The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-07-06
MOTHER OF PEARL.
OF What It Is Made and Some of Its
Many Uses.

Perhaps it is called mother of pearl"
because in it's tightly-locked bosom lies
the jewel snow drop that graces the
delicate throat of queen. It is a plain
sea shell The outside is rough-ribbed
gray-the color of a November twilight;
the interior a marvellous prism that has
stored the hues of the rainbow.
The manufacture of mother of pearl
is an industry of no little magnitude in
New York and hereabouts. This city
and Newark are its centerS. Thousands
of persons make a livelihood converting
the shells into numerous useful and
pretty articles of commerce. If we were
asked what is mother OF pearl used for
the reply would probably be buttons.
Thousands and thousands of buttons, Of
all sizes, are manufactured in New
York annually, and the process is ex-
ceedingly interesting. But buttons are
not all. Knife handles, umbrella han
dies, revolver handles, pen holders. jew
elry and a score of additional pretty
and useful articles are made from
mother of pearl.
The finest shells come from the Aus
tralian archipelago. They are white and
extremely pretty. A dark-tinted shell Is
found off the coast of Japan; these are
from the worlds great pearl fisheries
California produces some and the I'M
terror rivers of the United States have
their pearl producing shells. The pearl
divers bring the shells to the surface
where a first search for pearls is made
The shells are then shipped to London.
the worlds great clearing house for
mother of pearl, where they are again
submitted to careful scrutiny for Jewels.
The American manufacturer gets his
supply largely from London. In the fac
tory, as the shells are cut, another
search for pearls is made and not in
frequently it is rewarded. Not all the
pearls are found loosely slowed in the
closed apartment where the soft mollusk
reposes. Sometimes they are secreted
in the hard casing of a shell and are
only brought to view by the cutting
saw. In a Canal street factory the 9TH
er day a workman sliced a $500 pearl
into two beautiful sections and rendered
it worthless before he realized what the
saw was doing.
The manufacture Of mother Of pearl
has steadily increased in the twenty
five years since it was begun in this
country. The genius of the inventor
has found no substitute for the product
of nature and the shells are not so nu-
merous as they were They cost tbs
manufacturer an average of 75 cents
pound. The finished product, therefore,
is expensive and is likely TO be more so.
as the demand Is continually growing
for mother of pearl articles.
The shells are about eight inches wide
and weigh less than half pound. They
are shipped from London in 800 pound
boxes. WOrkmen of skill in the mother
of pearl factories are mostly foreign
born, though American boys are being
trained in the craft. The men are Eng
lish French and Bohemians, who learn
ed their trade abroad. In the factory
the shell first goes to skillful oper-
ator who saws off the rough edges, or
the bark 1t is then cut into strips
if it is thick one. and certain parts
are selected for the heavier articles The
thin fiat shells go to the button ma
chine where the discs are bored from
it very rapidly. These round segments
are engraved on another machine; on
another holes are bored or the brass
eye for the thread is pressed in, then a
boy polishes the outer surface of each
one by momentary touch on a car
borundum wheel, making 2,400 revolu-
tons minute Arising from the same
and cutting and polish machines is a
fine white dust. that settles over the
interior like -four in a mill, but the
workmen are apparently robust and
make no complaint of evil effects of
breathing it. While there is consider
able waste material in each shell no
portion of the white mother of pearl is
permitted to go to waste. Very small
! buttons rosary beads etc, are made
from the rejected fragments. The
larger and better parts of the shell are
CAREFUL selected for ornamentation of
the articles heretofore mentioned. A
very pretty watch fob for men is made
of a piece of delicately tinted mother of
pearl artistically arranged in filigree
10 Id setting.
From the Mississippi river along the
borders of Iowa the greatest quantity
of fresh water shells Is obtained, and 1t
has become a profitable business. Use
less portions are sawed off there, and
the entire product is shipped to eastern
manufacturers.-New York Commercial.