Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-02-11
TRICKY PAWNBROKERS
Where ''Unredeemed Pledges Can Be
Bought at Wholesale


Bought at Wholesale.
A man who makes it a habit to
glance in the windows of the pawn
shops occasionally is surprised that
they contain so many unredeemed
pledges Of the same kind RevoIvers
and musical instruments. with meer-
schaum pipes and knives, are always to
be found These are the staple articles
in which d Dawnbroker deals. and they
are always among his stock of unre-
deemed pledges. Wonder is often ex-
pressed that there should be so many
of them, says the Chicago Times
Herald
To the average person it would APP
pear that the first thing person pawns
is musical instrument or a revolver
or a meershaum pipe. This seems
strange, for the general impression is
that the people who own these things
would not part with them unless
in great restitution. Especially would
the man who oWnes a meerschaum
pipe, beautifully colored,. be 10th to
part with it. Between q man and his
favOrite meerschaum there grows an
attachment almost as strong as mis-
love for his wife; often stronger
Every man who looks in the pawn
brokers' windows has often speculated
upon the great poverty which must
have been experienced by the man who
disposes Of his meerschaum pipe, and
if POLITICALLY inclined he has pictured
the parting between them.
But sentimentalists. have wasted
their sympathics. These musical in
struments and pipes and revolvers
have for the most part never been used
by any one. They..ar bought. by the
paWnbroker by the. dozen, just as the
grocer would buy a box of soap, and as
fast as some are sold. others are bought
out to take their places. So they al
ways remain in the window. -.
Long ago some man who was IN
search of a musical instrument dis
covered; that. old zones that had stood
the test of time could there be had for
a song. It WIS also found that now
and then a beautifully colored meer
schaum pipe coulG be bought for little
or nothing, and that revolvers pawned
perhaps by thieves and murderers who
knew the value of good weapons,
could also be had. AS this knowledge
spread there Immediately arose a de-
mand for these articles, and the pawn
broker had visitors daily who wanted
them. But with the increase of the
demand there was no increase in the
supply. So the paWnbroker was
tempted to lay in stock of these arti-
cles in order not to disappoint his Gus
toners. Cheap watches were also
bought, and other jewelry. These are
more often bought than pawned, and
so the pawnbroker was forced to buy
them wholesale to supply his trade.
In a suit of rooms on the second
floor Of building on Wabash avenue
there is a pawnbrokers' supply house,
where the most commonly demanded
unredeemed pledges are offered for sale
to the pawnbrokers, and the business
seems to be thriving. 1t is said that
it is the only house of the kind in the
country. The marager, who is a for
mer pawnbrOker, saw the demand for
suitable articles to sell as unredeemed
was increasing, and he determined to
supply it. Thus it was that he opened
men, who go all over the West and
make Journeys as far East as Pittsburg,
visiting only the larger cities and
towns and calling only on pawn
brokers' Another salesman spends
all of his time travelling around the city
calling on those pawnbrowers who may
be out of the articles.
The articles most in demand are the
cheap banjos,, guitars, revOlvers, meer
schaum pipes and watches. There is
no demand fer Bibles. 1t is strange
but true that one of the first things
that a man pawns is his family Bible,
and the demand is far below the sup
ply. In the legitimate channels OF
trade all that are needed reach the
paWnbroker. Those who value them
redeem them as soon as POSSIBLE. The
others do not come for them at ALL and
the volume is dead loss to the pawn
broker. All those seen in his shop are
genuine ''unredeemed pledges"
The goods sold are generally of the
very cheapest kind, and the pawn
broker makes a big profit, the result
being, Of course, that the buyer pays
twice as much as he would if he bought
them in another store.
One of the most interesting features
is the sale of colored meerschaum
pipes. Most of these are made of cheap
block meerschaum or in imitation clay,
and resemble the genuine very closely
in appearance, although of course they
are not as good. They are colored
artifcially, being tainted with some
secret preparation and then boiled in
OIL
The Chicago dealer in these goods
says that his business has been some
what affected by the recent business
depression, as the demand has fallen
off, while the pawnbrokers receive
more genuine pledges.