silver is called, indifferently, a goldsmith or silversmith. The former
denomination is most commonly employed in England, and the latter in the
United States." A manufacturer of silver ware in Providence, Rhode
Island, writes: "We do not employ women, and for the same reason that
females are not employed in machine shops." Chinese women do filagree
work. A lady told me she had seen it done in a factory near Paris, by
women.
=237. Burnishers.= At M.'s, Philadelphia, they employ from thirty to
fifty women on plated ware; would employ more if they had room for them
to work. They spend three months learning, and receive no wages during
that time. They then earn from $3 to $6 per week, according to skill and
industry. They work by the piece. Another set of women are employed in
scouring the ware. It is wet, dirty work, and the women receive somewhat
higher wages. The burnishers work in a light, comfortable room. The
scourers work in a cellar. The business of burnishing is not hard on the
eyes; nor would it be on the chest, M. thinks, if the burnishers sat
upright, which they could do if they chose. We were told by some one
else, that the demand for laborers in that field is very limited in
Philadelphia. I was told by a silversmith in New York, that a good
burnisher can earn from $5 to $7 a week, and he thought it took about a
year to learn to become a good worker. Burnishing is a laborious and
perfectly mechanical process. With some, the stooping posture is found
trying to the breast, and constantly poring over the bright surface is
injurious to the eyes. The business is poorly paid, and a silversmith
can employ but a very small number of burnishers, but manufacturers of
plated ware employ more. F. employs two girls for burnishing silver
ware, who can earn from $5 to $9 per week. It is piece work, and does
not require long to learn. C. L. pays burnishers from $3 to $6 a week.
At a manufactory of silver service for Roman Catholic churches, I was
told they are most busy just before Christmas and Easter. They pay by
the week, because it is less trouble, and to them cheapest, as many of
the articles they make are small. They pay from $2 to $5 a week. Y., in
New York, who employs a number in burnishing silver ware, told me he
pays learners nothing for a month, then by the piece. A good burnisher
could earn from $5 to $7 a week. The prices are better than are
generally paid to women for mechanical work. A lady burnisher told me
she likes the work because it can be done at home. She thinks the work
not injurious to the eyes. To learners she pays nothing for two months,
then $1 a week, and so increases as the learner advances. At the end of
a year, the learner is considered proficient. Silver platers mostly
employ their operatives in factories. Silver ware requires more taste
and neatness than plated ware, and pays better. It is like vest making.
One that can make good ones, gets a good compensation; but those who
slight their work are paid proportionately. A good burnisher can earn $6
and upward. Mrs. ---- thinks after a while there will be manufactories
of plated ware in the South and West. I saw a man making silver and
brass faucets. The burnishing is first done with steel, then with agate.
It requires some strength, but a woman of muscular force could do it.
The majority of burnishers work upon plated ware, as less silver is used
since plated ware has been brought to its present state of perfection.
M. pays by the piece. A woman receives from $4 to $7 per week, according
to competency and industry. It requires from two to four months to
learn. The large cities, or places where the goods are manufactured, are
the best for burnishers. The work soils clothes, so girls generally
change their dresses or wear large aprons. Spring and fall are busy
seasons. Hollow ware is generally burnished by men, as it requires more
strength. At H.'s, I saw a few women scouring the ware with sand, and
nineteen burnishing. They earn from $3 to $6 a week. A man in B., that
does hand plating, employs girls to burnish, and pays them by the piece.
They can earn from 75 cents to $1.50 per day; they work at home. In New
York there are some ladies who teach burnishing, and at some
establishments a premium is paid for learning. In some large factories,
girls are paid by the week from $3 to $5. C. pays by the piece, and from
the first, but a girl cannot earn more than $1 a week for two or three
months. It requires from four to six months to become a burnisher. The
prospect for learners is good, because girls will get married, and so
leave vacancies. The business is increasing. Good burnishers earn from
$4 to $12 a week. He employed a girl to stay in his office and burnish,
paying her according to what she did, from $1 to $1.25 a day. Women, he
remarked, receive the same price for burnishing that men do. (He may pay
them so, but I know all do not.) About the holidays are the most busy
times. There are not two months in the year a good burnisher cannot get
employment. Merchants are slack longer than manufacturers. C. is a
practical plater, and not so much at the mercy of his employés as those
that are not. His burnishers begin on knives and forks, as they are most
simple. A burnisher told me it is not customary to pay a learner during
the first two months. Most burnishers wear a shield. He thinks it is not
bad on the eyes unless done at night. A northern light is best for
judging of the work, just as a northern light is best for seeing the
imperfections of a painting. About four months of the year, January,
February, July, and August, burnishers find it difficult to get work,
except in very large establishments, where they are kept busy all the
time. A man working at coach lamps told me girls used to be employed in
the factory to burnish plates, and received $3 per week. The Porter
Britannia and Plate Co., Conn., "employ women in burnishing, washing and
packing. They earn from $3 to $5 per week. Men and women have the same
price for their work, but men earn from 50 to 75 per cent. more, because
they accomplish more. Men and women spend three months learning. Women
could not endure more than ten hours such work. The supply rather
exceeds the demand generally. On many accounts, women are preferable.
