The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-04-05
GRAPE AND ITS PLACE.
History of a Material Of Which Dress
makers Know the Value.


Grape at the present moment is more
fashionable in Paris than it has been
for two or three generations. The re-
port that Grape IS not as much worn as
it used to be is scarcely correct. What
is true is that deep mourning is only
worn now for very near relatives, and
for not so long period as used to be
the custom even ten years ago. Grape
was originally made in France. and
the secret of its manufacture was I'M
doubtedly imported to England at the
time of the revocation of the edict of
Nantes. Grape. according TO the En-
cyclopedia Britannica" is "a silk
IA brio of a gauzy kind" it is woven of
hard, highly thrown silk.
The Chinese grapes, like the Japanese,
are usually made in very light textures
and in the most delicate shades OF color
and have nothing to do with the Grape
worn on the garments of widows.
which is heavier fabric made from
hard, highly thrown silk. The crisp
and the elastic structure Of hard Grape
is not produced either in spinning or
weaving, but is due to processes through
which the gauze passe safter it is woven.
What the details OF these processes are
is known to only few manufacturers,
who so jealousy guard their secrets
that in some cases the different stages
in manufacture are done in towns far
removed from each other. In England
hard grapes are made at Halstead and
Braintree, Essex, Norwich, Yarmouth
and Manchester.
Although some writers seem to be Of
opinion that Grape was first introduced
into France in 1861 and that it was
imported from Bologna, it was known
in Europe at much earlier
period. The effigies of some of our
Planta genet queens, notably that of
Queen Eleanor, at Fontevrault, show
as the queen of Henry III. as wearing
a long veil of thin texture of crapey
appearance. As this figure is made of
wood and painted it is easy to see that
the artist intended this sort of veil to
be transparent, for he has painted it in
such way as to show the red of the
undergarment through the white, and
has, moreover. sput in certain little
touches clearly indicating that the veil
was crimped. In the celebrated draw
ing by Clouet of Mary Queen of Scots
in her widows weeds we easily detect
also that her headdress and veil were
made of white Grape. Marguerite de
Valois, too, is described as wearing a
costume ,of "crepe." Perhaps these il
lustrious ladies wore imported Grape
from China, but the fact remains the
same that Grape was known earlier
than 1868, the date usually given for
its importation into France, and that
that date is probably the earliest of its
manufacture in that country.
The English Grape first began to
make its appearance in the portraits of
Sir Godfrey Knell er-that is, in the
time of William and Mary-from which
period it has been in constant use.
There is, however, an item in the
household expenses of Queen Henrietta
Maria, wife of Charles l., in which men
ton is made of the ''black Grape"
Throughout the eighteenth century
it was universally worn for mourning,
and the household expenses of many an
old English family show entries for the
purchase of Grape on the occasion of a
death in the family. WOODEN Grape was
well known in the seventeenth century
in England. and continued to be worn
by the clergy for sleeves, fact which
made Pope eXclaim:
IT'S from high life that characters are drawn.
A saint in Grape is twice a saint in lawn
Whereby he meant that a sanity
priest became doubly sanctifed when
his virtues were practiced as bishop,
the exalted position of the latter, of
course, calling greater attention to his
superiority over the rest of mankind.
Many who approve of mourning OBJ
ject to Grape, because they think it
does not wear well. This applies, of
course, to the very cheap varieties of
Grape. which soon get brown. and lose
all their transparency and that light
ness which characterizes the Grape
made by some celebrated firms.
A sort of Grape must have been very
common in London at the time of the
death of Charles l.. for on that occa-
sion all the housemaids in London tied
a piece of black Grape round their arms.
In all probability there is no particu-
lar symbolism attached to Grape; it is
imply rich and somber ia hric. pecu-
liarly suggestive of sorrow and a
compunctious Withdrawing from the
world in consequence of the death Of
some one near and dear. At the pres
ent moment. as we have already said.
Grape is extensively worn in the great
city of fashion. The Queen.
The Jewel OF Ills once.
Here is q story of a young man which