The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1916-11-01
EVOLUTION OF
4 STE T5ON Hat
Is NOW ON DISPLAY IN TIE HUB
WINDOW, CORNER FOUHTEENTE
AND MARKET STREETS.
Exhibit Is On Interesting One and is AT
traoting Attention Of Many
Pedestrians.

An interesting display showing Ster-
! son hats in various stages Of manuluc-
| ture. is now being shown in the Hub dis.
! Play window. corner Fourteenth and
| Market streets.
Few people have any idea Of the care
| required to make 4 good felt hat. y
| Journey through any hut factory and II
! glance at the elaborate, ski !lul and SCI
| rntitic methods used would be Il surprise
| to almost everyone: and journey
| through tho StetSun factory. where th"s,
scientific methods have been brought Il
! their highest perfection. would be simp'
! ~ q revelation.
! The iurs most used III IN" n!anu:ac-
American beaver, South American nj,
! triu, SaXony hare and English and
| Scotch concy. The skins OF these ami
; mails are washed with whal" oil soap.
! and then the long. coarse hairs ar" re-
! moved. Tho skins gre next treated with
| nitrate uf mercury. After this the skins
! pass through Il machine which brushes
! out all the nuSt and other foreign sub
] stances and carries them away by means
! OF an exhaust fan.
Thence the skin i.aSsr:s (" cutting
! machine. where T"V"iv!gE ShrarS STRIP
= away the fur as c!canIy nS # IL were
| shaved off. From this machine tho FUR
| moves away On AN endless sliding
| apron. and on this Irron the lur Hes III
| just the &harr Of the pclt, $" as II
|
! parts desired for various grades Of hats.
! The sorting is according 10 color AMI
! quality. and each SOr;rr selects dtf
! fcrrnt part. Whl: remains after tn"
| better parts have thus been taken arc
| sold TO other manufacturers.
After the sorting l. complete the fur
must he seasoned just aS lumber must
! before il can he maUr into !In1 furniture
! on pianos. To thIS end il Is stored III
, immense cellars umIil ready for uSr. Al
, times these rrl!Lr~ n ia" SlrtSuu lac
+ tory contain almost wv" million dollars
/ worth OF fur in process Of seasoning.
j The next step is To mix the turS IN
; just the right proportions t" rroduGe IN"
, l"Sircrl texture and color rfcCt. Up "a
this point most uf tn" work Is merely
! mechanical. and is done largely by ma
+ chincry; but from here on it Is art anu
! skill that makes the hat.
Tie actual mixing is accomplished ny
: n machine which blows them about III
{ various compart u"nt+ until the mlNlur"
= is perfectly even. Then the mixture Is
! blown ON to Il copper conc.
! If man were 10 see tn" hat in IN"
. making as Il first comes from This conc
. he might think il Wa:i for Il head q yard
, thick, bat that is merely the first crude
| share The texture rs il comes from
/ the conc is Very delicate. and 10 give /;
| hardness and strength bundle Of about
/ twelve Of thrS" embryo hats is rolled
! IN q wet condition Iutil tho librcS knit
togri her SliEhtly. rnrn the body Of thu
| hat is put in sizzling kettle where II
! is shrunk with hot water and maninI'
! lated until il is al:'u, ten by fourteen
i inches in size.
| nlcckrd with the aid al hot water. Re-
| fore blocking, il - 'i..rby. tn" hat Is sat
, uraUcd with H solution Of Shrl!ac. II is
| then placed in an oven until II becomes
! pliahie. whom 1t is Iut INTO Il n"HlH'
! where by tremendous pressure the hat
! Is chrnrl and curl II at ono time. Soft