They are superior in care and nicety of execution. The labor is too
exhausting for tropical climates. There are some parts of the occupation
suitable for women in which they are not now employed." Information from
three other establishments corresponds with that given. Silversmiths in
New Orleans write me, February, 1861: "Women are much employed in Europe
as well as in this country, burnishing silver ware. It is not in the
least unhealthy. Most are paid by the piece, and here some receive as
high as $50 a month. For silver burnishing, women are paid the same as
men. The time of learning depends greatly upon capacity--usually about
six months. There is a very slight prospect, at present, of employment.
The best season for work is winter; there is none in the summer. In the
higher branches of such work, women acquire superior skill."
=238. Thimbles.= P. was kind enough to make an entire silver thimble,
that I might see the process. The whole of the work could be done by
women, but no women in any country are employed at it, so far as he
knows. I was told by one or two other thimble makers, that no women are
ever employed in that branch of business. It is usual for a boy to serve
an apprenticeship of four years. While doing some parts of the labor the
workers sit, and while doing other parts they stand. The polishing is
done on a lathe, and there is not enough of it to furnish work for a
separate person, except in very large establishments, and even then it
is so connected with the other processes that it could not be well
divided. There are not so many thimbles sold now as formerly, because of
the sewing machines that are used. There are not more than from eight to
twelve thimble makers in the United States. There are none South or West
of Philadelphia.
* * * * *
=239. Silver Plating.= Women cannot well do the close or hand plating.
It is done by soldering and ironing. Door plates are made in this way.
Electro-plating is done with a battery. The business includes a variety
of work, and requires some knowledge of chemicals, but could be learned
by an intelligent person in a short time. The Americans are noted for
excellence in this department. H. knew a lady plater in Connecticut, and
a very good one she was. I have been told women are employed in
silvering metals in France.
* * * * *
=240. Bronze.= Some statuettes are made of the finer metals, gold and
silver, while busts are made of other simple metals, as copper, iron,
zinc, lead, &c. They are generally made, however, of the mixed metals.
It requires some years' experience to make bronze statuettes. Women are
employed in France, in ornamental bronze work. Mlle. de Faveau has
succeeded in having a bronze statue of St. Michael cast entirely whole,
instead of in portions. It is the resuscitation of a lost art.
* * * * *
=241. Gold and Jewelry Manufactures.= Those that manufacture jewelry in
the United States form a small body. The articles sold by different
houses vary as much in price and quality as any other kind of goods.
Jewellers often have connected with their business persons who work in
ivory, jet, hair, and such materials. "Felicie de Faveau, as a worker in
jewels, bronze, gold, and silver, as a designer of monuments and
mediæval furniture, stands without approach." Much common jewelry is
made in Rhode Island, and women are employed to some extent in its
manufacture. The New England Jewelry Company in Providence employ women
to solder, and pay $4 a week, ten hours a day. It does not take long to
learn. They have work usually all the year. In the Eastern
manufactories, women suffer some from dust, on account of their working
in the same rooms where the men are employed at the machinery. In the
manufacture of jewelry, the fumes of charcoal are usually permitted to
fill the workshop; and the fusion of saltpetre, alum, and salt, used in
dry coloring, induces general nervousness and pain in the head and
chest. This has been to some extent remedied, by having pipes that carry
off the fumes partially, or it may be, in whole. There are many
departments in the jewelry line that might be successfully filled by
women: the sale of jewelry is one. It requires several years for one to
become well acquainted with the jewelry business, and that is longer
than many women are willing to spend in fitting themselves for business.
Mr. B. said: "One to set jewels should be able to mount them. But few
people make setting a separate business. When he learned, a woman was
not at all employed by jewellers in this country. He pays some of his
workers $10 a week, ten hours a day." A jewelry manufacturer in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island, writes: "Women are employed in the manufacture
of jewelry--also in casing and packing the same for market. The work is
not more injurious than weaving or sewing. They are paid about the same
as men. Some pay by the piece, some by the hour. Women are not paid as
well as men, because they cannot do all parts. The time of learning
depends upon their ingenuity. Some may learn in one week, others in
four. They are paid while learning. Women are employed in the lighter
branches because they are quicker. The advantage of a locality is in
having natural water power, in a community where there is plenty of
capital, and the capitalists are willing to invest in the business."
