The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-11-21
PAYING FOR THE SEALSKIN.
High Prices OF Furs Stimulating Imita-
tions-Beaver Hats.

High Prices Of Furs Stimulating Imita-
tions-Beaver Hats.
The price of sealshins throughout the
world is regulated by the auction sales |
which take place twice year in London,
and of which the October sale ia the most |
important. The great sale of 1880 showed
an average advance of about 1OJ per cent.
over last years sales. This was caused by
the meager offerings of the North American
Commercial company, which only put up
q 600 skins for sale, says the San Francisco
Call. Buyers were encouraged to bid
against each other by the steadily growing
popularity Of sealskins among the wealthy.
In Paris, London, st. Petersburg,
yienn: Berlin and New York a.., ladies'
and il the supply falls OF the price must
90 up. When q eealskin wrap costs at re-
tail $250 it is plain that the garment must
be the apanaRe of the rich. Persons of
moderate means must wear something else.
An snterprising furrier has undertaken to
INTRODUCES rabbit skin, which has been SO
manipulated a. to resemble sealskin. This
il only one of Abe skins which can be made
up into garments. Handsome wraps have
been made from the chinchilla Of Peru, the
and British North America, the woolly
lamb Of Persia, the marten Of British
North America, the mink Of Maine and
Nova Scotia. the muskrat of New England,
the land otter Of Canada, the sea otter of
the Northern Pacific. the sable OF Siberia.
sable Uoat even more than sealskins, and as
70 these, the ermine and one or two others,
they are not likely to take the place of the
of the zeal furs. simply because, even at
tho late advance. the latter are still the
cheaper. But the skins Of the rabbit, the
tpr hlv,A and nilvor thu mink tho rnnokpak
and other rodents are cheap, and il they
were treated as deliberately az the fur-seal
skin now is in London they might be made
handsome enough to please portion Of the
ladies. Whenever natural product be-
comes scarce and dear an artificial imitation
takes its place and sometimes aurpasses it
\ in excellence. The tall stovepipe hat ia an
example in point. These head coverings
were originally made of beaver akin. and to
this day they are sometimes called beavers.
But when the hunters nearly exterminated
the beaver in Canada and our northern
{ states, hatters began to make stovepipe
hats of silk, and now beaver skins, like hare
skins and nutria skins, are used BY matters
- stock for cheap soft hats. The dress hat
is silken manufacture. beaver hat is a
thing of the past, heavy, clumsy. and defic-
lent in gloss. What has been done with
hats may be accomplished with raps. HUI
man ingenuity may be relied upon to invent
some material of silk and wool which will
possess tn0 De8utv ana 0tlAty OF the seal
akin and DO far cheaper. The coming inven.
ton may possibly take the shape Of a new
adaptation of such cheap skins as that Of
the rabbit, but it is more likely to be de
vslopment of velvet plush such as is us es
by hattsrs and dressmakers. The skill o
modern arti6cers can initiate anythin,
and often better in the imitation. If TIL
recent advances in sealskins leads to tn
adoption of . substitute the reign of fur
will be ended. Il has lasted a long time
Furs are the natural clothing of the savage
Between primeval man and the brute til
chief difference was that if they fought an
the brute won he ate his enemy, whereas
the man won he not only ate his enemy bu
clad himself in his skin afterward
Wherever travellers wish rs TO understan
that q new tribe 10 in the primitive stage 9
civilization they tell M that the peopl
wear no clothing out skins. It 10 an Cd
coincidence that the remark which Stanle
applies to the cannibals of EQUATOR,
Africa might be used in regard to ladies q
fashion in the most brilliant capitals of til
world; for they, too. az they saunte
through the streets and air their beaut
bsfors all beholdsrs, appear to bs clad i
fuIs and draped in the skins of Wild an