The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-04-19
A INDUSTRY.
Skins OF Strange Beasts and Reptiles
Converted Into Art Objects-The
World Secured for Rare Specimens.


World Secured for Rare Specimens.
A factory where portemonnaies peck
etbooks. and curio caskets are made
Is well worth a visit. perhaps all the
more so because visitors, nine times
out of ten, are debarred entrance.
"The presence of strangers distracts
the hands, puts things out Of gear" is
the explanation, when the reason for
exclusiveness is inquired into, and, in
view OF this, a glimpse at the manipu-
lations carried on within must be look
ed upon as a privilege. A pocketbook
Of soft pliable leather is a pleasing
possession, n ii, in addition to its
lasting qualities, it is bound in gold
OR silver and stamped under some
overlapping flap with the name and
the species Of skin it was made of, it
gains in interest.
ut takes eight or nine months to get
that piece Of elephants skin ready for
use" said the foreman at a well-known
jewellers. holding to view an uncut
piece of dun colored hide. 1T is soak
ed in a liquor bath to soften it, then
scraped to get rid Of any feshy portion
adhering to it, and this process is re-
peated at stated intervals, again and
again, before the skin becomes pliable
enough for the work to begin on it.
The scraping is done by machinery,
but the skin is so thick and GRUMPY
hat it requires several men to hold it
in place. OF course, a skin so thick
can be split into many layers, after it
has been sufficiently treated to admit
of the use of the knife. That man at
the table over there is splitting a piece
now. Watch how deity he does it.
Only experience and long practice can
make the expert at hat kind of work.
He must have a firm, strong touch,
am yet, at the same time, a sort of
sleight of hand to be able to manipu-
late the knife successfully"
"Are elephant skins easy to get?" is
inquired, as a dainty pocketbook, all
ready for the binding to be put on, is
offered for examination.
"Not by any means" is the answer;
W have orders out always, away
ahead of time, because of the difficult
ties in the way of filling them. Our
skins come from theinterior of India.
The natives hunt the elephants there
for their tusks, which are so valuable,
Uul IL 10 q Il1Cu Jul " pSlSudUc IuCll
to bring the skins into the towns for
export. The people are generally lazy
in that hot country, and in sections re-
mote from the main lines of t%ranspor-
tation they have little enterprise. Oc-
casionally we get hold of a skin here
in this country, when some elephant
has had to be shot, either on account
of sickness, or age, or because it gets
beyond control. Such a skin can gen.
orally be bought cheap. From the
manufacturers point of view the skin
of a $4,000 or $751; 900 elephant, such
as those in the zoos, is worth $500 be-
fore it is made up"
What do you think this is?" show
ing what looked like a thick stick of
wood, with the edges curled I'M
der like a dried husk. "It is a piece
of sharks skin. A shark S skin is diff
cult to work with, but gives beautiful
results. This piece is beyond treat
ment. The more process it has been
put through, the more stubborn it has
become. AS it stands now it mean
So worth of valueless SKIN. Here, on
the other hand, is a superior piece of
sharks skin that We are holding pack
for some unusual occasion; to make
the portemonnaie of a millionaire's
bride, perhaps, or to be placed on ex-
hibitiOn somewhere"
care these native shark skins?"
mo, they all come from abroad.
Something in toe composition of an
American shark or the waters he in
habits makes his skin worthless for
manufacturing purposes. A prize piece
@f q oV1>fc rlySr in n0~di%fDn Gov xry0~1~
ing is as white as the drifted sands on
a beach and just as pebby. The sur
face glistens like flint or granite on
which the sun is shining. It has been
bleached and treated with the greatest
care" explained the craftsman, as he
stroked the treasure admiringly.
"Being an unusually fine skin, it took
the treatment beautifully. Here is a
casket made of sharks skin," he added,
showing a c%uriously shaped jewel box,
with cover and sides inlaid with over
tapping brown scales like shingles.
THAT inlaid border is made of bone
pike from Florida. The scales of the
bone pike are marked with queer
characters not unlike Chinese letter.
ing. It is more unique for inlaying
than mother-of-pearl. The pike being
lustreless and the sharks skin taking
on the highest degree of polish, the
one shows the other off to good adj
vantage.
But was there ever a white shark"
the visitor asks, and this question leads
to the production of a couple of skins
of the normal wood color, before being
treated to either a dyeing or a bleach
ing. Only of recent years has it been
found possible to bleach the skins to
quite such a degree of whiteness, and
only skins of exceptionally rare quality
can Withstand the process.
Snakes skin, alum cured, is another
possession taken out of a locked com
partment by the foreman. This skin
with a dull, lustreless surface, is much
sought for now" he said, exhibiting a
roll of notified, br~ownish-gray sub
stance. Another process is what Is