The evening world., 1894-04-26
A WILLIE. BOYS WARDROBE.
1T LOOKS GORGEOUS, but IT
DOESN'T REPRESENT MUCH.
The Extensive Use TO which Sec
ond-Hnnd Clothing Is Put.

patch reporter. The reporter nodded
and the man Of tips continued: "He l.
what we call IA secondhand man Those
creased trousers, that WIllle-boy hat,
that nice Summer coat. those buff shoes
ana fancy umbrella he carries are all
articles that have been cast off by men
Of money and business. They have been
| bought at the little repair shops about
town. lie Is very pretty but n very
cheap Willie, and the country Is full OF
them"
The Old sleuth went on to explain that
In many of the dark and dngy little
stores and shop. OF which there are a
| thousand scattered about every large
city. and which are seldom entered by
prosperous people, cast-ofr articles are
new. The detectives know the places
| thoroughly, because they search them
frequently for stolen goods The pro
pretOrs are honest hard working people,
as a rule, but they are frequently i'm
posed on by peddlers, who go from house
t. house, swapping wares of small value
| for junk, old clothing. old Shoes old
hats. broken umbrellas, damaged bric-a-
brac and almost everything used in the
best residences and stables that the
owners are glad to get rid Of.
search among these little shops re-
vealei the fact that many men make an
honest living for themselves and families,
| and not few OF them lay away enough
In more pretentious quarters. From the
door Of little room not over six feet
square, fronting upon an avenue few
doors from Smthiield street, hangs an
unnttractive sign which reads: "l'mbre-
las Repaired Here" on the step stands
"A rack containing great variety of
weather-beaten umbrellas.
In this little room, the four sides of
which are lined with glass cases and
racks filled with umbrellas, II prosperous
business is conducted tail, heavy
man, with striped apron reaching from
his collar to his knees, Is busy at his
work bench opposite the door, and IA
neatly dressed woman. who can recover
an umbrella as quickly as the bargain
can he made, occupies a chair at his
right. There are several thousand UNI
hrellas stuffed into this little hole in
the wall, and stock of nne coverings
that would not be expected there. They
wait, and the materials are from the
cheapest fabric to the most expensive
silks
The covers are already made up, in as
OF umbrellas, and several drawers as
large AS steamer trunks are packed full
of them. Handles and frames in endless
variety are carried in stock, and often
the handles are the most expensive part.
notice posted up in big letters an
nounces that the proprietor will not be
which are not called for in sixty
DAYS Hundreds are never called for.
and these are sold to anybody who
wants them. Old or broken umbrellas at
these repair shops are also purchased.
made new again and resold.
The collection of umbrellas that find
their way into, these little shops is very
are interesting. A few of the most beau
tiful handles bear monograns or In.
scrlptions announcing birthday, a we'd
ding the anniversary a Christmas or of
some occasion when a beautiful present
would be appropriate. Not few of
them come from pawn-shops. where
they have been soaked without getting
that that he bought lot Of unredeemed UNI
SreIIas mbirh from from pawn pTawnbrSker; fifteen Of
CITY, weaiH1ay Hey sa,s business man ,,o of ths the
gentleman tlrins i of the the reeRiessness Rf ess
habits Of the boy, had ceased to provide
him with spending money over GER
young man could, however. Increase the
family bills at hat. shoe, tailoring and
dry.goods establishments to his hearts
When short of funds. for lark the
swift young man would beat the game
or the governor" by purchasing a sl5
or go umbrella on his own account and
The secondhand shoekeeper can also
tell interesting stories. These places are
scattered all over the city. and there
are ten times as many of them as of the
umbrella shops. The proprietors buy
their stocks almost exclusively of ped
ulers VINO CANVASS from house to house
ranshckihI closets, lofts. cellars and
song. and many OF them are found in
the houses of families of the more pros
perous class and az hotels, and are but
away, because they do not ht perfectly,
or for the reason that they are trifie
| out or style or season.
AZ place on Webster avenue a re-
"A
pairs of good shoes. which had been
worn and are now for sale. They were
on on, shelves, heau but not in boxes; and they
9nt SO that they would pass for new
The styles indicated that they had not
been collected IN the localities inhabited
room were forty bu shells Of old shoes
that had not been cleaned or repaired
;Smecond.hand shoes, no matter what
little inI Original Ign price ,o"p' Vas or how
asked "s for new ' goods. oni. 'ae A fbaIrIy brIrfIS
good pair Of mems calfskin or kangaroo
shoes shoe, can be bought second hand for 81.
bring as high as S. " - ~ 9 '"@'
The dealers. in old hats also obtain
them much as the wholesale man sole.
Us trade among the fashionable retail
matters, Some of the hats are very
sorry sorry objects when dumped from the
|
| The SILK plugs that were once mode 8
| from the blocks of the famous hat man
| ufacturers of New York. London and
Paris are mashed as fiat as a plate.
They open up like an accordion, and the
average man would pay the ash man
for hauling them away.
The skilful halter however. is willing
| 10 pay cash for them. and after they go
| through course of treatment in his
hands II requires an expert to tell
whether they were just made or of the
vintage of the last decade. They are
refined and rebound and new bands are
put upon them. They are carefully
! blocked out, stlffened and polished,
! sun, round topped hats are similarly
| treated. and soft hats and straw goods
go through system of renovation and
repair that made them salable, IL
not torn or too badly worn out. These
| goods find ready sale and some of the
houses that fix them up and dispose OF
! Them are said TO he making more money
/ than firms that handle new goods eX-
clus!vely. They purchase a considerable
| portion of their goods from retailers,
who dispose of them at very low prices
because they are slightly shop-worn and
| ont of style and season.
| Secondhand clothing men are found
| everywhere, and not unfrequently they
conduct dye-house in connection with
! the buying and selling of old clothes
! mn has