The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-31
SILVER ORNAMENTS.
A Rewildering Array of siIverware in
 the Stores,

From the Washington Times.
 The other day shopper seated in front I of wall case, filled with fancy silver 1 tableware, exclaimed hopelessly:
 T wish there were not So many pieces. 1 l don't know which to choose 1 must go home and think It over" | The clerk smiled as he remarked: oh, yes, she will come back; a good many shoppers feel like that"
 The present array of silver in all the | department stores as well as at the sil- | Versmiths is large, more bewildering, | than ever. Although every piece that gilt ters may not be sterling by good deal a feature of the display is the tremendous | percentage of sterling pieces shown in | the department stores
 "Silver has been so cheap of late years.o said manager, that the people use more and more of It, and it pays us to Keep on enlarging our silver department. | Yes, the price of silver bullion has | gone up, but fortunately it did not soar l in time to affect the Christmas market. 1 Our stock, and probably the stock of every other retail dealer, was purchased | before the rise"
 | In the department stores 1t was learned l that the demand for toilet artices and silver novelties. useful and ornamental, far overtopped that for tableware, al- though naturally tho amount of money spent for the latter exceeded that spent l for all the others combined.
 In silver novelties for personal wear one l of the best sellers is card case with | wrist chain attached and "vanity case.' which is an elaboration of the other. Ex- formally they look exactly alike.
 The card cases vary in size from by Sla inches to 3Ia by inches and have of rtp If silver is perfectly plain, etched or orna- mented with raised work. as desired. The interior of the receptacle Is lined with silk and divide dinto two compartments, one | for fards, the other for coin The owners monogram should appear on one side of | the case.
 Vanity cases are practically the same size as card cases, but a little thicker. | They open to show mirror. Touching | spring diseoses behind the mirror com partment for cards. memorandum tablet and pencil. spring in the other side of 1 the case rolls back silver door, disclos- | ing a compartment filled with a tiny pow der puff. ianked with smaller compart- ment for , and 10 cent pieces. The card cases may be had as low BIO, the vanity 1 cases from SEQ up,
 Meeting with ready sale are silver card cases for men, perfectly plain except for the monogram, the shape curved a trife
 
 the owner to get hold of q card easily when in a hurry. This style case is just as large as mans visiting card and very flat
 Art shapes" have taken the place largely of round and oval designs in hand mirrors, and octagonal three cornered and irregular effects are popular. In sill yer mounted brushes the basin q scooped out design, Is among the novelties. When asked as to the best selling silver articles, a saleswoman in a department store sWered
 To-day I have sold hand mirrors, hair brushes, photograph frames, hatpin hold CTS and belt buckles in the order named. l never remember such a demand for si- yer frames small and large, the prices in some cases mounting as high as s5n. The latter, of course are of sterling sil- yer and etched. The most souvhf aftc. design Is this. which may be had in all sizes
 The design pointed out plain band about one inch wide engra4t. %. ~ ! scroll effect, finished with square, plain corners.
 Tn belt buckles a popular style is square-three inches and larger. Oblong ones a tri6e smaller a second choice. Most of them-of sterling quality, that | is-are chased Even more popular than the buckles are silver girdle ornaments made to fit into the pointed girdles now so much worn.'
 l These ornaments were mostly of open | work, plable and easily adjusted, some four inches long, others shorter. set of two. of the best design. was s10 there were others as low as S2 Handsome ster- ling. buckles cost s5
 Hatpin holders. it is said. meet a long felt want. quickly bought up variety is not unlike tiny silver vase and costs $2.5o.
 New varieties in cologne bottles. de- ere md c{Ix ,.i,. special attraction in a downtown silver smiths. In the vases the silver deposit work is arranged in panels of wild rose design, connected with a rustic trellis of 1 vine and bud.
 "Without question the biggest part of our Christmas income comes from our tableware department. said a retail siI- Yefsmlth. And 1t is people of not very large means. who can't give holiday pres ents of costly jewelry and bric-a-brac who buy the most tableware. For the last fifteen years one particular customer has come in regularly about Christmas time and bought piece of table silver to give to her brothers wife.
 Her selection this year was a three- piece silver tea set-an article which is l perhaps as popular just now as any we have in stock with persons who can af- ford to spend something over s2o one present. And tea sets of redwood and
 
 silver, sell even faster. They are very stylish and new, and that is enough. Shaded brown and deep red colors are favorites."
 | A large case of glass pitchers of as- sorted sizes. bound with silver, was point ed out as having beeen designed ex- pressly for the holiday trade. as had been a pile of glass bowls-fruit bowls they were called-bound with. silver.
 Silver bric-a-brac of miniature propor- tions is included in the stock of many of the high-class silversmiths and depart- ment stores, and 1t is windfall to many ! a perplexed Christmas present shopper, The greater number of varities in these goods is due to the institution'of a draw l ing room table or cabinet devoted to silver trlhes only. Many of the tiny sil- yer novelties are as fine as lace; others are reproductions of quaint ancient ve- hces-sedan chairs and the like-of old | statuary of historic figures and also of | modern auto cars and skyscrapers. Few of these bits of silver are higher than two inches and many are only one inch high.