The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1911-02-14
The Black Fox.

InSiltS among local ITdppelS ana
hunters as to what a black fox, or
a silver gray fox was. The fol-
lowing from the Saturday Even
ing Post will explain these freaks
of nature. and account for the
tremendously high cost of their
furs:
You may, perhaps, have seen
in many shop windows sets made
Of "silvery-gray fox" black,
with white hairs growing in the
fur. Usually these white hairs
are course and stubby and are
set i'll so clumsilv that the fat is
obvious. even if the dealer did
not declare the imitation. Of
course, practically all of the sill
ver-gray fox you will see worn
is this cheap imitation, not al
ways sold at a cheap price.
There is just one family in Paris
that can turn out anything like
a decent imitation of silver-gray
fox. SO good is this imitation
sometimes that it is question
if big prices have not been OBJ
tanned for it without declaring it's
real nature.
The black fox is the highest
priced of all furs, unless we ac-
cept that of the sea-otter, which
is practically extinct. The black
fox, the silver-gray fox and the
red fox are Of one and inciden-
tally the same species and all
three Of these sports or freaks IF
color have been found in the
same litter. The tip Of the tail
Of the black fox is white and has
delicate white hairs. These light
hairs are more numerous in the
silver graz and you may see sill
ver-gray tendencies sometimes
in the cross fox, which has a
dark mark acros its shoulders and
a white tipped tail. Cross fox if
prime in quality, is not dyed; and
of course no human art can APP
proach the beauty of a genuine
black or silver-gray skin. Red
fox however, or low-quality cross
fox dyed black, is very often
sold artlessly as struction of the
term, And yet under that con-
struction the courage not even
of the boldest dealer sanctions a |
price one-tenth that of the genu-
inc article.
Silver gray or black skins as
has been noted, formerly brought
only fifty to seventy-fve dollars.
but today are worth five hun
dred to a thousand. A muff and
stole or collarette in genuine sill
YER gray or black may bring
from two thousand to five thous-
and dollars, according to how
much money the dealer thinks
you have and how easily you can
be separated from it. There are
very few of these skins on the
market. Suppose you secure one
for your self, and ask a furrier to
match it for you, which will be
necessary if you are to mace up
a set. He may tell you that it
is impossible to match the skin
or may require price for match
ing the skin double that which
you paid for yours.
This matching up of furs is
one Of the clements Of cost. The
fur muf and stole trat you pur
chase may have been combed out
OF tour hundred skins of one
sort or another, and the same
may be true of the set hanging
next to it in the window of a lit
tie lighter OF darker color. The
choicest Of furs, barring the sea-
otter, may be called the black
fox. the silver-gray fox and the
Russian sable. These, of course.
have nothing to do with the dyed
fox, which is sometimes sold as
lynx The story was that all
these fancy furs once went to the
royal family of Russia. AS a
matter of fact, there are royal
families in America that wear
furs as good as any that can be
sported by any royal family in
the world. 1t is, however, some
times easier to sting one of our
American queens than a high
IL. A.