The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1894-07-05
RULERS IN ONLY COPIES.
Clothing House landowners Only Types OF
Middle Age Apprentices

Middle Age Apprentices
/ A reporter was walking through
''the Bay" in lower Baxter street re-
/ Gently with Prof A. V. w. Jackson, OF
/ Columbia college, when two pullers in
/ in rival clothing houses laid hands on
/ the professor and endeavored to drag
him forcibly into their respective shops.
"Step right in, sir" said one. Il can
fit you from head to heel with the best
and cheapest clothes in the market"
Don't you believe him." cried the
| other. Come in here with me. Ours
is the most reliable clothing house in
/ New York"
The professor extricated himself gent
ly from their clutches, and then turn
ing to the reporter, said:
Il suppose these fellows are great
annoyance to most people who pass
this way; but to me they are extremely
interesting. They are simply follow
ing the methods practised by the Lon
don apprentices during the middle
ages. This touting, or standing at the
door inviting passers-by to enter, was
at one time universal practice with
all kinds of shops, especially in Lon
don. 1t was part of the duty OF ap-
prentices to advertise in this way their
masters stock of goods. They would
stand in the street and intercept stran-
gers, crying: What do you lack? What
do you lack?' and have no doubt were
fully as importunate as their modern
successors. l am informed that among
the milliners of Division street the
same practice prevails. dare say it is
confined exclusively to the Jews, al
though other shopkeepers doing bust
ness among them may be forced to
adopt the same method of soliciting
patronage. The Jews are very tena-
cious of old customs, and touting is I'M
doubtedly one of the trade traditions
that they have preserved"
Just north of the Bend" in Baxter
street the professors attention was ar
rested by a rude sign dangling from
barber pole which bore the inscriptions:
"a Shave and a Glass of Beer for Five
Cents"
THAT may be called relic of bar
berism, he said, with laugh. you
can appreciate my pun better when it
is explained. A hundred years ago
and over, great many BARRIERS made
practice of supplying drinks to their
customers, and they hung out signs
very similar to the one yonder. One of
these inscriptions, said to have been
composed by Dean Swift for barber,
who at the same time kept public
house, read:
Grove not from pole to pole, but step in here,
Where nought excels the shaving but the beer.
II do not suppose that at first the
BARRIERS furnished beer gratis to their
customers, but competition probably
induced them to do so later on. So the
proprietor of this little Baxter street
barber shop is, perhaps unconsciously,
reviving very old practice of his
trade.
IAN inquiry into the origin of mod
ern trade practices would prove an in
teresting study" continued the pro-
fessor. II dare say that many things
which are now regarded as ingenious
innovations would be found upon in
vestigation to be simply revivals of old
ideas and schemes. For example, there
is an umbrella shop in side street up
town that has this ingenious placard
displayed in the window: Umbrella
Hospital. Then follows price list
setting forth the analogy between a
human being and an umbrella. Some
of the items are: Restoring a broken
rib, 25 ceuts;' Inserting new spine, %
CENTS Restoring shattered constitu
ton, ST.; Setting dislocated neck, rs
cents;' "A new membranous attach
ment, $1,5O.' I have no doubt that this
umbrella member is regarded by his
neighbors as an original wit but he is
nothing of the kind. His placard is
simply reproduction of sign that
was formerly displayed in the window
of an umbrella shop in London."-N.