'/:^ ■: ■■M(1 'S>':: .V>f-v 139 201 203 205 207^»°2Q3 MARKET STREET, CORNER JACKSON, CH I CAGO, I LLS. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. *^ ^ „... ©tqm'igljl !f 0. Shelf .'Mli UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Sfopy ©f eal piusbes. (/ Joseph Beifel^d s Go. o^"' ^^v^ Entered according to Act of Coneress, in tile year 1S89. by JOSEPH BEIFELD & CO., Ill tin: Office of ilic Librarian of Congress, at Washington. D. C. f^. ©, Bomanl since tljc scniciit spahc ^ Aitb bahc tljfc of tl)r np^ilc tahr, 'Slims CDfv man's iVligljt anb cave ' ^ Sriiat ijavmcnts rid), of tevturrs rare ^•lionlb grace tlji, form an^ be tl|ij menr' m document, facUire of CHHPTER I. A Problem in Metal. ^MMEDL'ATELY after the great Chicago fire of 1871, and before the X country had fully awakened to a realization of the awful calamity that "; had befallen the great Metropolis of the West, it was >-. flooded with small bell-shaped charms which it was claimed were made from the metal of the great Court House Bell. The charms were sold at first at $3.50 each, and though the intrinsic value could not possibly have exceeded half a cent, thousands upon thousands were sold. Each purchaser was presented with a handsomely engraved setting forth the facts (?) and guaranteeing that the metal used in the manu- the charm was obtained from the old Court House Hell. After awhile the; price was reduced to two dollars, one dollar, a quarter, and, before many weeks were passed, they were hawked on the street corners b)- fakirs at a dime, and still each purchaser was supplied with a guarantee, soiled and crumpled by the none too clean fingers of the vender. So plentiful did they become that, from cur to pointer, from ki-oodle to greyhound, ever\- dog in the land soon had one attached to his neck. A well-known mathematician of this cit)- has devoted some of his leisure hours to this problem, and has figured out that if e\ery charm sold under the guarantee was genuine, there must have been five bells hanging" in the Court House tower, each one as large as that known to have been there. Of course the authenticity of the guarantee can- not be doubted, as it was elegantly executed and printed on fine parchment paper, with a large seal, so that we are forced to the conclusion that there must have been four other b(;lls, the e.xistence of which was unknown except to the manufacturer of the charms. CHAPTER II. I1I5T0R1CAL. j^ ^ E smile at the credulity of the public in allowing itself to be hoodwinked by such transparent devices as that related in the foregoing chapter, but we do not stop to think how, day l:)y day, we are imposed upon in divers ways by equally shallow dodges. Histor)- repeats itself, and the metallic paradox of '71 is today being re-enacted in countless forms. A year ago the name of Walker' was unknown to the great mass of the American people, except in connection with a certain eccentric female of uncertain age, whose only title to distinction rests upon the fact that she has discarded the ordinary costume of her sex, and' persists in appearing in ill-fitting 'i^ male attire. To the patrons ol dime museums this ireak is known as Dr. Mary Walker. Something' less than a year ago, however, the name sprang into prominence in connec- tion with a certain make of seal plush manufactured by a firm of that name in England. Although this plush had been in the market for )ears, it was, by reason of certain defects in its composition, which we shall hereafter speak of, comparatively unknown and but little used by the cloak manufacturers of this country, and by the general retail trade not at all. During the closing months of 1888, however, a fortunate, or rather unfortunate, conjunction of circumstances brought this plush prominently before the trade. To correctly understand and appreciate the circumstances which contributed to this result, it will be necessary to review briefly the history of seal plushes in their relation to the cloak industry. It is now about eight years since seal plushes were first employed in the manufacture of ladies' cloaks. The writer remembers distinctly the first piece brought to his notice ; it was a beautiful specimen of the fabric, all silk, high, compact pile, and closely resembling seal. The price was very high — about $15.00 per yard, if our memory serves us — and the first sacques made from same were sold at wholesale tor $65.00, and were worth it. bVom the start the new material met with favor, and cheaper grades began to appear, but several years elapsed beiore a decent phish sacquc was wholesaled under $40.00. As with everything else, prices continued to steadily decline from season to season under the pressure of competition, and it was not long before the plush