Omaha daily bee., 1899-11-24

| that Strozynski did not enter.
When the Countess de Tocqueville visited
| this city she sought out Mr. Strozynskl, whc
I had been her coiffeur in Paris. She named
his establishment the Maison de la Cour
which name appeared in large gold letters
over the entrance TO his parors for many
| years.
! He was tho first to introduce wax figures
| In San Francisco. He brought number oil
these with him from Paris, and each one
was modelled after some celebrated woman.
They represented the Empress Eugenie. the
queen OF Spain, Elizabeth, the grand
duchess OF Gerolstein, and the Duchess
Angouleme, and one OF them was the proto-
type of one OF the leading bellies of San
Francisco. All the great operate and the
atrical stars, as well as all other celebrities
who ever visited this coast patronized
Strozynski. He had autograph letters from
nearly all OF these, for which he would not
take 1000 apiece. OF letters of praise from
Sarah Bernhard, Patti. Aimee and Adelaide
Nelson he was especially proud. He also
had albums containing photographs Of all
the prominent society women of San Fran
cisco.
Strozynski was charitable 10 the tips OF his
fingers. To many a poor, struggling wreck
was patriotic beyond the measure OF the
ordinary man. In 1883, when the 200th ami
versary of the siege of Vienna by the Poles
under the great Sobieski was celebrated by
those of Polish nationality all over the coun-
try, Strozynski kept open house and enter
tanned most lavishly in honor of the event.
He was an enthusiast in his chosen pro-
fession. He not only quickly adopted new
ideas, but himself introduced many novel
ties.
Frequently he would originate coiffure
and months afterward would see the same
idea come out in some Partisan magazine.
To his employees he was considerate and re-
spectfu. but he brooked no interference.
Never was there greater autocrat, but he
never overrated either his authority or his
ability and was never at a loss for original
ideas. He was eXcitable to a degree wheh
things did not go as he wished, but appre-
ciative of every little effort to please him.
Sometimes the girls would dress head and
would call him in to pass approval when
the finishing touches were being put on.
Perhaps the angle did not suit him. NO
MOI" he would shrek, take 1t down in
stantly" and then, with few deft touches
he would puff and plait and arrange the hair
until the customer looked like another
woman The pleasure he took in the fin
ished product was the pleasure of an artist
in the finished picture.
To the women who worked in his shop
he was the soul of kindness, though some
thing of a martinez as far as business was
concerned. He would tolerate no flirtations
around the store and several young men
about town have reason for their dislike of
He tried to protect the pretty
girls in his employ, and they showed their
appreciation by staying with him for long
terms of years-twelve, eighteen, twenty.
That he appreciated their long and faithful
service is shown in his will Twice Mr. |
took part in hairdressing con- |
test that was held in Paris, a contest that |
was open to the whole world and in which !
several hundred coiffures took part, and !
twice he took the first prize-the gold medal |
and two diplomas.
He was as much at home in dressing a |
historic coffure as he was in arranging a |
brides tresses. He was a fine linguist,
speaking Polish, Russian, German, French,
Spanish, English and Italian with equal ease.
No man ever enjoyed joke more than he
lid, even when directed against himself. He
was also something of a prestidigitator, and
S said to have given as neat a seight-of-
land performance as Hermann himself.