The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1895-07-17
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WEDNESDAY. JULY II, 1895.
HARVESTS OF HAIR.
GIRLS PART WITH THEIR CROWN
ING GLORY FOR A FEW CENTS.

JeweIfy and Wigs Are Made Of the Queer.
est Of Crops-Information Some Of 1t OF
en- Odd Character, From Man who
Makes Things Of Hair.
twas quite by chance that the writer
of this article happened on q man who
has spent his lifetime In the manipula-
ton of human hair. Transforming it In
to wigs, crowns, frizettes and all the
other kinds of "false" hair and weaving
it into watch chains, eyeglass guards,
bracelets, as well as mounting it In lock-
cts, rings, pins, earrings and brooches
and working It up into all kinds of
floral designs and emblems,
"a charming head of hair on wom-
an," he said. sis thing of beauty and
indeed q browning glory, but to hair
worker 1t is Of little value Even the
longest hair, before 1t has passed through
the hands of the manufacturers, is we'll
nigh worthless. The hair Of a woman g
head which Is 30 inches In length, for
example, would not be worth more than
60 cents.
81 remember woman coming into
my shop one night and offering to sell
her hair. She said she was seaman
wife, and not having heard from him
for many months was in desperate
straits for money She wanted to know
how much would give her for her hair,
which was of considerable length. re-
fused to cut 1t off, wouldn't cut any
woman g hair off. It Ia such democrat
izing, degrading thing to do, and tho
fact is emphasized when dire need is the
cause of tho sale. However, was in
position to obtain her assistance until
her husband came back.
1--WE got our finest descriptions Of
hair continued the subject Of this in
terview, from Franco and Italy, whence
como oil shades Of black and brown.
France, again, Germany and Spain sup
ply tho market with brown, light flaxen
and red hair. Gray hair, being found in
every parcel, is described as universal
ION the continent there are regular
hair harvests. During the summer time
you can see at every fair peddlers SUR
rounded by girls with their beautiful
hair nicely combed out standing in file
waiting their turn. The peddler has in
his hands q pair of shears, each girl
bends her neck, few ships, and the
hair Is off, tied into whisp and thrown
into a basket standing at the shearer's
side. And how much do you think that
the girls get for this? A few cents,
guady trinket or bright silk handker-
chief
''Some peddlers travel from cottage
to cottage plying their trade, and the
same performance is gone through. An
average head Of hair weighs four ounces
When sufficient hair is accumulated, 1t
Is sold TO the hair manufacturers, who
submit IL to o process of cleansing and
sorting into various lengths and shades,
1t Is then ready for tho wigmakers,
who buy it as they require 1t, paying at
tho rate Of 90 cents or SO per ounce for
lengths of 10 inches to 10 inches to as
many shillings as there arc inches for
lengths of 90 inches and upward Tho
greatest demand IS for hair from Id TO
"a inches In length, Tho longest female
hair ON record is 70 inches :"
Tho tycoon Of Japan once conflscated
tho hair Of o whole province and had it
woven into ships hawser over quar-
ter of milo long. Then he discovered
that steel ropes were In existence, and
now the cable, composed OF the pigtails
of tho unfortunate Japs, reposes before
tho eyes of the curious in Bethnal Green
museum.
Tho gentleman interviewed possesses
magnificent trophy Of hair, in size
some 0 feet long by feet high, In tho
form Of basket Of flowers, every leaf,
every petal and overy stem of which is
composed of cunningly wrought hairs
from the human head. How long 1t
took to create it, 1t is impossible to say,
but years unquestionably. He has other
similar displays, mostly tho work Of
himself or his son. though they pale In
to insignifcance beside the monument
Of patience In question
The working Of hair into ornaments
has gone out of vogue considerably Of
late years. but seafaring mon oven now
arc great lovers Of this form of memen-
to- Naturally their favorite designs as
sumo tho forms Of anchors, oompasses
and other things nautical
One day gentleman came to the
subject OF this article and desired him
In q most mysterious manner to weave
some hair, which no gave him, into the
form Of serpent Tho head and tail
were to DO Of gold, and tho tail was to
be fixed into the mouth. The serpent
was to DO in two coils and to oncircle u
golden heart pierced by n dagger. In
order to thoroughly comprehend tho de-
sign he had to be let into tho secret, and
this was tho explanation which was of
fered:
The serpent was to represent the ma
ture of certain young lady TO whom
tho hair belonged and who had Tilted
the gentleman in question. Tho golden
heart was symbolic Of his pure and
worthy affection. and tho dagger showed
how deeply he had been wounded The
tail Of the serpent being In its mouth IN
dicatod that In injuring her quondam
lover she had also bitten herself. The
Tilted swain was most particular about
the execution of tho work, sent 1t back
twice for alterations and finally refused
to have 1t at all, perhaps discovering the
bathos of his scheme Boston Post.
Caught Their Ears.
The new canon Of Westminster WIS
once terribly interrupted by the inces-
SAINT coughing of his congregation.
Wbereon he suddenly paused In his ser