The evening times., 1900-03-06
CORSET-MAKING IN AUSTRIA.
The Amount of Rattan Used In Their
Manufacture Very Small

Carl Bailey Hurst. Consul General 10
| Vienna. in communication to the De-
partment of State. says of the use of rat
| tan in corset manufacture in Austria the
following:
| The consumption Of rattan in the man
ufacture OF corsets in Austria Hungary is
small. not more than $4,000 to II 800
! pounds being used annually. This supply
| comes from Germany, as there are no man
ufacturers in this country, ard what little
is employed is imported for the greater
part by the corset manufacturers them
selves and not by dealers in ratarS cf
! whom only three in Vienna carry this
! article at all. One OF these dealers told
me that in the past year he had disposed
Of only about $50 pounds. The rattan is
| used only for the very cheapest kinds OF
corsets, in widths from one-eighth to two
ffths of an inch. and ranges in price from
10 to %, cents a pound.
Most of the corsets are made with an
! imitation whalebone, produced from the
+. horns of cattle. There are three factories
in this monarchy where this article is man
ufactured. and their annual production is
$4,000, $4,000, and $4,000 pounds. respec-
lively. total OF 176.00G pounds There
are two kinds OF this bone. called respec-
lively. blond and black. The blond va
rlety is made from the wet horns of Hun
gaTian cattle and is much the better arti-
Gle. The black sort is made from horns
imported from India. which are sent dry,
as during the long traL portation they
would putrify. This latter kind possesses
less elasticity.
The horns ar pressed between heavy
and hot irons. The outer sides of the
horns become more or less scorched. and
the slabs sawn from these outer surfaces
are much inferior in quality to those taken
from the centre. which are the best and
dearest. The bones are cut from six TO
twenty inches long and three sixteenths
10 iive-sixteenths of an inch broad The
lengths from twelve to twenty inches are
those in demand for corsets and sell,
wholesale, the black for % cents and the
blond for so cents a pound Large guam
titles of these bones also come from
France because the manufacture here does
not meet the demand
There are not more than a half dozen
corset factories in Austria Hungary. and
these turn out about / 800 600 corsets an
nually. The two largest ones are in vi
emma leopold Landeis. VI Wallgasse 16.
and Bachrich Brothers. | Salzth0rgasse u.
and each can turn out about 500 day on
an average. The wholesale prices range
from 81 TO $40 a dozen, these being made
from cotton goods costing from 10 cents to
81 the yard. The retail prices are 20 per
cent dearer. The favorite and best SELL
ing colors are grey. cream and drab The
better ones are neatly decorated with fan
cy stitching in various C0loFS are edged !.
with a narrow trimming at the top. and |
have half-inch broad cotton laces cores !
pOnding in tint to the stitching. Corsets |
can be bought in Vienna at retail as low !
as 16 cents
"A feature in Austrian made corsets is I
a large hook sewed on in front well un-
der the waist. beneath which the laces are |
passed in tying, Statistics as to exports |
are not obtanable. but it is estimated that !
about 10000 pairs annually shipped TO /
Eastern countries and South America.
Wages in the factories range from 81 !
TO So a week. and working time is ten /
hours a day Women are mainy employed. !
The fancy stitching and embroidering are /
given out"