manufacturer realized that, unless the fabric could be pro- duced at a less figure, his occupation, like Othello's, would be gone. Up to this time no complaint had ever been made against the wearing qualities of an)- of the plushes in the market, but the iron hand of competition forced the manufacturer to acquire the art of producing the fabric cheap but without materially affecting its beauty and sightliness; this was the problem with which he was confronted, and with the inevitable result. Thus, as each succeeding season found the price of plush garments cheaper than before, so did the quality deteriorate in equal ratio. The same state of affairs which is brought about in all departments of trade ani^l industry by the same causes produced this result. Consumers expected to obtain for $20.00 what had formerly cost $60.00, and were unwilling to sacrifice any portion of the beauty on the altar of durability. They wanted both, but at a price fixed by themselves, and which was wholly inadequate to defray the cost of production. Beauty they could obtain, but at the expense of durability. Durability they could secure if thc\- were willing to forego beauty, but a combination of both at the prevailing prices was impossible. A price sufficient to enable a union of the two they would not hear of So serious did this become that many merchants boycotted plushes entirely and discontinued handling them, but the demand increased as steadily as the prices decreased, and the tide could not be stemmed. Pl.USll HAD EVIDENTLY COME TO ST.\V. The element of durability the Walker |)lush possessed ; beauty it did not have. The manufacturers of this jjlush interwove with the silk an admixture of mohair in such a manner as to give durabilit)', but destroyetl the handsome appearance which is the chief charm of plush. It gave to the fabric a certain dust)' and muddy cast which always militated against its success with the consumer. For years we were unremitting in our efforts to introduce the cloth, but, despite our strenuous endeavors, we met with little success. The ladies were our strongest opposition. If we succeeded in impressing upon the merchant the wear-resisting qualities of the plush and in inducing him to place it in his line, his competitor, who confined himself to the handsome, albeit less durable makes, did the business of die town in the cloak line, and the Walker plushes hung neglected on tlK^ rack. With few exceptions, this is the history of our experience with these goods. Season after season we lost money in our attempt to place the Walker fabrics, and became discouraged. We were met on every side with the same old cry, "What good will it do us if the garments will wear well, as long as our customers refuse to buy them ? The\- listen patiently to our story, and then go and Iniy the others from our neighbors." Numbers of our customers returned them to us on account of this appearance of dust, which they imagined to be a defect. To illustrate: we made last year a ^24.00 sacque of the Lister make, of which we sokl an immense number, so many, in fact, that we exhausted our supply of plush before the end of the season. I laving in stock a large number of Walker plush saccpies, of about the same general style, that had been made up to sell at $28.00, we offered to substitute them for the $24.00 grade, but few of our customers were willing to accept them, despite the fact that we descanted so earnestly on their wearing qualities. Some we sent out as substitutes on a|-iproval, and almost invariabl\- the\- were returned — the ladies declining to accept them in lieu of tlie other. However, towards the close of last season, by judicious advertisements of the manufacturers and a few cloak houses (ourselves among the number), the attention of the trade was forcibly directed to these plushes, and many of the country merchants, having experienced considerable trouble with inferior grades of other plush, took hold of them. In this manner the Walker plush(^s attained a certain po|)ularity. Trf- S i.m,&mi€k u. Zr^^i s» :& CHHPTER III. A Probleh m PLa5hE5 ~^Pl^HE Walker plushes having hi this manner become known to a large jlRf number of merchants b)- name, without a corresponding- knowletlge of |k their appearance or characteristics, unscrupulous and dishonest people applied the name to almost anything in the shape of material that bore the slightest resem- blance to plush, and the old court house bell dodge was thus repeated. It is an open secret in cloak circles that the Walker Mills in Huddersfield, England, have not sufficient capacity to produce one piece of plush for every twent)' that are sold throughout the countr)- as i/s production. Some- one has said of the North American Indian that he ac(|uires all the