The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-05-07
Trade in Human Hair.

Not long ago the Tribune had a
| dispatch from the Pacific coast telling
/ of the dispatch to New York of a
/ car load of human hair received from
| China and sent on to dealers in New
| York. OF the trade in that commodity
in Austria, Consul Britain, of Prague,
| writes:
I'm Bohemia, Moravia, and SiIesia,
| the marketing of human hair and the
| making of human hair nets is an i'm
| pOrtant business. The chief centers
for the industry are found in the south
east part of Bohemia, centering in the
| towns of THROW Kamenitz, Chotebar,
| Chrast, and Raubowitz. The business
is both a factory and home industry,
| one class of human hair coming from
| China, and the other class being a
home product.
| Large quantities of what are known
| as combings are imported from China,
via Trieste or Hamburg, packed in
cases wrapped in straw and weighing
| from 123 to $50 pounds a bale. This
| Chinese hair is all chemically bleached
in a solution OF hydrogen peroxide and
assorted according to lengths, then
! dyed colors and shades desired by pur-
chasers. The lengths vary from to
/ 35 inches.
1.-THE work of asserting and CLASH
! flying the hair according to various
lengths is done by girls and women.
beginners being paid from IL to IA
| cents and expert workers from 40 to
so cents day. The dyeing and bleach
| ing is done ~ men, who receive from
| s14 to SIS month.
1.-The human hair nets are made
| from Chinese hair, as the native hair
| is too fine and soft. This business
| is largely home industry, the work
/ being done by women and girls. An
| experienced worker earn from "a to
80 cents aday. but each net maker is
| obliged to have an assistant to tie to-
gether the single hairs in order to
save the tim of the netmaker.
Each week the netmakers are
given a quantity of hair, which they
take to their homes. and when the nets
are finished aud delivered by the work.
ers they are allowed 90 per cent for
waste of material
1.-THE human hair nets are exported
to the United States, England, France
and Germany. very few being worn
1 in Austria. The value of human hair
and nets exported to the United States
in 1908 was s244,922.
"All of the hair cut here for export
is taken from The heads of the peasants
in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia The
first quality comes from Meravia and
Bohemia. and the less valuable from
Silesia, while a considerable quantity
of inferior hair is also cut in Hungary
/ 1.-THE quality of the human hair de-
ponds upon the prosperity of the peo-
pie and the care, taken of it before
cutting. The hair is collected by ped
dlers, or hair merchants, who must be
of good reputation in order to obtain
their license These men, usually ac-
companied by their wives, make trips
through the country lasting usually
from four TO six weeks going from
house to house in their efforts to in
duce women and girls to part with q
portion of their hair. The maximum
amount of h,ir generally purchased
by a shrewd dealer on one of these
| trips is from eleven TO fourteen
pounds, while many return with less
than five pounds The price paid de-
ponds upon the length of the hair ano
its color, chiefly the latter.
1.-The entire head of hair is not sold
at one time, usually but one braid be-
ing disposed II at orce. and another
portion being disposed of in about foul
years. No hair is cut from the heads
| of dead peop-e or those suffering from
disease The. prices paid for braid.
are from 50 to sci each. the former
: being for small braids of short hair
Prices paid by the pound vary from