Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1891-05-22
PATENT LEATHER FRAUDS
uow rHe DUDE is SOMETIMES DE-
cgvEp IN HIS FOOT GEAR,

Shoe, which Are Made of the mater'"'
! Called Patent Leather Not Always """'
Th.v s.,m-The Way the Genuine Ar
tIcle Is Made.
Going down on a broadway car the
o,ber day was fashionable young man
Wearing patent leather shoes II was
during one of the brief, cool spells OF
weather
Seating himself in one corner OF the
car he proceeded apparently 10 warm
his feet by rubbing them together
While this may have been all right Tor the
feet. it seemed rather hard on the patent
leather. as the heel of one shoe was con
tinuously rubbing and scratching the
,op,p of the other With such usage the
nair of shoes will wear about four weeks
when they will begin to crack Mr..
Dudelet will return them to the retailer
who in turn, will return them to the
manufacturer
MAKING PATENT CALF.
A shoe manufacturer who was spoken
to by News reporter told the story OF
retailer who had ordered lot of patent
leather shoes which were made and
Skinned to him Upon receiving the
shoes he wrote to the manufactures ask
ing him to warrant the shoes not TO
crack The only reply the manufac-
turer could make was that If the retailer
would warrant the usage of the shoe he
could then warrant the leather. This
INino an1 the
shoes came back.
Now in order to know why the manu-
factllrer could not warrant the shoe let
us learn something of the property OF
Istent leather There is quite differ
ence between patent leather and patent
calf Very little patent calf is now
made in this country for the reason that
the country does not grow calfskins
suitable for its tannage. To make
good patent calf skin of peculiar quail
tiles is required These qualities are usu-
ally found in small skins. The fiber
must be fine and the skin not too heavy
, There must be no sores or cuts in the
skin; the shoulder not too light nor the
head heavy When tanned and before
the japan is applied the skin is stretched
so as to take from it as much as possible
/ all tendency to expand.
In patent calf there may be said to be
two bodies, the calfskin and the japan
The Japan is not SO elastic as the calf
, skin, and if the calfskin should stretch a
, half inch the japan would only stretch
say "A quarter inch or less. and its body
, drawn apart just that much. 1t is for
r this reason that calfskins are stretched
5 as much as possible; otherwise the shoe
would be sure to crack with the most
careful wearing if not in the lasting.
5 The japan is applied to the flesh side
D of the skin, and if there be any imper-
5 lection in the skin it will show in the
e roughness of the japan when finished
a The quality OF the japan is known by
! its Jet blackness and brilliancy. If il
n is dull and blush it will have a ten
e dency to peel, blister or crack in proper
ton to the dulness and bluishness
a Japan has IA tendency to expand or con
, tract from heat or cold, so extremes
must be avoided, or the japan will cracl
J. when one goes from heated room to ;
@ cold one The warm foot being in con
IS tact WIFI llle Cdll lcIuS W hSGp lila
S part Of the leather warm, while the colo
}, air strikes the japan, which has no pro
d lection.
/ WHERE 1T COMES FROM
n In cutting patent leather the cutie
first examines the japan side for an,
Q imperfections. Turning the skin owe
the quality is judged from the grail
side. Patent leather is always cut japal
side downward. Care must be taken T.
avoid the hips" and coarse parts of tn
skin and skirts On the japan side Tn
is cutter looks for what he terms measles
d These are fine blisters sometimes n
8 bigger than pin heads. Occasionally
IA hair from the japanner's brush has be
L come embodied in the japan.
e The greater part and the best of tn
lie patent leather imported into this countr
o from abroad comes from Worms, on tn
lie German Rhine There patent calf ha
e been prepared for generations and til
d workers have attained such skill in it
as manufacture that the French, with al
e their ingenuity, have not been able t.
Al reach the same degree of perfection
One factory alone there employs owe
lie 5000 men
d Common patent leather is really a
y imitation of the patent calf, which wa
it the only article formerly sold under til
i name of patent leather
r AS patent calf costs much more tina
os patent leather the retailer may kno,
that when shoe is offered him at "a yer
close figure there is danger that, thong
the surface be the brightest of japan tn
3 body may be of the dry grain leather
d which forms the basis of ordinary pater
: leather
1t When made up in the shoe pater
r leather cannot be distinguished in al
If pearance from patent calf, unless one t
If an expert. An importer of patent cal
re or other person who is conve1sant wit
the pcculiarities of patent calf, can tie
" its quality the minute he looks at sho,
d No rule can be laid down to Judge ,
2 patent calf or patent leather when in
i shoe. 1t is one of the things only to [
1t acquired by experience. Just as the di;
Sc mond expert or jeweler can tell the qua
is ity and value of his goods at glance, :
can the expert in patent leather tell IL
value of his
In TINS matter of using patent leatht
oi IN place of patent calf the retailer is ;
the mercy, or rather the honesty OF ii
al manufacturers. -New York News