The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1893-05-26
rHE KID GLOVE INDUSTRY.
,vwArxAnx PAors CLEANED
FRoN CONSULATE REPoRTss
Colts. Calves, Dogs, Goats, Ca's' -
and Rabbits, but Rarely '"c '
supply the Material.

NJ " you kno" - - | u
colt skins, dog skins, cat skins. :
- rat skins and goat skins an anu 6
nlv rarely of real kid skinf LIE
Germs TO be the fact il we are 10 peneso ,
be combined assertion OF q large h"in
,er of consular officers who nave re-
,o1ted to the State Department
on the subject In answer
10 ;nouiries sent out shortly after Mr,
R,oipe resigned from the head OF tha'
5enartment. These reports come irom
praoue. Antwerp, Brussels, Rouen, o''
Ett;enne. Berlin, Breslau, Kehi, Mann
ho;n Milan. Cadiz, Seville, dotteh-
horg and St Petersburg, and therefore
nov he supposed to furnish some Vaiu-
hIc information about the glove lnous-
try of the Old World. .osse.
A statement is these reports impresseS
ono particularly with the large pro-
o,rt;on of skins of animals other tnhn
La used in the manufacture of whas
are popularly known as kia eioSes
sheen. lamb, goat and colt skins seem
to furnish the bulk of the material ueco,
hut according to some reports sne sA1@'
| to be sure, but the genuine kid skin
| seems to form q very small proportion
| Of the material nsed in the manufac-
ture of so-called kid gloves At Prague,
Austria, sheep and lamb skins, and
practically nothing else are used In the
manufacture of the 8, 400, 600 pairs OF
gloves turned out there annually. In
Russia nearly all the fine gloves are
made of colt skins, and large numbers
are turned out. The dog skin gloves
are said to be especially an English
production. At Seville, mostly skins
of young sheep are used. In France,
generally, the materials chiefly cm-
ployed are sheep, goat and kid skins,
but Consul Williams, writing from
Rouen, adds: "Cat and rabbit skins,
admirably colored, are made to initiate
all kinds of furs. Rat skins are used
chiefly for making thumbs of ordinary
gloves" The very best material, the
reports state, is the youngest Kids;
even those prematurely born, or whose
mothers are killed to obtain the skin
of their unborn offspring being the
highest priced for the finest quality.
The preparations of the skin from
the time they leave the unfortunate
animals until they are sewed into gloves
is detailed by the various gentlemen
who have rendered this voluminous re-
port to the State Department.. The
, skins are usually obtained dry from the
, farmers who raise these animals and
, after being soaked in water and trod-
den by men with naked feet until soft
, and pliable lime is added to loosen the
, hair and after this work the process OF
. softening and tanning the skins begins
The refuse from sheep and cattle yardi
and dog pounds is used in tanning tho
y skins, and the tread process with bare
feet goes on meantime. After the tan
ming process is completed, which usual.
takes weeks, the skins are treated to
C fulling bath of yolks of eggs, whicl
Y ~t"nm.. .ppt.6saly N -gg5" "HsSa" II
l. this work seems to have depressin,
9 effect on the omelet industry of th
: glove districts, for Consul William
humorously remarks, after calling at
}, tentlon to the quantity of the yolks o
s eggs used in this work, that this OK
!. plains why omclets generally look pal,
ut restaurants and hotels, for they ar,
q made up of two whites and one yoll
y snd paid for as if made with two com
I plete eggs. The skins, after being
tanned, are dyed to give them the
proper color, and the dyes are usually
OF the best made from dye woods, as
the aniline dyes are not suitable for
this purpose.
In the manufacture of the gloves
great skill is required, and only the
most ingenious, intelligent and trained
men are permitted to operate in .he
cutting of the gloves. The skins are
carefully cut up into small sections by
hand, barely large enough to make one.
way rs to make a5 little waste as pos
sible in cutting the skins. These arc
stretched to the proper shape before
the form of the glove is cut with the
Ole, dozen or more being cut With
one movement of the cutting press.
The sewing is mostly done by machines,
though IN some instances the gloves are
sewn by women Mt their homes, where
they get about three cents pair for
sewing four button gloves, and earn
about $3.50 per week.
The fact that the gloves coming from
Russia arc made from foal skins is So
little known that brief extract from
Consul-General Crawfords report ON
this subject will be of interest. III,
says: 1.-The bulk of fine gloves made
IN Russia are made from foal skins.
There is very little done in this com.
try III the manufacture of gloves from
sheep, goat and kid skins. In the
| preparation of foal skins, it should be
said that they are of very difficult fab
rlcation and require much hard labor
TO work them sufficiently soft and deli.
cate. 1t is claimed that there liz an art
In the preparation of foal skins f,r
gloves that the Russian workmcn have
III very great perfection rs ,urnpnr.J
with foreigners. 1t is doubtful whether
foel skins could be prepared sufficient
ly cheap, where hand labor is dear. to
compete with other skins OH the gen.
eral market. Tho experiment has been
tried in France, Belgium and Germany.
but with very poor results, as the work |
lngmcn there appear not to possess iGe
n