The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-07-11
For the =
= Women.

The bead craze is on the increase. Not
only bags, purses and even large mana
aatchels are now made entirely, handies
and all, of the thy glass disks, but also
an increasing variety OF neck chails'
hair and hat ornaments and dress TRIM
mings A year or two hence may rea-
sonably see more bead trapping ABOUT
up to date feminine gowns than ever
worn by wild Indian or FIJI islander
But perhaps not one woman IN nun
bred who glories in her bead garniture
and accessories knows a single item IN
the interesting biography of these DTS
of glass that are transported from IL
aly to Germany by the trainload, and
come into this country at the rate OF
nearly $1,000,O00 worth yearly. Italy Is
abe mother country for bead manufac-
ture, an; ole New York importer has a
score or more of quaint Venetian sam
pie books, a hundred or more years Old
odd hinged affairs. like very shallow
boxes, with rows and rows of colored
beads of all sizes and shapes, long ana
short and round and jagged, threadeu
closely on their inner surface. Original
ly, of course they were made WhOlly Dy
hand. A hole was punched through a
fast cooling bit of molten glass. ana
then small boys employed TO run IN Op-
posite directions holding opposite ehus
of the still malleab bic material with met
al nippers Naturally the faster they
ran the more attenuated the strand OF
glass would become before hardened Dy
cooling, but no matter how fast or now
far the small glass stretchers rushed,
the hole in the middle would never close
up. After this cooling and elongatlng
process which left the hollow strand or
unequal thickness throughout its length
II was chopped into minute lengths as
nearly equal as possible, and then the
different sizes sorted out for sale To
smooth the rough and irregular surfaces
bushels of these beads were put into a
huge cylindrical drum with a quantity
of ashes and turned at rapid rate Tor
some length of time. There are SJlli
quantities of partially finished beads
shipped from Italy to Germany, as there
the immense water power available
makes the mechanism necessary for
their completion comparatively cheap,
while in Italy it would have to be done
by electricity at great expense.
kindergarten supplies create another
market for the ubiquitous bead. And
curfously enough, some of the long,
thick. Opaque bits of glass, usually
murky or creamy in tint, which form
an attractive part of the string which
the toddling disciple of Froebel carries
home in triumph. are as often as not
a part of the old time purchase money
of African slaves. When this trade was
al its height. ships from Boston and
New York used to set out for the slave
coast. laden with fifty or more large
cases Of these trinkets. for admiration
of which African chiefs used to part
complacently with as many of their
neighbors as the bead bringers desired.
Stanley later found these beads far in
the interior Of Africa. where they passed
a currency under the name of soft and
in many portions they still circulate
largely. When slave traders were final
~ put out Of business, several firms in
New York and Boston found them
selves with quantities of this bead cur
rency on hand, and they were slowed
away for a generation or more as hope
lessly unmarketable, until of late, when,
To quote one dealer anything goes in
kline erEarten usage, they are finding
their way into schools as educators and
rainy day pastime for small American
fingers.
Wo5d. glass porcelain. Jewels OF vari-
Gus sorts. copper. steel, silver and even
gold, go to the making Of the beads
used in America. Some are cut. some
mounted. some blown. Tiny perforated
bits OF IA karat gold are used on many
OF the costly bags and purses, and cop
per Beads, heavily plated, are substi
tute for these. The manufacture of
sham pearls is an important part Of the
bead industry. In the most nearly per-
feet limitations, seven coats OF pigment
are required, and the interiors of the
tiny blown glass globules are FLIED with
a specially prepared wax to give them
weight and durability.
Some of these are so like the real
article that, as one dealer said. lit
would take an oyster to tell the differ
ence." AS fringes for chandelier
shades, and coverings for incandescent
bulbs. beads, both crystal and coloreu
are now used in great quantities. AND
as TO the varieties in current trade,
they are, indeed, like the sands of the
sea for multitude. OF one brand alone,
of the tiny glass affairs smaller than
a pinhead one New York house keeps
nearly three hundred different sorts.
Once in a while when a woman writes
for "a sample of all the varieties in