettle should be duplicated by Tiffany
& Co. This was done, but Mr.. Johnston
had to nav SS95 for the duplicate, So I