Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1896-12-09
THE LOVE OF. GLOVES.
INTERESTING FACTS FROM HISTORY
CONCERNING THEM.

CONCERNING THEM.
Early Manufacturing Establishments.
Rats, Dogs and Cats Furnish Materials
For Glovemaking-Cust OF Different
Times In Which Gloves Figured.
Gloves are now worn indiscriminately
significance excepting as q completing
article of the toilet. much attention be-
ing given to their fit in case the wearer
Is a woman. Strangely enough, that
which is regarded as a particularly nice
effect in the fit CT q wolnan's glove be-
comes positive blemish when worn by
a man, if indeed Ii man could be found
who would wear a glove that was fitted
to his hand without 10 Wrinkle.
The antiquity Of gloves reaches into
remote ages AS early rs i'll the reign Of
Robert Ill glove manufacturers were in
corporated by charter III Perth, . g7ild
being then established that still exists
in name, although the town is not de-
voted now to the manufacture Of gloves
as leading article Of commerce.
A glovers' company was established
in London in 1864, but was not char
tered until 1888. In 1861 a company
for the manufacture and sale of gloves
was incorporated in Worcester, Eng
land, where the trade fourishes at the
present time, the famous English "dog
skim made really from Cape sheepskin,
and Of a warm tan color, being unap-
preached in excellence by any other
makers.
Paris is a glove market for the whole
world. In the Swiss mountains kids are
raised especially for this industry and
great pains are taken to have the ami
mails killed while the skin is fine and
soft. Tanneries at Millau, Annonay,
Paris and Grenoble prepare them for the
stitchers. But there are not enough kids
| raised in France to supply the great de-
mand for gloves, and the gamins OF
Paris find steady and profitable employ
ment catching rats at the mouths of the
great drains of the city to exc out the
trade. Dogs and even cats contribute
also, though supplying an inferior ar
| ticle Of kid.
In ancient days glove represented a
contract or pledge, a substitute for the
hand, being cast down by one contract
ing party to be taken up by the other.
It also represented challenge, to throw
down the glove often being an invita-
ton to mortal combat At the same
time to give an enemy a glove in a pa
cific manner was a pledge Of faith, to
break which was regarded as a crime.
The borderers of Scotland were SO par
ticular about this use Of the glove that
| when one of their knights broke faith
with his glove keeper they proclaimed
his perfdy by riding to appointment
holding alof5 spear, from the point of
which the dishonored glove dangled-
And if the knight was slain by his own
clan it was conceded to be a righteous
| punishment.
A fur lined glove worn by Henry VI
| is preserved in an cid mansion that gave
him shelter after the battle of Hexham,
| 1864. It is Of tan leather lined with
deerskin with the hair on and turned
over to form a cuff.
It is recorded Of unfortunate Anne
Boleyn that she possessed many pairs OF
extravaganza gloves and would always
wear them to hide certain blemishes On
her nails which offended the eye OF
the king. Her royal predecessor used tc
delight i'll making her play cards with
out them, as it was sure to result in hel
discontinue.
Queen Elizabeth took much pride in
her gloves, and made an entry n he1
book of expenses Of zone payr of gloves
enbrawret with gold, which she sent
as gift to her sister Mary. She also
recorded the fact Of receiving ''ten payl
Of spanyshe gloves from duches in
Spayne.'
II has been customary for gentlemen
to remove the right hand glove when
shaking hands with d lady. This Gus
tom descended from an ancient one
which forbade any one to enter the pres
ence Of royalty in gloves, because visit
ors were to stand unarned, with the
helmet Off the head, the gauntlets of the
hands, to show that there were 20 hos
tile intentions.
Biting the glove is looked upon with
l disfavor as an unpleasant habit. But it
had once deeper meaning-a pledge
Of deadly vengeance.
| Stern rutherford but little said.
| But bit his glove and shook his head.
Thus wrote Sir Walter Scott in his
clay of the Last Minstrel.
| It was considered no crime for law
yers and special pleaders to take the
bride of d pair Of gloves, and the custom
did not fall into disfavor until the
gloves were ''lined'' with coin, which
gained the name Of 'glove money! To
this ancient custom can be traced the
present habit Of presenting gloves to the
guests at weddings or funerals.
| Gloves were first worn by the clergy
i to symbolic that their hands were clean
and not open to bribes
Both the old and the modern poets
have written tender verses to this capri
cious article Of feminine attire.
"Send me a glove you have lately
worn and I will tell your characters
tics," was the way in which an adver-
tisement was worded few years ago.
incidentally fee Of 81 was mentioned
as consideration. But the people who
were enticed into sending their dollars
were more than satisfied with the re-
suit. The glove reader told them the
most wonderful things about themselves
the color Of the eyes and hair, peculiar
tiles of disposition, and many other
things Then society went into the
glove reading business, minus the fee,
| and the secret was soon discovered.
Gloves tell tales and carry individual
| ity, as does O favorite perfume used by
the wearer. Detroit Free Press.
Any new or useful improvement upon
. a machine, manufacture or device not
previously known may be patented.
! Domestic Cruelty.
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