Part 7

16. Rope-making is a manufacture of general utility, as cordage of some kind is used more or less in every family in all civilized communities; nor are there many trades capable of being carried on, with convenience, without it. But the great utility of cordage, in all its varieties, is most conspicuous in the rigging and equipment of vessels; and the extensive demand for it, in this application, renders rope-making one of the most important and extensive of the primitive trades.

17. Nor does the utility of cordage end with its application to the purposes for which it was originally designed. Old ropes are converted into oakum by untwisting and picking them to pieces. The oakum thus produced is driven into the seams of vessels, to render them water-tight.

18. As regards the invention of this art, nothing can be gathered from ancient records. We only know, in general, that cordage was in considerable use among the nations of antiquity, especially among the Greeks and Romans, who probably learned its application to rigging vessels from the Phoenicians.

THE TAILOR.

1. The business of the tailor consists, principally, in cutting out and making clothes for men and boys, together with habits and cloaks for ladies. It is usual for persons who carry on this business in cities and large towns, to keep a stock of cloths and other stuffs adapted to the season, which they make up into garments to the order of customers. In such cases, they are termed _merchant tailors_.

2. The operation, preparatory to cutting out the cloth for a garment, is that of taking the measure of the person for whom it is designed. This is done with a narrow strip of paper or parchment, and the dimensions are either marked on the measure with the scissors, or entered in a _pattern-book_ kept for the purpose.

3. The cloth is cut to the proper shape, with a large pair of shears. This is performed either by the individual who carries on the business, or by a foreman. The parts are sewed together, and the trimmings applied, by means of thread and silk; this is commonly done by those who devote their attention to this branch of the trade. It sometimes happens, however, that the same person performs the whole of the work, particularly in country places, where the business is very limited in extent.

4. Females often serve an apprenticeship to this business. Many of them learn to cut out, and make with skill, certain kinds of garments, and are after wards employed in families, or by the tailors. Most of the ready-made clothing, kept for sale in cities, is made up by females.

5. The instruments employed in performing the operations of the tailor, are few and simple; the principal of these are the shears, the scissors, the needle, the thimble, the bodkin, the goose, and the press-board.

6. The great art of a master tailor consists in fitting the dress to his customer, in such a manner as to conceal any defect of form, and display his person to the best advantage. He should, therefore, be a good judge of the human figure; as, from this knowledge, arises, chiefly, the superiority of one workman over another in this branch of the business.

7. The first hint on the art of clothing the human body, was given to man by the Deity himself; for we read in the Scriptures, that "Unto Adam and to his wife, the Lord God made coats of skins, and clothed them." From that time to the present, the art of cutting out garments, and of sewing their different parts together, has been practised, more or less, in every place, where there has been any degree of civilization.

8. For a long time, it is probable, that thongs and the sinews of animals were used, for want of thread made of silk or vegetable fibre; and, doubtless, the same necessity caused the substitution of pointed bones and thorns, instead of needles. Such rude materials and instruments are still employed for similar purposes by savage nations. The dresses of the people of Greenland are sewed together with thongs made of the intestines of the seal, or of some fish, which they have the skill to cut fine, after having dried them in the air; and even the inhabitants of Peru, although considerably advanced in civilization, when that country was first visited by the Spaniards, made use of long thorns, in sewing and fixing their clothes.

9. We have no means of determining the period of the world, when this art was first practised, as a particular profession. We know, in general, that the dress of the ancients was usually more simple in its construction than that of the people of modern times; and, consequently, it required less skill to put the materials in the required form. It may, therefore, be inferred, that either the females or the slaves of each family usually made up the clothing of all its members.

10. The distinguishing dress of the Romans was the _toga_, or gown; as that of the Greeks was the _pallium_, or cloak. The toga was a loose, woollen robe, and covered nearly the whole person; it was round and close at the bottom, and open at the top, having no sleeves, but a large flap, or lappet, which was either thrown over the left shoulder, or over the head, to protect it from the heat or cold.

11. The Romans, at an early period of their history, used no other dress, and it was also, at that time, worn by the women. Afterwards, they wore, under the toga, a white woollen vest called _tunica_, which extended a little below the knee. At first it was without sleeves. Tunics, reaching to the ancles, or having sleeves, were reckoned effeminate; but, under the emperors, they became fashionable.

12. The toga was usually assumed at the age of seventeen. Until then, the youth wore a kind of gown, bordered with purple, denominated _toga prætexta_; and such a garment was also worn by females, until they were married. The youthful dress was laid aside, and the _toga virilis_, or manly toga, assumed with great solemnity; as, by this act, the individual assumed the responsibilities of a citizen. The toga was worn chiefly in the city, and only by Roman citizens.

