Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1893-08-26
LEATHER At TIE FAIR.
Everything Pertaining to Shoes and
Leather Shown In One Large
Build1nz-An Elephant Hide.

Everything Pertaining o Shoes and
Leather Shown In One Large
Buildinz-An Elephant Hide.
@E the Lake From. in tie
southern extremity o. the
~ Fair grounds. the Leather
Building Is located 1. L.
17oxs25 in dimensionA and cost over
800, 0oo, but by reason Of its ~uniavor.
able location has mo- attracted IS many
visitors az some Of the other exhibits,
though all who enter it's doors arc
amply repaid for their trip.
Beneath the roof Of this great struc-
ture everything pertaining to tho shoe
and leather Industry Is shown The
fact that this industry has been for
years one Of the most important In our
country seems never TO have been taken
into consideration, and the representa-
lion heretofore has not been worthy q
business of such magnitude.
In the exhibit within the Leather
Building now, however, nothing has
been omitted which properly belongs
to the trade. There ere prepared
hides and skins in hundreds Of varie-
ties and an almost endless list Of arti-
Giles which are made from tho tanned
ekins Of animals. .
Though tanned leather enters into
the manufactrre of O thousand and 4
different articles, such as harness,
v~alises, trunks and the like, the shoe
industry consumes over three-hfths ot
the leather used. And b the manu-
f~acture Of these shoes what q variety
of patterns one can see there Illus
trated. The evolution OF the shoe IS
one of the marks Of civilization; tho
earth has been searched and history
and the museums ransacked from one
end to the other in order that every
style and form Of shoe known, or of
which record was had, might find It's
proper representation in this Worlds
Fair exhibit. How we'll tho origina-
tors of the enterprise have succeeded
is amply shown by q study OF the dis
play in the cases along the walls OF the
interior Of the Leather Building.
The most unique and odd in design
and pattern are those from Tangier.,
Africa, made from turtle claws, which
enable the wearer to climb a tree OF
scratch his antagonist With ths same
effect and advantage possessed by the
bear or panther.
Fhere is such an lnnumerab}e dis
play of odd and ancient styles as to
bewilder the most ardent admirer Of
footwear. The straw sandal, scarcely
larger than o baby's slipper, comes
from Kioto, Japan. whore the young
ladies wear them, and the fat cloth
shoes with no soles or heels, which
protect the water carriers feet, are
from Alexandria, Egypt The wooden
clogs with stills attached arc the pride
of the Japanese tea packers In wet
weather, and the straw mats worn on
the feet when the sun blisters the
pavement belong to the natives OF
Shotean, India
s pair Of boots purchased by Prince
Shouisski Of Russia in Paris for 5000
francs have a section IN the case all to
themselves. The foot Is Of white un-
dressed kid, the boot legs of white
velvet embroidered with gold, while
precious stones glitter in the open
pieces ofsthe design.
l. Leather for decorative purposes Of
all shades Of color and thickness has
an important place in the display,
There are tanned skins of snakes,
alligators, lizards and specimens OF
leather tanned by all kinds Of pro
0sses.
There isan elephant hide, the largest
ever tanned, which is twenty feet IL
length from tip Of trunk to end o,
tail, sixteen feet In width, and it,
greatest thickness three inches L
weighs 500 pounds, and is used +
polish leather. Two years time is re-
quired to tan q hide Of this character
The longest belt ever made il
another exhibit in this collection. {
is twelve inches wide and 1e, 900 foo
III length, being the longest continuou
piece OF leather ever manufactured.
Then there are the finest and mos
modern designs Of ingenuity and III
v%entive genius displayed by the largel
manufacturers Of America. These lis
plays are unequslled, for every man
working on the designs put forth hlt
best effort with q view to excel, not K
pattern after any other. The result ii
the grandest, most superb aud most
costly line of footwear every seen il
one building before.
In the line Of slippers the results
have been obtained IN the same man
ner, and the person whose taste
could not be suited from this displa,
would have TO study up One design
not known to the thousands Of design
ers and dealers and would be rewarded
o premium for q novelty.
In the gallery the machinery uset
} In the shoe industry forms a mos. in
teresting study. Every single pro
cess from the first formation Of til
shoe to the finishing and packing i,
!. the box i illustrated.
Pyramids ofshoe dressing, @. polish
hlacking and all that Is Necessary I
; the care and protection as well as th
> beautitylng Of leather is displayed il