Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-05-12
Miseellanen,ls 8eaaing.
PIN suPERsTITloNs
A Certain Amount Of Romance Assoei.
~ ated With Humble Article.

II
A Certain Amount of Romance Assoel.
~ ated With Humble Article.
A certain amount Of witchery and
romance has always been associated
with the humble pin. In olden times II
was regarded as charm against and
| also as an implement Of witchcraft
says the London Chronicle.
Witches were supposed to force their
victims to swallow pins, while, on the
other hand, pins stuck in the heart OF
an animal, and, carefully preserved,
were considered the appropriate anti
dote to evil influences. In Wales there
existed a grim superstition that toad
pierced with pins would cause the life
Of an enemy to wither as the poor
creature itself slowly died.
In Russia It is considered unlucky to
meet priest on leaving house-a
state Of affairs which can only be rem
edied by throwing pin at him, and in
Iceland II a man is suspected Of walk
ing after death, pins and needles are
thrust into the feet Of the corpse.
From the very earliest times, the pin
has been an adjunct Of everyday life.
In its crudest form 1t was doubtless a
natural thorn Of the sort still used as a
fastening by the peasant women Of up
per Egypt. After this primary form Of
pin came the bone pin Of the prehis-
toric age-an instrument made from
the bone Of some animal, split and then
rubbed to point.
From this emerged the bronze pin Of
the bronze age, polished and finely
tempered, and 1t was during the bronze
period that the safety pin came into
being. The. first efforts In the latter
direction were bow shaped and awk-
ward, but these soon fined down to q
virtual replica Of the pin seen today
There were also long stiletto pins with
ribbed handles, many Of which have
been found in Egyptian deposits Of
140o B. c., and in Cyprus and Sparta
Needless to say these could prove
dangerous weapons in violent hands,
iapropos. Of which Herodotus tells
strange story of the disastrous, expedi-
tion undertaken by the Athenians in
the Sixth century. One man alone re-
turned to Athens, fact which so en-
ragged the wives of the slain that they
set upon the unfortunate survivor and
slew him with the stout pins which fas-
tened their dresses. After this the la
dies Of Athens were officially ,debarred
from the use of these dangerous stilet-
tos. - Ia152 &i,&
Hairpins have been elaborated as a
means Of decoration since the earliest
times. Particularly beautiful Is the va
riety and delicacy of their workman
ship, two Of the finest specimens being
the gold pins which were found at Sal
amis In Cyprus, and are now III the
British Museum. Even more handsome
were the Saxon pins Of later date,
with their shank of brass, head Of gold
and establishment Of garnets and
pearls. In the middle ages, pins were a
great fashion-indeed. a necessity-in
~ 4
France, and we have 1t on record that
in 1347. $4,000 pins were removed from
the royal wardrobe for one Of the
French princesses. The convenience
was probably little later in reaching
England, but in 154o we hear Of Queen
Catherine (Howard) importing pins
from France. ..-,............
In 1860 the trade underwent consid-
cradle change. brass superseding iron,
while at the same time the price was
lowered. During the reign Of James /,
the metal pin came into fashion. In
1917 a machine for producing entire
pins was invented by an American,
Seth Hunt, but it remained for Samuel
Wright of Massachusetts,, to patent in
1924 the wonderful pin-making ma
chine which Is generally used today.