Paste ornaments were universally worn by both men and women, as well
as by little girls, and formed the decoration of much of the
headgear of fashionable dames. Many advertisements appear in New
England newspapers, which show how large and varied was the
importation of hair ornaments at that date. We find advertised in
the _Boston Evening Post_, of 1768: "Double and single row knotted
Paste Combs, Paste Hair Sprigs & Pins all prices. Marcasite and
Pearl Hair Sprigs, Garnet & Pearl Hair Sprigs." In the _Salem
Gazette_ and various Boston papers I read of "black & coloured
plumes & feathers." Other hair ornaments advertised in the _Boston
News Letter_, of December, 1768, were "Long and small Tail Garnets,
Mock Garland of all sorts and Ladies Poll Combs." Steel plumes,
pompons, aigrettes, and rosettes all were worn on the head, and
artificial flowers, wreaths of gauze, and silk ribbons.