Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-04-22
TRADE IN HUMAN HAIR.
Not an Unimportant Industry for 3D.
hemian Factories.

ncFnldH FdSiOilSS.
Not long ago the Tribune had dis
patch from the Pacific coast telling Of
the dispatch to New York of a carload
of human hair received from China and
sent on to dealers in New York. or
the trade in that commodity in Austria
Consul Britain Of Prague, writes:
I'm Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia the
marketing of human hair and the MAX
ing of human hair nets is an important
business. The chief centers for the in
dustry are found in the southeast part
of Bohemia, centering in the towns Of
Throw -Kamenitz, Chotebar, Chrast
and Raubowitz. The business is both
factory and a home industry, one
class of human hair coming from China
and the other class being a nome pro-
duct
Large quantities Of what are known
as combings are imported from China,
via Triest or Hamburg, packed in cases
wrapped in straw and weighing from
1913 to 130 pounds bale. This Chinese
luton Of hydrogen peroxide and as
sorted according to lengths. then dyed
colors and shades desired by pur-
chasers. The lengths vary from six to
thirty-fve inches
tine work of asserting and classify
ing the hair according to various
lengths is done by girls and women,
beginners being paid from II to ii
cents and expert workers from 40 to 60
cents a day. The dyeing and bleaching
Is done by men, who receive from $14
to $1S a month.
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 earns from "a to 32 cents day,
but each netmaker is obliged to have
an assistant to tie together the single
hairs in order to save the time of the
netmaker.
Each week the netmakers are given
their homes, and when the nets are fin
ished and delivered by the workers
they are allowed 20 per cent for waste
of material.
THE human hair nets are exported
to tine United States, England, France
and Germany, very few being worn in
Austria. The value of human hair and
nets exported to the United States in
1908 was s244,922.
"Al 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 Moravia and
Bohemia and the less valuable from
Silesia, while a considerable quantity
Of inferior hair also is cut in Hungary.
THE quality of the human hair de-
pends upon the prosperity of the people
and the care taken Of it before cutting.
The hair is collected by peddlers, or
hair merchants, who must be of good
reputation in order to obtain their IL
cense. These men, usually accompa-
MED by their wives, make trips through
the country lasting usually from four
to six weeks, going from house to house
in their efforts to induce women and
girls to part with a portion of their
hair. The maximum amount of hair
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 depends on the length Of the hair
and it's color, chiefly the latter
THE entire head of hair is not sold
at one time, usually but one braid be-
ing disposed of at once, and another
portion being disposed of in about
four years. No hair is cut from tn"
heads Of dead people or those suffering
from disease. The prices paid for
braids are from SO to $21 eacn, the for
mer being for small braids of short
hair. Prices paid by the pound vary
from $1166 to $50, the latter price be-
ing for blond or gray hair ranging
twenty-four to twenty-eiSnt inches
long. All of the native hair Is shipped
in it's natural state, without being
bleached or dyed, and the estimated
annual exports are placed at $4,000
pounds"