vices, but none of the virlues, of the An^io-Saxon, and t)t these so-called Walker plushc-s it can similarly be said that they possess all the defects, but nont; of the merits of the genuine. Not one of tlie million and odd [)urchasers of those metal charms coukl prove that they were not in reality a chip of the old bell, nor can any of the purchasers of the Walker (?) plushes know to a certainty that they ever saw Huddersfield. Walker & Sons sell no plushes to cloak houses elirect, all of their productions sold in this country being handled by New York commission merchants, so that cloak manufacturers themselves can never assert positively that they have the genuine article. GiC CHHPTER liZ. PLa5H 5TATI5TK5 ^ x-o '"| i^x -■ - , \L cannot repress a smile at the popular impression wliich a certain Eastern cloak house has endeavored to create by means of absurd statements and florid advertisements, namely: that , 'X the Walker plushes are the best, indeed the only J good, plushes in the market. The Walker firm, as compared to some other plush manufacturers, is a very small concern, and lamentable indeed would be the condition of things if this claim were true, as [jB we doubt very much whether Walker & Sons are able to turn out one piece of seal plush out of five hundred that are used in this coimtr)'. To further show the utter absurdity of these claims, we wisli to say that wc sulci, cliiriiiL; tin- \(jar i8S8, about sevenlcen thousa-iid plush gar- inciits, of which perhaps one-twentieth were oi the Walker make. Out ol these seventeen thousand we have received, up to this date, complaints against not over eighty gar- ments, hi other words, more dian one hundred and ninety-nine out of every two hundred sold gave satisfaction. The others, we may add, were made satisfactory. We wish to say, further, that the supposition that an admixture of mohair with the silk is alt that is necessary to insure durability is a popular error. It is the density and closeness of the pile that gives this property. Combination plushes, if loosely woven, have v(;ry poor wear-resisting qualities. Mr. Joseph Beifeld has made the subject of plu.shes the stutly of years, and we cannot be charged with egotism when we state that he has the reputation among manufacturers ot being one of the best judg(;s — as he is one of the heaviest buyers — in the countr\', and it is his opinion, Ijased upon the closest research and years of e.xperience, during which period he has observed and analyzed the nature and characterisdcs ol all kinds ot plush, that an all- silk seal plush, when properly made, is fully ec^ual, and often superior, to the best grades of combination. The secret of making good plum putlding consists largely in If. putting in a sufficient quantity of good plums. The secret of making good silk plush is' in putting in enough good silk. One cannot make a good oyster stew by using six oysters when a dozen are necessary, nor is it possible to make a good piece of seal plush by using one pound of silk where two are required. Stripped of all technical and high-llown language, this is the truth in a nutshell. All students of textile fabrics, and, indeed, all well-posted dry goods merchants, know that nothing is more durable than good silk. It is only tht; cheap, flimsy silk that brings the article into disrepute. It is the admixture of mohair that produces in the Walker combination plushes that muddy and dusty appearance which is so strongly objected to, and which is the chief fault urged against them. Walker & Sons have thus far been unable to overcome this great defect, but other manufacturers have been more successful. "The world do move," is a favorite expression of " I'rudder Gardner," and while Walker & Sons have been quietly resting on the laurels which they fancied they had won. other manufacturers have been bestirring themselves, and have succeeded in producing plushes that combine with durability, which the Walker plushes have. l)caut\' and sightliness, which the Walker plushes have 7ioi, so that the merchants who last year handled the Walker plushes, ond this year refrain from doing- so, arc in vcr)- much the pcxsition of the man who, on being asked wh)- he had expressed a different opinion today from that of yesterday, gave as his answer, " I am twenty-four hours older." Progress and improvement are the ruling spirits of the age. Prominent among these wide-awake makers of plush are Sir Titus Salt, Bart., -Sons & Co.. of the Saltaire Mills, Bradford, England. This firm is known throusfhout th(' mercantile world, and its name is the synonym for financial strength and commer- cial probity. They liavc produced a plush possessing the qualities above named, and despite the impudent and bombastic statements of a certain