Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-09-13
WIGS OF OFFICE IN ENGLAND
Fallen into Disuse and Only Judges
and Lawyers Wear Them.

and Lawyers Wear Them.
Nowadays wigs Of office form q de-
caying race. The lordly full bottomed
wig Of his majesty's judges still re-
mains, but more than one stern justice
has been known to cool his fevered
brow on a scorching day by discarding
his imposing but oppressive head COW
ering. So late as the year 1880 bishops
wore wigs when seated in the house of
lords, but since that date the custom
has fallen into disuse.
With the exception of the speaker of
the house Of commons the law retains
a monopoly Of the wig. Barristers and
solicitors keep company with the
judges, but with far smaller and more
comfortable 'thatches." Then again
there Is the wig Of. servitude worn by
footmen and other funlxies and care
fully busted over with flour or powder
ed oatmeal.
Search Great Britain and you will
hardly find half q dozen wig makers
that is, manufacturers Of the ceremo-
NAL article. A full bottomed wig, such
as Judge would buy for twelve gum
eas, would last the remainder Of his
life, and there have been very few
judges who have bought a second.
Lawyers and barristers pay five gum
cas- for their official headdress, and
generally speaking, one wig is sum-
cient for an entire professional career.
All Official wigs are made from horse
hair, and maker OF these articles
must search over more than hundred
weight Of stock hair to obtain q pound
worthy of use for this august purpose.
The hairs are built up three at time
on foundation Of silk and wooden
model is made Of the subjects's head
before the task commences.
Strictly speaking, oficial wigs are as
old as the hills. They have been found
on the heads Of Egyptian mummies
and were certainly known to the Greeks
and Romans In the eighteenth CEN
tury-the zenith Of the wig era-there
were thirty or forty varieties. Then.
the more important the wearer the
larger the wig, hence our term big
wig" applied to a magistrate.
Very different is the story Of the shy
retiring wig whose mission is unblush-
ingly to mask badness. Very often a
man, finding a white, bare patch on
his head, will have a "scalpetter made
to fit the spot 80 accurately as to defy
detection. AS the bald spot increases,
so does the scalpette, until eventually
1t becomes a wig. held in place by light
steel springs, clipping over the ears.
A man may be called upon to pay as
much as twenty guineas for wig,
particularly IL his natural hair is Of an
unusual color. Each individual hair
in the wig must be built up separately
and cut to length on foundation OF
hair net.
Women naturally indulge in false
tresses to a far greater extent than the
mere man. The milliner's at itself
often demands the aid Of artificial hair
and nowadays instead Of the hat being
made up for the wearer, the wearer
must be made up for the hat Trans
formations, pompadours, toupees, ring
lets, fringes and hair nets are few
varieties Of hirsute adornment prepar-
ed for the fair sex.
A good deal Of the so-called hair is
made from silk. It takes dye readily
and lastingiy, curls well and washes
admirably. A length Of hair such as
one may buy at suburban hairGress-
er's for a couple of shillings probably
is made from silk.-Answers.