Some manufacturing jewellers told me "they pay from $3 to $8 per week to
their women. They work ten hours a day. The time of learning is six
months, but, as in every thing else, much depends on the capacity,
aptitude, and particular genius of the learner. More women could be
employed in this business, if properly qualified. All their women are
Germans. New York is the best place for selling jewelry, but other
places are as good for manufacturing."
=242. Gold Assayers.= Assaying by acids and other reagents could be done
by women. Tests are now imported, but most assayers prefer to make their
own tests. Assaying requires patience, a knowledge of metals, and
endurance of heat. It also requires instruction and considerable
experience. Some assayers move from place to place wherever new mines
are discovered, and reap the benefit of their skill and knowledge. A
gold refiner informs me "that his business is mostly heavy fire work,
requiring the most able men. None of it is sufficiently light for
females." I find, however, that women are reported in the census of
Great Britain as gold and silver refiners, cutters, and workers.
=243. Enamellers.= The experience, taste, delicacy of touch, and
fineness of finish required, make the art of enamelling one very
suitable for women. The richness of coloring and exquisite workmanship
render some specimens very beautiful. Simple metals are mostly used as a
base. I saw a man enamelling jewelry, who told me he employs small girls
to enamel, paying from $2 to $3 a week. It requires but two weeks to
learn. I saw some jewelry that had been enamelled in Germany by women.
In France, women are employed as enamellers, at from 8 to 16 cents a
day. "Gold of the standard quality is the best metal to enamel on, as it
imparts something of its own glow to the ground, and assists materially
the richness and delicacy of the coloring, particularly in the flesh
tints. Copper gives a cold greenish hue to the enamel ground, but it is
more commonly used than gold on account of its cheapness. For large
enamels it is necessary to use copper, as they require a heat which
would melt plates of gold." A highly polished enamel is passed through
the fire a number of times in the process of painting; otherwise it
would be impossible to imitate any great delicacy of tint--as the colors
are considerably changed by burning. "As the plates are every time
subjected to a high red heat, it is obvious that enamels must be the
most durable of all kinds of paintings." At an enamel factory for lining
metal vessels with a porcelain coating, I saw a woman who has been
employed for four years to mix enamel in the consistency of buckwheat
dough, and pour it into vessels to form an enamel lining. The articles
are then baked in a furnace that the enamel may harden. She stands while
employed. She goes at half past seven in the morning, has half an hour
at noon, and returns and works until four, for which she is paid $4 a
week. She has a sister-in-law in Williamsburg that does the same kind of
work. It is not at all unhealthy.
=244. Gold and Silver Leaf.= The iron hammers used for beating gold leaf
are very heavy. For the first beating, hammers weighing twelve pounds
are used; for the second beating, hammers weighing six or eight pounds.
Strong women could perform the second beating of gold leaf, but I do not
know that they ever do--I think never in the United States. Lads serving
as apprentices receive $1.50 a week for six weeks, then $2 a week for a
time, and then more, according to ability and industry. A goldbeater
told me a youth could get a pretty good insight into the business in a
year or two, but the usual time of apprenticeship is either three or
four years. Goldbeaters earn from $1.50 to $2 a day. We visited several
gold-leaf manufactories, and found more uniformity in the time of
learning and the prices paid than in any other branch of business. It
requires from two to twelve weeks to learn to book gold leaf, depending
on the abilities of the learner and the requirements of the
establishment. Six weeks is the length of time usually given. It can be
learned in two days, but requires practice to become expert. The girls
are not paid while learning, as the materials are costly, and the
quantity wasted comes to as much or more than the learner's services are
worth. The standard price for laying gold leaf is one cent and a half a
book. Bookers can earn from $2.50 to $5 a week, according to skill and
expedition. The tools of a worker are very simple. I think, most of the
women employed in the gold leaf factories of New York are Americans.
Gold leaf is so light that even a breath of air will move it. In some
factories, the booking is done in a room with the doors and windows
closed--consequently the room is very warm in summer. The seasons of the
year do not affect this business like most others. The demand for gold
leaf regulates the supply. Where business is not systematically
conducted, the beaters will sometimes not have the leaf ready to book,
and so the girls must lose their time waiting; and in some cases the
men's work is retarded by the absence of the bookers. All the
manufacturers I talked with thought the prospect good of employment to
learners. K. & Co. take learners in the spring, but will not take them
unless they can insure them work when the six weeks of learning have
expired. Neatness is required. No talking is allowed in the work room,
as merely a drop of water falling from the lips might spoil from $3 to
$4 worth of leaf. The leaf is weighed when given to the booker and when
returned, so there is no opening for dishonesty. W. employs his hands
all the year. The girls always sit while at work. Lightness and delicacy
of hand are required. The prospect of employment is tolerable, but most
prefer to retain those they teach, as there is much difference in the
style and expedition. In some shops great care is taken with learners,
and they acquire proportionate proficiency. We think this a very neat
and genteel employment. It requires honest workers with nimble fingers.