New York corporation engaged in the manufacture of cloaks, we desire to make it known that we are the owners of a very large quantity of these plushes, at prices as low as have been secured by any house in America. W^e challenge any firm in the United States to prove to the contrary, and we hereby agree to donate the sum of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) to the charitable organizations of this city if we fail to mak(! " good this claim, provided the other part\- will agree to the same in the event of their failure to substantiate tlu^ir assertion. Another concern that has distancetl Walker in the race for supremacy is the well-known firm of Lister & Co., of Bradford, England. We give here the full text ol a recent communication received from them, which will explain itself. (sKK M-;.\-r I'Aci';.) , " 77;w^vt>'vi>' |>-V o^ ^i/W'^^^ iAvy'v'O VvO^''^.. 0/v\s-v\a/;;>/ O/'vux^l' O'VvX^- THE EXHIBITION iS8g vi/ o^ WvvO^i/v-'i^^^ ^^o*Wv- O^WUj VVv K/\\\/ WvO^'^JfVl't'. LISTER & CO. Ltd. Lister cv Co. are the oldest antl largest prothicers of seal plush on tlu: lace of the earth. Their wealth is almost boundless, and their reputation for sterling integrity beyond the breath of suspicion. .An announcement of this kind, coming from a firm of such standing, cannot fail to carry conviction. When we assert that Lister & Co. produce twenty-five pieces of seal plush to one of Josejjh Walker & Sons, we under- estimate, rather than overstate the facts. We are heavy purchasers of these plushes at e.Ktremely low prices, and we know them to ho. far superior in many and equal in ail respects to the highest grades of Walker plushes. We ha\e also contracted for a large ([uantity of the plushes of Messrs. T. Priestly & Co., Bradford, Englantl. This firm is not, perhaps, as large as the two above mentioned, but it is universally conceded that they are amcMig the most reliable and expert makers of seal plush, and to the excellent qualities ot the goods' produced by them this year our own experience enables us to testify. CHAPTER y.. bECLARATlOIM OF PRmClPLE5. SZffif^ — I K do not claim that we are the only cloak house I'i:-: haiidlinq; these plushes, nor do we wish to be understood as saying that these are the only good ■-- plushes in the market. There arc a number of other first-class and reliable makers whose produc- tions we handle, and which we can conscientiously recommend. Tlie world is too large for any one man to have a monopoh' of everything that is good. We have this year confined our purchases to such plushes as we knew to be relial)le. We have avoided all that have given any trouble in the past, and shall adhere to the use of those which have proven their durability in lormer seasons, adopting only such new fabrics as give positive assurance, by their nature and composition, of their abihty to resist the ravages of hard wear. Of course, despite the utmost care and circumspec- tion, no matter whose phishes are used (Walker's not excepted), now and then a garment will succumb to usage before its time, and in such cases we have always stood by our customers, and shall continue to do so in future. We have never, to our knowledge, lost a single customer on this account, and every reasonable claim has always been satisfactorily adjusted. This policy and these methods have made us the -leading cloak house in the West, and will continue to be employed by us as heretofore. In view of the fact that the corporation before referred to has announced, among other misstatements, in language more conspicuous for its bombast than its elegance of diction or correctness of grammar, that it was the only house that was able to secure the Walker plushes at last year's prices, we desire, before concluding, to make public the following extract from a letter received by us from a firm that handles only the Walker plushes, under date of March 19, 1889: "'•' * '■' * '•' / wi7/ sell fi/ly or one hwidred pieces to you at last year s order price (not less than fifty pieces), terms on all taken pi-ior to yiily /, ninety days: after yuly /, sixty days. ''' '''' * '■■'■ Geo. T. Knight." The following was our reply: "Chicago, March 22, /SSg. George T. Knight, Esq., Neiu York. Dear Sir: The clotJi referred to in yours of the igth inst. does not interest 7cs." We declined to purchase these Walker plushes at last \-ear's prices, despite the fact that the}- had already been advanced, simply because we own iirtter and HANDSOMER GOODS FOR LESS MON'EV. \\' c do uot pay for name. A good cigar is good, even if it is not wrapped in tin-foil and branded with a high-sounding name. We know a plush when we see it, whether it is made by Walker, [umper or Runner, and we are willing to stake our reputation on our judgment. ■25