The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1906-03-30
STORY OF THE GLOVE
1T REACHES BACK INTO THE MOST
REMOTE AGES.

Gloves are now worn indiScriminate-
~ by rich and poor and have no spe.
cial significance excepting as a COM
pleting article Of the toilet. The an
tiquity Of gloves reaches into remote
ages. AS early as in the reign Of Rob
ert III. glove manufacturers were in
corporated by charter in Perth, a guild
being then established that still exists
in name, although the town is not de-
voted now to the manufacture of gloves
as a leading article of commerce.
A glovers' company was established
in London in 1464, but was not char
tered until 1853. In 1861 a company
for the manufacture and sale of gloves
was Incorporated in Worcester, Eng
land, where the trade fourishes at the
present time, the famous English dog
skin," made really from Cape sheep
skin, and of a warm tan color, being
unapproached in excellence by any 9TH
er makers.
Paris is a glove market for the whole
world. In the Swiss mountains kids
are raised especially for this industry,
and great pains are taken to have the
animals killed while the skin is fine
and soft. Tanneries at Millau, An
nonay, Paris and Grenoble prepare
them for the Stitchers. But there are
not enough kids raised in France to
supply the great demand for gloves,
and the gamins of Paris find steady
o,I nroFfah 1a nnnnl0vDnnnt RQtPhinp
rats at the mouths of the great drains
Of the city to exc out the trade. Dogs
and even cats contribute also, though
supplying an inferior article of kid.
In ancient days a glove represented a
contract or pledge, a substitute for the
hand, being cast down by II contract
ing party to be taken up by the other.
1t also represented a challenge, to
throw down the glove often being an in
vitation to mortal combat. At the
same time to give an enemy a glove i'll
a pacific manne was a pledge OF faith,
to break which was regarded as a
crime. The borderers of Scotland were
so particular about this use Of the
glove that when one Of their knights
broke faith with his glove keeper they
proclaimed his perfidy by riding to APP
pointment holding aloft a spear, from
the point of which the dishonored glove
dangled. And if the knight was slain
by his OWL clan it was conceded to be
a righteous punishment.
A fur lined glove worn by Henry VI.
is preserved in an old mansion that
gave him shelter after the battle Of
Hexham, 1854. 1t is of tan leather
lined with deerskin with the hair on
and turned over to form a cuff.
1t is recorded of unfortunate Anne
Boleyn that she possessed many pairs
of eXtravagant gloves and would al
ways wear them to hide certain blem-
ishes on her nails which offended the
eye of the king. Her royal predecessor
used to delight in making her play
cards without them, as it was sure to
result in her discontinue.
Queen Elizabeth took much pride in
her gloves and made an entry in her
book of expenses of zone payr of gloves
embrawret with gold" which she sent
as a gift to her sister Mary. She also
recorded the fact of receiving "ten payr
of Spanyshe gloves from a duches in
Spayne."
1t has been customary for gentlemen
to remove the right hand glove when
shaking hands with a lady. This Gus
tom descended from an ancient n
which forbade any one to enter the
presence of royalty in gloves, because
visitors were to stand unarmed, with
the helmet off the head, the gauntlets
off the hands, to show that there were
no hostile intentions.
Biting the glove is looked upon with
disfavor as an unpleasant habit, but it
had once a deeper meaning-a pledge
of deadly vengeance.
Stern Rutherford but little said,
But bit his glove and shook his head.
Thus wrote Sir Walter Scott in his
$'Lay Of the Last Minstrel"
1t was considered no crime for law
yers and special pleaders to take the
bride of a pair of gloves, and the US
tom did not fall into disfavor until the
gloves were lined with coin, which
gained the name of "glove money" To
this ancient custom can be traced the
present habit Of presenting gloves to
the guests at weddings or funerals.
Gloves were first worn by the clergy
to symbolic that their hands were
clean and not open to brides.
Both the old and the modern poets
have written tender verses to this ca
PRECIOUS article Of feminine attire.
Send me a glove you have lately
worn, and l will tell your characters
wa the way in which an adver-
tisement was worded a number of
years ago. incidentally a fee of 81
was mentioned in consideration, but
people who were enticed into send
Ing their dollars were more than sat
Isfed with the result. The glove
reader told them the most wonderful
about themselves-the color of
the eyes and hair, peculiarities of dis
position and many other things. Gloves