The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1892-11-01
1HB ANTIQUITY OF PINS.
soaE HISTORIC FACTS ABOUT THE
USEFUL LITTLE ARTICLES.

n E.riy Ttnss rhsrns Were Used -
tins-fn Engiand Pins Were rnsro-
faced IN che Ffnsenth Century How
EARLY Pins Were Made.
There is nothingInew under the sun.
Pins Of various ysorts have been in ex-
istence ever since our first parents "
clothed themselves in palm leaves
which grew wild in the Garden Of Eden.
Az matter Of fact, pins claim very
high antiquity. the earliest form being
q natural thorn, which is still used to
some extent for fastening the dress by
the peasant women Of Upper Egypt. In
prehistoric times pms were also made OF
the small bones Of fish and animals.
Among the remains Of the lake dwell
ers Of Europe have been found bronze
pins and bronze brooches. in which the
pin forms the prominent feature, many
Of which are highly ornamented and
very beautiful. "A few copper and ono
iron pin have also been found. Il Is
estimated that 10, 900 pins have been col.
lected at the lacustrine station Of Switz-
erland alone A few Of these pins have
double stems and were probably used as
hairpins. Three have been found at
Reschiera. which are exactly the same in
form as the safety pins Of the present
time
Among the single stemmed pins are
many ingenious devices for preventing
the spike from passing entirely through
the cloth or other material it is used for
fastening together. Many of them are
20 formed that they are thicker in some
places than in Others. A large number.
both Of bone and bronze. have the head
formed Of loose ring passed through an
eye in the pin. A few of them have the
appearance of the scarf pins now in use.
In Egypt pins with gold heads have
been discovered, while ancient Roman
bronze pins and bone hairpins with orna.
mental heads have been discovered
among the relics of Pompeii
In England the ordinary domestic pin
had become in the fifteenth century an
article Of sufficient importance to war
rant legislative notice. An act of Par
lament passed in 1883 prohibited the
importation of pins. As necessity of
the toilet pins were Introduced into
England in the latter partof the fifteenth
century by Katherine Howard, Queen Of
Henry VIII, who received them from
France
Very good pins were made at this
period Of brass. but large portion Of
them were made Of iron, which were
blanched and sold for brass pins. In
order 10 prevent this imposition npon the
good people Of England, Parliament in
1913 passed an act providing that +. no
person shall put to sale any pins but such
q shall be double headed and have the
heads soIdered fast to the shank Of the
pins. well smoethed, the shanks well
shapen, the points wen rounded,
fled, canted and sharpened., :.
England continued to depend upon
France for its supply Of pins until the
year 1926, when John Tilsby introduced
the manufacture in Gloncestershire His
business grew to such an extent thateitsis
said he gave employment to about 1900
persons at any rate, his pins. Stroud
pins. as they were called, gained high
reputation. In 1886 the manufacture
was introduced into Bristol and Bir-
mingham, the latter place ultimately
becoming the great center Of the indus
try.
In 1775 prize was offered to the colo.
nists of Carolina who introduced the
first native pins and needles. During
the war of 1912, when, owing to restric-
tions upon commerce the price of pins
rose to the enormous price of ST per
paper, the manufacture was actually
started in the United States, but does
not seem to have met with success, as
the enterprise was soon abandoned The
industry was not fairly started in this
country until the year 1886.
The early pins in this country, as in
England. were made with globular heads
Of fine twisted wire, made separately,
and secured to the shank by compression
from falling block and die. These
old pins had the misfortune of often
parting with their heads. 1t was to
overcome this difficulty that the atten-
ton of the early inventors was directed.
The solid headed pin, in common use to-
day, took the place of the old form about
1910.
Before the introduction of machinery
pins were made by manual labor in such
. way as to require their passage through
the hands of fourteen different persons
before completion. By machinery in use
at the present time it is estimated that
100 pins are turned out per minute. In
England 10000 900 pins are made daily,
of which 100000 are made in Birm.
ingham alone. Connecticut is the prin-
cipd centre of the industry IN the United
States.
What becomes of the enormous num-
Der of pins manufactured every year is
an interesting problem which is often
asked but never satisfactorily answered.
1t is safe to say. however, that there are
more of these little necessities lost in
wear than any other article made t.