Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-09-08
LEIPSIC's IMPORTANCE.
Principal Fur Trade Center for the En-
tire World.
From the London Globe

ii"m tne LONDON Globe.
Nearly the whole Of the commerce in
furs Is concentrated about the two cities
OF London and Leipsic, but nevertheless
the Importance of these two centers of in
dustry is far from being equal. TWo-thirds
of the furs sold by auction in London go 70
Leipsic and it is the latter CITY which &c
the principal center of the fur trade for
the whole world. The warehouses of Lem
SIC receive raw and made-up furs from 81
90, nerla, european Russia, America. Austria
liza and China. The model factories in
which the furS are dyed and dressed are
situated in the suburbs of the town. The
system of selling by auction which prevails
iil LONDON permits dealers to determine ex-
actly the quality of goods which are
requisite for wholesale transactions This
is not the case in Leipsc, where the amount
OF business done in this line is yariously
estilhaLeo al from sixty to seventy millions
of marks per annum.
Inc principal article Of commerce in Lem
sic is raw astrakhan, which comes from,
Bokhara. and is chiefly bought at the fair
OF NlJni-Novgorod; of this, close on to 900,
t1D skins, each worth from 4 to 81 rnhles
are imported annually. If We add to these
fgureS the price of dressing and dyeing
and the merchants profits, we obtain a
total of twelve to fifteen million marks
After having been dyed the astrakhan is
sold in Germany. France, England and
partly in the United States, although the
Americans generally prefer to buy it in its
raw state, as they do in the case of all
other furs. The second rank in trade NAV
be given to sables. Nearly $1,000 are i'm
ported yearly, the prices varying from s
rubles to 100 or 200 rubles and upward but
the dearer skins are in the minority or
late years the sables are sent chiefly 10
ENGLAND, France and America.
White foXSkinS take the third place
numbering 5000 to 10000 skins annually
These are dyed in Leipsic, after which
they are sold In France, England and the
United States. Every year about LOU, 900
a m
known in Germany by the name of treibel
and are worth about 80 kopecks each enter
Leipsic, where they are dyed in the fac
tories and chiefly exported to America AT
one time Le1pSic received yearly from
3,eGteo 20 4,eG00G6 of Russian and Siberian
squirrel skins. which We're dressed as fur
and found their chief sale in Great Britain
When, however the fashion of full-Iengtb
fur-lined women's cloaks and long ulsters
passed away the importation of these skins
fell to about 100000 Squirrels tails were
formerly used in the manufacture of boas,
and now they are dyed to initiate marten
and sable tails, and find ready sale in the
United States, England, France, Germany
and Austria Hungary Russia exports
The white fox, dressed in Russia finds an
annual sale of nearly 2OO0Oo0 SKINS rang
ing in price from 10 to q kopecks.
Besides Russian hides, fox, otter. polecat
and black ferret skins find their way to
Leipsic from different parts of Germany
France, Switzerland, Austra-Hungary.
Greece, Holland and Denmark. From 100,-
600 to 10000 foxskins are sold annually in
Leipsic, chiefly for export to Russia the
price varying from 2 to marks. Polecats
are also exported to Russia to the number
of 5000 to 10000. and at the price of to
10 marks. Nearly all OF the otter skins
from 5000 to 1000 are exported to Russia
at an average rate of to 20 marks each
The writer adds that the fluctuations in
the fur trade depend on the weather and
the caprices of fashion. Although furs are
always fashionable, the absence of winter
in western Europe renders the trade less
animated and less stable than Is customary
during that season.