THE MILLINER, AND THE LADY'S DRESS-MAKER.

THE MILLINER.

1. The milliner is one who manufactures and repairs bonnets and hats for ladies and children. Her business requires the use of pasteboard, wire, buckram, silks, satins, muslins, ribands, artificial flowers, spangles, and other materials too numerous to be mentioned.

2. The first part of the process of making a hat, or bonnet, consists in forming a crown of buckram; which operation is performed on a block of suitable size and shape; and to this is applied pasteboard, or buckram, edged with wire, to form the front part. The foundation having been thus laid, it is usually covered and lined with some of the materials just enumerated, and finished by applying to it the trimmings required by the fashion, or by the individual customer.

3. Ladies' hats are also made of rye straw, and a kind of grass, which grows in Italy; those made of the latter material are called _Leghorns_, from the name of the city, in or near which they are principally made. A few years since, these had almost superseded those made of straw; but the latter, of late, have nearly regained their former ascendency.

4. In the United States, and likewise in various parts of Europe, there are several establishments for making straw hats, in which the proprietors employ females to perform the whole labor. The straw is first cut into several pieces, so as to leave out the joints, and then whitened by smoking them with the fumes of brimstone. They are next split longitudinally into several pieces by a simple machine, and afterwards plaited with the fingers and thumbs. The braid, or plait, thus produced, is sewn together to form hats adapted to the prevailing fashion.

5. Great quantities of straw are, also, plaited in families, especially in the New-England states, and sold to neighboring merchants, who, in turn, dispose of it to those who form it into hats. The milliners usually keep a supply of Leghorn and straw hats, which they line and trim according to the fancy of their customers.

6. Head-dresses were probably used nearly as early as any other part of dress; and their form and material have likewise been equally variable. In the early days of Rome, the head-dress of the women of that city was very simple; and, when they went abroad, which was seldom, they covered their faces with a veil; but, when riches and luxury had increased, dress became, with many, the principal object of attention; hence, a woman's toilet and ornaments were called her _world_.

7. The head-dresses of the ladies, in various parts of Europe, especially in the eighteenth century, were particularly extravagant, being sometimes so high, that the face seemed to be nearly in the centre of the body. In 1714, this fashion was at its height in France; but two English ladies visiting the court of Versailles, introduced the low head-dresses of their own country.

8. The high head-dresses had no sooner fallen into disuse in France, than they were adopted in England, and even carried to a greater degree of extravagance. To build one of these elevated structures in the fashionable style, both the barber and milliner were necessary. The head-dresses of the ladies of the present age, are characterized by great simplicity, when compared with those of several periods in preceding ages.

THE LADY'S DRESS-MAKER.

1. This business is nearly allied to the foregoing, and is, therefore, often carried on in conjunction with it. This is especially the case in villages and small towns, where sufficient business cannot be obtained in the exclusive pursuit of one branch.

2. The customers of the lady's dress-maker are not always easily pleased, as they frequently expect more from her skill than it is possible to accomplish. She, however, can do much towards concealing the defects of nature; and, by padding and other means, can sometimes render the person tolerably well proportioned, when, in its natural shape, it would be quite inelegant. It is to be regretted, however, that dress-makers are guided by fashion and whim in moulding the external form of females, rather than by the best specimens of the human figure, as exhibited by eminent painters and sculptors.

3. The dress-maker should have some acquaintance with the anatomy and functions of those parts to which pressure is usually applied; for, who that knows the structure, size, and office of the liver, and other internal organs of digestion and vitality, would venture to apply to them a compressive force calculated to interfere most seriously, if not dangerously, with their healthful action?

4. The fashions for ladies' dresses are chiefly procured from France, and the dress-makers from that country are, therefore, often preferred by fashionable ladies. Sometimes, however, a dress-maker, having a name with a French termination, will answer the purpose.

5. Corset-making is frequently a separate branch of business; but corsets have become less necessary; inasmuch as small waists are less admired by the gentlemen than formerly. On this account, also, the ladies have discovered that tight lacing is somewhat uncomfortable, especially in hot weather, and in crowded assemblies.

THE BARBER.

1. It is the business of the barber to cut and dress the hair, to make wigs and false curls, and to shave the beards of other men. In ancient times, he used also to trim the nails; and even at the present day, in Turkey, this is a part of his employment.

2. The period, when men began to shave their beards, is not certainly known. It appears that the practice was common among the Israelites in the time of Moses; as that legislator has left on record a prohibitory law concerning it. They probably borrowed the custom from the Egyptians. It is stated by Plutarch, that Alexander the Great ordered his men to be shaved, that their enemies might not lay hold of their beards in time of battle. Before this time, however, many of the Greeks shaved their beards.

