Omaha daily bee., 1902-09-14
FUR GARMENTS COST MORE
Winter Wraps Advances in Price from
Twenty to Thirty Per Cent
COSTLY SKINS ARE SCARCE IN MARKET
Furriers Tell OF Kinds and Qualities
Used and why IL Has been
Necessary 20 Put Up
the Figures.

plenlsh their stock OF fur garments this sea-
son will find that compared with previous
years the price has advanced from 20 to 80
per cent. The fur trade Of the country is
changing. 1t has been many years since
the buffalo overcoat Of the frontiersman
was a common article and the furs Of other
large wild animals are following in the
path laid out by the bison. There will,
however. be no scarcity Of furs, for as
the wild furs become scarcer the hides Of
domestic animals are drawn upon to sup
ply the deficiency and some Of these newer
furs possess desirable qualities not found
in the ones formerly in use.
When asked what would be the most ex-
pensive fur coat the answer of the majority
of people would be the sealskin coat, but
there are at least twa coats which are worn
to some extent more expensive than the
sealskin. The most expensive coat which
could be made would be that Of the silver
fox. These animals are natives of North
America, close TO the Arctic circle. The
skins as taken from the animals sell for
$50 to 5000, the higher price being more
often paid than the lower, while $500 has
been paid for a particularly good speci-
men. 1t would probably require the skins
Of eight foxes to make a coat, so 1t will be
seen that exclusive of manufacture the
coat would cost approximately $1,000. The
coat which would probably be the most ex-
p~ensive Of these which are worn to greater
or less extent is made Of the fur known as
broad tall to the trade. 1t Is the fur
of the unborn Persian lamb, carefully dyed
to an intense black. A coat Of such mate
rial costs about $500. There is but one
worn in Omaha so far as the dealers know
and the owner OF that coat is not looked
upon with envy by those who know the
value of furs, as it is not durable.
Seal the standard.
The sealskin is the standard, in spite of
the more expensive furs. There has been
a marked advance in the price of sealskins,
not due so much to a decreased supply as
to an increased demand. A sealskin jacket
which last year sold for 5000 commands
$3.50.
While there has been no appreciable de-
crease in the supply of seaskins this year,
the dealers look forward to the day when
the supply is to fail and already they are
casting about for a substitute. The closest
imitation to the skin Of the seal and one
which is generally in use under the trade
name of near seal" is the skin OF the hare.
This skin is trimmed and pulled. dyed and
dressed so that to the unframed eye at first
appearance it would pass for seaskin. 1t
sells much lower and is said TO be Amos.
as durable.
The most durable of all the skins, and one
which really repays the purchase price in
utility, is the skin of the otter. An otter
coat costs one-half the price Of a similar
sealskin garment. 1t is undyed and for that
reason more durable. 1t will, with ordinary
usage, last a lifetime and there are cases
where particularly good skins have been
handed down for several generations, requir-
ing but slight renewals to be perfect, for
with good skins there is little change in
style.
II one is looking for the most expensive
fur they would probably think Of some ami
NAL who must be sought in the ever-frozen
north, but they would not find it there, as it
is worn by the chinchllla. among the rocks
on the heights of the Andes mountains In
Chill and Peru. 1t is a small animal, some
what after the style Of the ~chipmunk, a
gray animal striped with white. The fur is
softer than any known manufacture Of man
and when dressed Is about six inches wide
by a foot long in the extreme portions,
squaring about four by eight inches. These
skins sell from SO to $14 apiece, depending
upon the size and quality. They are used to
trim collars and cuffs, one hide being re-
quired for each cuff and several for a col
lar. The fur is far from durable and is one
Of the great expenses OF maintaining furs in
good shape, as it must be renewed prac-
tically every season.
Ermines Much Higher.
II one is looking for the fur which has
advanced the most in price in the last year
they would probably strike II the first time,
ne "a Il Nhat - Nha ,-nnKna a. 100
ermine skins sold as low as 40 and SO cents
each, today the nominal price is 81 for
the skin as 1t comes from the animal, with
little to be found. The coronation of the
king OF England took all of the available
fur Of this animal in the market and those
who would wear the royal fur now find it
practically impossible to secure II. The
most popular of the wild furs Of the coun-
try today is that of the red fox, although
red fox fur is hardly known to the wearer
OF fur garments and is decidedly out of
style. But the fur of the blue fox Is very
much worn. So far as known there never
was a blue fox on earth in its proper sea-
son. but the dyers have at last succeeded
in blending the fur Of the red fox so that
II appears as blue, and 1t has caught the
popular fancy. The cross fox sells at very
much the same price as does also the gray
fox. The hides Of coyotes and wolves are
treated now in the same name and there
has been a considerable advance in those
furs in their natural state. But fur OF
the skunk is the best all around fur to
be found for 1t can be made to parade
under more DISCUSSES than any other and
it is a dependable fur in every respect
A good green fur today will bring about
$3.50 on the market, and when it has left
the hand OF the dresser will command
almost any price, depending upon the treat
ment 1t has received. This fur is known tC
the trade as brown marten, and as such
is worn by all persons who wear furs at all
Price for All Furs.
Everything is FISH that comes to the fur
rier's net and the common ciyet cat. with
its notified coat is purchased freely. buf
not at the price commanded by its large
cousin, the skunk. These cat skins sci
at IS cents each in natural state. but ar
not wanted dressed. They are not usei
at all in the United States as It is impos
sible to remove the white hair from tn
brown as can be done with the skunk
In Europe there is a demand for them
but they cannot be shipped in dressed, ant
for that reason the undressed skin alone 1
worth any price.
The most Of the coats worn in this par
OF the country are from imported furs iron
domestic animals, the furs OF the PERSIA