Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-29

sented. French gray, English gold, rose
gold, French green. FURNISHED copper, plain
silver and finishes to initiate every color
and shade Of different varieties of roses,
pink roses with silver or gold calyxes,
golden roses with green ~calyxes, deep
toned American Beauties with ntural green
calyxes-every combination of color and
texture until the place looked like King
Midas garden itself.
Don't you make anything but rose
hatpins?" 1 asked.
I'VE can, but we don't" said the inven-
tor. THAT is, very little. We had one
order for carnations recently. and later
had a batch OF sweet-pea hatpins going
through. Here are a few metallized dragon
flies and a metallized snake bracelet, but
they are merely curiosities. We find that
the roses sell best, and we stick pretty
closely to them. You see. we're too busy
Killing orders to do much experimenting
yet. When we get things going well, and
have larger quarters, we're going into that
end or the business, and shall branch out.
We can metallize anything that nature
produces from a tiny beetle to a human
body"
The dragon-flies and the snake were
marvels. They looked like the work Of
a skilled craftsman in silver an enamel.
I'VE can metallize any sort OF keepsake
so that it will be practically indestruc-
tible,' went on the inventor. 1--WE can
take a brides wreath of orange blossoms
and Metallic It in a perfect reproduction
of the original, so that she could keep
1t intact forever. We can make beetle
stick-pins and all that sort of novelty
jowelry. There are great possibilities in
the idea, but we can't stop to work them
out just now" He pointed explanatory
to a pile Of waiting orders on his desk. and
smiled. 1--WE stick pretty closely to our
roses"
Ibid you originate the idea?" I asked.
Old Process Revived.
eyes, and no." said the inventor. From
a commercial standpoint, we did. Actually,
the process was discovered fifty or sixty
years ago in the old country. I came
across a record of it in an old German
book not long ago. Some German chem
lists had the idea, and tried to metal
Ike flowers and other objects with some
]. success. But the scheme was never taken
up and put on a commercial basis. The
trouble was that the flowers wilted 81
easily that it was hard to keep their shape
intact. They wilted in the electro-chem
lcal pain, IT they did not Wilt before they
were put in. That was our difficulty a
first. The per- cent of waste was so great
that the process was not practical"
How did you come to take 1t up?'
asked.
well, there was a French electro-plate
that worked here IN North Chicago by the
name Of Delamoth. He claimed to have
discovered tho process himself. but I be
lieve that he got the tip in the old country
At least he worked at the processes FOL
several years, and succeeded In metal
lzing flowers quite well. l sold some o.
his first pins for him, but he could no
get the cost down so that the pin could
retail profitably for less than s.. Nov
there are very few people who will pay
as much as 81 for a hatpin. especially IN
the millinery trade. and Delamoth had tt
give II up. But l had the idea that Il
could be done. and so we formed a com
pany and tried the proposition out. w
got the solution that kept the roses from
willing. and as soon as We found that. this
rest was easy. The cost OF production nov
is comparatively smalI-about 3 cents or
a single hatpin.
The Finish.
OF course. something depends on what
finish Is pat on We have to gold OF