3. The practice does not appear to have been introduced amongst the ancient Romans, until about the year 296 before the Christian era, when Paulus Ticinius Mænas brought to Rome a number of barbers from Sicily. Scipio Africanus was the first man who shaved his beard every day.

4. At first, the barbers had no shops, but shaved their customers at the corners of the streets. After a while, they followed their vocation in shops, or shades; and, at this period, it was customary for females to officiate in the various branches of the art. These places, however, were frequented only by the poorer class of the people, as opulent families generally kept slaves for the performance of these duties. The day on which a young Roman first cut off his beard, was celebrated by him and his friends as one of peculiar interest; and this much-desired indication of manhood was consecrated to some one of the gods, generally to Jupiter Capitolinus.

5. The return of barbarism, in the fifth and sixth centuries, banished this custom from the Western empire; nor was it again revived in Europe, until the seventeenth century. During the reigns of Louis XIII. and Louis XIV. of France, both of whom ascended the throne in boyhood, the courtiers and fashionable people began to use the razor, that they might appear with smooth chins, and thus resemble, in this particular, the youthful monarchs. From France, the fashion, at length, spread all over Europe. At one time, in the reign of the English queen Elizabeth, the fellows of Lincoln's Inn were compelled by statute to shave their beards, at least, once in two weeks. Omission was punished with fine, loss of commons, and finally with expulsion.

6. The custom of shaving was introduced into Russia by Peter the Great, who compelled his subjects to pay a tax for the privilege of retaining their beards. This singular impost was exceedingly unpopular, and excited greater complaints amongst the people than any other measure of that emperor. The decree was rigidly enforced, and every one who would not, or could not, pay the tax, was forcibly deprived of this favorite ornament, if he would not remove it voluntarily. Some of the people saved the sad trimmings of their chins; and, that they might never be entirely separated from these precious relics, ordered that they should be deposited with their bodies in their coffins.

7. Among the European nations that have been curious in whiskers, the Spaniards have been particularly distinguished; and the loss of honor among them used to be punished by depriving the individual of his whiskers.

8. The Portuguese were but little, if at all, behind the Spaniards in their estimate of these valuable ornaments. As an evidence of this, it is stated, that, in the reign of Catharine, Queen of Portugal, the brave John de Castro, having taken the castle of Diu in India, and being afterwards in want of money, applied to the inhabitants of Goa to loan him one thousand piastres, and, as security for that sum, sent them one of his whiskers, telling them that "All the gold in the world cannot equal the value of this natural ornament of my valor." The people, in admiration of his magnanimity, sent him the money, and, at the same time, returned his incomparable whisker.

9. In the reign of Louis XIII. of France, whiskers attained the highest degree of favor. They also continued in fashion during the early part of the succeeding reign. Louis XIV. and the great men of France, took a pride in wearing them. It was no uncommon thing, at that time, for the ladies to comb and dress the whiskers of their beaux; and the men of fashion were particular in providing whisker-wax, and every article necessary to this agreeable pastime.

10. The whiskers belonging to the image of the Chinese philosopher Confucius, which is preserved by his countrymen, are supposed to be capable of conferring upon those who might wear them, a portion of the wisdom and manly beauty of that illustrious sage. Great care, however, is taken that none shall enjoy these great personal qualifications by such easy means; as decapitation is the penalty for plucking the whiskers from the position which they occupy.

11. When the practice of shaving off the beard was again revived in Europe, instrumental music was employed in the barber's shop, to amuse customers waiting their turn; but, at the present time, newspapers are furnished for this purpose. In taking off the beard, soft water, good soap, a brush, and a sharp razor, are the usual requisites. The razor should be placed nearly flat on the face, and be moved from point to heel. Barbers have usually some regular customers, many of whom have a box of soap and a brush appropriated to their individual use.

12. In ancient times, great attention was paid to dressing the hair. The Hebrew women plaited, and afterwards confined it with gold and silver pins; they also adorned it with precious stones. The Greeks, both male and female, at every period of their ancient history, wore long hair, which they usually permitted to hang gracefully upon the shoulders, back, and sometimes upon the breast.

13. Adult males, among the Romans, usually wore their hair short, and dressed with great care, especially in later ages, when attention to this part of the person was carried to such excess, that ointments and perfumes were used even in the army. The hair was cut for the first time, when the boy had attained his seventh year, and the second time, when he was fourteen years old. His locks, at each cutting, were commonly dedicated to Apollo or Bacchus.