There are but very few manufactories South and West.
=245. Jewellers' Findings.= D. & Co. manufacture tags for all kinds of
goods. They employ girls and women in the country to string their tags,
because they can do it in their spare moments, and consequently work
cheaply. It pretty much takes the place of knitting, and a person could
not earn more than twenty-five cents a day at it. They so employ thirty
or forty persons. They also engage a number in box making. It requires
care and neatness to make small boxes for jewelry. Workers are paid by
the piece, and can earn from twenty-five cents to $1.25 a day, but those
who earn the latter amount work from five in the morning until ten at
night. This work is mostly done in families. D. & Co. are very strict in
their regulations, and particular in the kind of work people they
employ.
=246. Pencils.= In Williamsburg, Mass., two women are employed in making
gold and silver pencil cases. H., of New York, employs one girl for
engine turning--an ornamental dotted work common on pencil and watch
cases. He employs her by the week, and pays $3. She works ten hours a
day. It requires but a few days for one of ordinary intelligence to
learn. It is sedentary, but not unhealthy. He has employed nine women:
they cannot do the work as well as men, but cheaper. He would employ
boys, but they are so fond of changing their employment, and so anxious
to engage in one that will advance them, that it is difficult to keep
them at that work. It is very clean work. There is no prospect of future
employment, as one woman can keep up with twelve other workers, and so
very few are needed. Women have to work in the same room with the men,
on account of the foreman having to regulate the machinery if it gets
out of order.
=247. Pens.= I saw a gold-pen manufacturer in Brooklyn. He will take ten
or twelve learners shortly, and pay them from the commencement. He must
have honest girls, for a dishonest girl will take $5 or $10 worth of
gold at a time, frequently without its being missed. He will have a
separate apartment for his girls. The best hands can earn from $5 to $6
a week, working ten hours a day. It requires only about a month to
learn, but practice greatly improves and expedites work. He thought the
prospect rather poor for learners. The part done by men could be done by
women, but it is dirty work. That done by women is rather neat work. W.,
of Brooklyn, employs a number of girls in watch-case polishing and in
finishing off pens. The majority are Americans. Some are paid by the
piece, and some by the week. They work ten hours a day, and have
employment all the year. Some girls learn the art in a short time, and
some never. Some girls are paid while learning as much as $2.50 a week.
W. thinks the prospect good of employment in that branch. He wanted
several girls more. From the nimbleness of their fingers they can do
their work better than men. More gold pens are made in this country than
steel ones. A jeweller said learners should be paid from the first, and
you may know he is not much of a man who would be willing to receive a
woman's work for nothing. On Nassau street, N. Y., I saw a manufacturer
who employs girls for stoning, frosting, and polishing pens. They are
paid by the quantity, and can earn from $3 to $5 a week. They stand at a
lathe while polishing. The only trouble is that their dress is likely to
catch on the wheel. That might be remedied by wearing Turkish costume
without hoops. It requires care and some judgment to do the frosting.
They are paid something while learning, and in two or three months
receive full wages. When business is good, the factory is going all the
year. To make a good finisher requires that the individual have some
mechanical talent and be a good penman. Some never succeed. In stoning
and frosting, girls sit. The finishers are men, and the stooping
required sometimes produces consumption. So many gold pen cases are not
used now as formerly--probably not more than one tenth as many. Gutta
percha has become a substitute. N. employed women seven or eight years
ago in polishing, stoning, and pointing pens, and paid $5 a week of ten
hours a day. Manufacturers in Williamsburg, Mass., write: "We employ
women to make gold pens, pen holders, and jewelry, and pay from $3 to $4
per week--some by the piece and some by the week. It requires from one
to three years to learn, according to the part they do. They are paid
small wages while learning. We wish honesty and ingenuity in our
workers. The business is permanent. Work is given at all seasons of the
year. The hands work eleven and a quarter hours per day. We employ from
ten to twelve women, because they can do the work equally as well as
men, at about one third the price. Half are Americans. No other parts of
the occupation are suitable for women than those in which we employ
them. Help once settled in the country, if married, are likely to be
permanent--in cities, _vice versa_, changing about. Our workmen have a
fine reading room. Board, $1.50 for women, $2.50 for men."