The Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1893-1901, 1893-03-16
MAKING LACE PAPER.
MINNEAPOLIS HAS THE ONLY FAC
TORY OF THE KIND HERE.

ExceIs came TO be ssIabifsnPu al iHts
Country-As Yet 1t Is In It's Infancy.
Nice Work For Women.
Minneapolis can claim a monopoly in
at least one industry. There is none like
it in the country. Germany is the near
est competitor. The lace paper factory
here is the only one in the country. How
the industry came to be established
here and the development of certain
possibilities in regard to it make quite
an origina! story.
A certain business man tolerably well
known in Minneapolis once upon a time
loaned some money and material to a
Russian immigrant who was trying to
start a greenhouse in st. Paul. The flo
rist was very grateful for the help, but at
the end of six months had not repaid any
of the loan. The business man hunted
him up and inquired wherefore this neg.
iigence. The florist explained his difficult
ties Mt some length, and sorrowfully
averred that in addition to other bur.
dens ne had to support his brother.
Why doesn't your brother 60 to
work.
Pardon. sir. Ele is honest and indus
trious. but can find no work at his trade"
What trade can that be-"
He is a lace paper maker and there
are are no factories of that sort here. and
he has not much chance at other trades
where he has no skill.
An interview with the paper maker re-
vealed some interesting facts, and after
some investigation several Minneapolis
capitalists concluded TO start a factory
to evolve the dainty CONNECTIONS that
modern ingenuity says may be made
from paper The industry is still SO new
that its present condition may be re-
garded as only nj earnest Of the future.
The fad for fancy lamp shades makes
a special department which was not at
first contemplated. Grape paper devel-
ops in all the soft. dainty sheen of silk.
Women are specially good at this branch
Of the industry. as it requires patience
and that peculiar ''knack" which no man
ever had. and the woman who possesses
it is luckier than if she had beauty
though she never thinks SO herself.
Now, this business of making lamp
shades and flower pots and paper flowers
and dolls is light. clean work and pays
well if a woman has the bent for that
kind of work.
The prettiest lamp shades | ever saw
were being made at the factory. The
tobacco leaf forms the latest model
Two contrasting shades OF Grape paper
form the leaf 1t is cut IN the proper
shape. and a delicate wire forms the md
rib of the leaf and makes the shade sub
stantiai enough to stand Wear. Four
long leaves and four shorter ones droop
from Il common center and make tilt
daintiest shade imaginable. | saw "A tin.
one of this same pattern for an incaii
descent light. The red leaves were lined
with pale yellow. and how the electric
light did glow through the blended col
ors! A skil!ful workwoinan can Only.
construct four or five of these shades a
day Their price consequently doesn't
exactly bring them within the reach of
all. but they promise to largely take the
place of silk and illusion The operative
earns from S. to $40 a week in the shade
department.
Lace paper for lining the edges Of
boxes really forms the important part
Of this industry. Look az a bit of this
dainty paper and see how faithfully il
reproduces every thread Of the lace from
which it is copied. When people are
told that these delicate patterns are
. stamped from engraved metal plates.
they are apt to look inCredu!ous. Still
that is the process.
For many years Germany has con.
trolled this industry. The consul at
Berlin in his last annual report states
that s.CO0. 00O pounds Of lace paper are
exported annually to the United States.
One fine day good fortune befell the
industry. A man came in and asked fo,
employment. He was a designer and
engraver of plates from Germany. lie
declined to give any information as to
how he knew the factory vas i'll Mime.
apolis or why he came. He simply said
they could try his work, and if they were
satisfied he would stay. He has re.
manned ever since. l saw him several
times and didn't wonder that there was
some hesitancy about engaging him. lie
weighs about 1925 pounds. The face il
intelligent and refined. but the bushy
beard and long hair, combined with the
muscular frame, give the man the ap-
pearance OF n used to vigorous manual
labor. Appearances are deceptive in this
case, for lie is an artist as well as an en-.
graver. and knows every detail of the
business.
He first sketches the design on paper
then takes a block OF lead composition
similar to that used for newspaper cuts
and draws the exact pattern with a sharI
steel point. Then, with finely graded
chisels, he hammers ont every little de
tail SO exact that the tiniest thread of the
finest Lace pattern is visible.
To see the workman hammering Out
an intricate pattern n would think il
an endless task. 1t is not. however
nearly SO tedious as it looks. This en-.
graver will make a plate 20 inches long
by 9 inches wide in four days. All ths
edges Of the pattern have to be made in