14. Both men and women, among the Greeks and Romans, sometimes permitted their hair to grow in honor of some divinity. The Jews, also, when under the vow of a Nazarite, were not permitted to trim their hair or beards. In grief and mourning, the Romans suffered their hair and beards to grow. The Greeks, on the contrary, when in grief, cut their hair and shaved their beards, as likewise did some of the barbarous nations of early time.

15. Artificial hair began to be fashionable, at an early period, and was used by the Greeks, Carthaginians, and Romans. In the time of Ovid, blond hair was in great favour at Rome; and those ladies who did not choose to wear wigs, powdered their hair with a kind of gold dust. They wore hanging curls all round the head, to which they were fastened with circular pins of silver. Every wealthy Roman lady of fashion kept at least one slave to frizzle and curl the hair.

16. The time, when wigs first came into use, cannot now be ascertained. It is certain, however, that they were worn by females a long time before they became fashionable among the men.

17. Wigs, perukes, or periwigs, were revived in the seventeenth century. In the reign of Louis XIII., or about the year 1629, they became fashionable at Paris; and, as that city was generally imitated by the rest of Europe in things of this nature, they soon became common. The wigs were very large, as may be seen by examining ancient portraits, and were covered with a profusion of hair-powder. At first, it was disreputable for young people to wear them, as the loss of the hair at an early age was attributed to a disease, which was, of itself, discreditable.

18. When wigs were first introduced into England, some of the clergy opposed them violently, considering their use more culpable than wearing long hair; since, as they alleged, it was more unnatural. Many preachers inveighed against wigs in their sermons, and cut their own hair shorter to manifest their abhorrence of the reigning mode.

19. The worldly-wise, however, observed that a periwig procured for the wearer a degree of respect and deference which otherwise might not have been accorded; and hence there was a strong tendency to the use of this appendage. The judges and physicians, especially, understood well this influence of the wig, and gave to it all the advantages of length and breadth. The fashion, at length, was adopted by the ecclesiastics themselves, not only in England, but in most of the European kingdoms, as well as in the British colonies of America.

20. The fashion, however, except in cases of baldness, wherein alone it is excusable, is now nearly banished from Europe and America. This desirable change was effected principally by the example of republican America, and by the influence of the French Revolution. The law passed in England in 1795, imposing a tax of a guinea a head per annum on those who wore hair-powder, contributed to the same result, as well as to diminish the use of that article.

21. The manufacture of wigs and false curls is an important branch of the business of the barber. The first process in forming a wig is to produce, in the hair about to be used for this purpose, a disposition to curl. This is done by winding it on a cylinder of wood or earth, and afterwards boiling it in water. It is then dried, and baked in an oven. Thus prepared, it is woven on a strong thread, and is subsequently sewn on a caul fitted to the head. False curls are made on the same principle.

22. Wigs and false curls were not made in ancient times precisely in the same manner; although their appearance, when finished, was probably similar. The hair was then attached directly to a piece of thin leather, by means of some adhesive substance, or composition.

23. Many barbers, especially those who have a reputation for making wigs and false curls in a fashionable style, keep for sale perfumery, as well as a variety of cosmetics.

24. From the eleventh to the eighteenth century, surgical operations were almost exclusively performed by the barbers and bath-keepers. As phlebotomy was one of the chief sources of profit to the barbers, they adopted a sign emblematical of this operation. It consisted of a pole, representing the staff which the individual held in his hand, while the blood was flowing from the arm. The white band wound spirally about the pole, represented the fillet of linen with which the arm was afterwards secured.

25. It is hardly necessary to remark, that the same sign is still employed by the barbers; although, with a few exceptions, they have ceased to perform the operation of which it was significant.

THE TANNER, AND THE CURRIER.

THE TANNER.

1. The art of tanning consists in converting hides and skins into leather, by impregnating them with astringent matter.

2. It is impossible to determine the period at which the art of tanning was discovered. It was doubtless known to the ancients, and probably to the antediluvians, in some degree of perfection; since skins were applied as means of clothing the human body, before the arts of spinning and weaving were practised. It is likely, however, that they were applied to this purpose, for a considerable time, in their natural state; and that accident, at length, suggested the means of rendering them more applicable, by saturating them with certain mineral or vegetable substances.

3. Although the art of converting skins into leather was practised in remote ages, yet it was not until near the end of the eighteenth century, that the true principle of the process was understood. Before this time, it was supposed, that the astringent principle of the agents employed, was a resinous substance, which adhered mechanically to the fibres, and thus rendered them firm and insoluble. The correct explanation was first given by Deyeux, and afterwards more fully developed by M. Seguin. These chemists clearly proved, that the formation of leather was the result of a chemical union between a substance called tannin, and the gelatinous part of the skin.