that differs some in size and shape, according to the material worked.
Ivory, wood, and metal can be cut by it into almost any shape. The ivory
nut is now much used as a substitute for animal ivory. In a store for
the sale of ivory goods, the lady in attendance told me some of their
articles are imported from Germany, and some they have made. In Germany,
some women are employed in ivory carving. The lady thought it could not
be done to any extent in this country, because labor is so high. (But if
men can afford to do it, pray, why cannot women?) The carving is done
with steel instruments, and requires considerable strength. "Barbara
Helena Lange, of Germany, earned celebrity in the seventeenth century,
by engraving on copper, and carving figures in ivory and alabaster."
"Barbara Julia Preisler was skilled in various branches of art; could
model in wax, and work in ivory and alabaster, and added painting and
copper engraving to the list of her accomplishments." H. & F. have four
or five girls to count and pack their ivory goods, but none to polish.
An ivory worker in Providence writes: "Women are employed in carving and
turning in Russia, and carving in England. I can say for myself, that I
have known many women to transact the business equal to the smartest in
the trade in England, when the husband is deceased, and the widow has
been left to support a large family, and they have never failed to do so
creditably. I know of but two in this country, one in Providence, R. I.;
the other in Westfield, Mass. They earn from $4 to $6 a week. The labor
is light for women, and they could earn the same as men. Carving could
be learned in six months, turning in one year. To be able to
superintend, two years' practice is required. The prospect for
employment is not flattering. In this country, women work eight hours;
men, ten. In England, France, and Scotland, they work eleven hours. In
New York, principals could employ twenty-five carvers and one hundred
turners, and I can see no objection to employing women. Women excel in
the business, if to their taste. Large cities or manufacturing districts
are the best localities. They must have cultivated minds, or they are
not suitable for the business, as it is necessary to invent and execute
new styles and patterns." In Connecticut, some hundreds of families
labor in the ivory comb manufactories, and are paid per week $4.50, and
by the piece earn from $5 to $6 a week. An ivory turner in Essex, Conn.,
writes: "I usually employ two girls; one packing goods, the other on
fancy turning. They earn from $10 to $20 per month. My help consists
mostly of men. The work is very healthy. It is piece work. The girls
earn $1 per day of ten hours. They are paid by the piece, the same price
as men, and earn as much. A learner receives $1 per week and board. A
woman can do nearly as much as a man after working one year or more. The
work is very clean and easy. A girl to succeed should be active,
intelligent, and ingenious." A gentleman who has ornaments made of
vegetable ivory, told me he could hire Germans to turn them for him at
from seventy-five cents to $1 a day.
=289. Combs.= The comb is an article of primitive date, and has been
frequently found in use among nations when first visited by civilized
men. Madame de B. told me she had frequently seen women in Europe,
making, mending, and polishing combs of tortoise shell, bone, and ivory.
In Leominster, in 1853, 264 men were employed in the comb factory, at an
average of $7 per week, board $2.50--women at an average of $3 a week,
board $1.50. A firm in Lancaster, Penn., write: "We employ seven women,
because they are better adapted to the work. They are paid by the week,
from $2 to $3.50, and work ten hours a day. They do not perform the same
kind of work as men. Boys are apprentices until twenty-one years of
age--females spend but a few weeks learning. All seasons are alike.
Women do the light work best. Board, $1.25." Some manufacturers of ivory
combs write: "Our establishment, which has been in operation over thirty
years, formerly gave employment to a large number of female operatives;
but of late years, so many labor-saving machines have been introduced,
that the number employed is very small. At present, less than a dozen
women are engaged in our factory, while we employ some forty men. We
expect all who are employed by us to work eleven hours each day, except
Saturdays during the winter, when we close before sundown. Most of our
girls work by the piece, and earn from 70 cents to $1 per day. To the
others we pay $4 per week. The time required to learn the business
varies with the character of the work--in some cases two months, in
others not more than one week. The only qualifications needed are
carefulness, activity, and common sense. The work is light, and not
particularly unhealthy. The only reason why it should be unhealthy at
all, is its sedentary nature. Board, from $1.75 to $2 per week. We have
uniformly, since the commencement of our business, refused to employ any
but American girls of known good moral character. There have been few or
none of them that have not possessed a good common-school education, and
some of them have enjoyed and well improved the advantages of such
schools as those at South Hadley, Pittsfield, and New Haven. It is a
source of gratification and pride to us, that we are able at present to
call to mind no less than seven of our operatives who have married
clergymen; one is now a missionary at the Sandwich Islands, and numbers
of them are respected and useful members of society." A manufacturer of
horn or bone combs writes: "The part assigned to women is the staining
and the bending or shaping of the comb. The business is healthy."
=290. Piano Keys.= I cannot learn of any women being employed in sawing
piano keys, but I think they could do it, if they were properly
instructed, and they certainly could polish them. The turning of the
ivory in the sun to bleach is usually performed by a boy, and occupies
several hours a day. The assorting of piano keys and putting them in
small paper boxes could certainly be performed by women, but I was told
it requires considerable experience and judgment. The sharps are made of
ebony, sawed by circular wheels moved by steam. When large blocks have
been sawed into smaller pieces, women could then saw them into keys. It
would only require care. The noise of the machinery and the black dust
flying might be disagreeable at first. A manufacturer of piano keys
writes: "No women are employed in the piano key department of our
business, and none are employed by other manufacturers, to our
knowledge. We suppose the reason is, that most of the labor in this
department is either quite severe or dirty, wet, and unpleasant.
Assorting and matching the ivory requires so long a time to learn, that
we cannot afford to hire any person for less than two years. Girls are
generally unwilling to engage to remain so long, especially if they are
at an age when their judgment and discretion make their services really
valuable." A Massachusetts manufacturer of piano forte, melodeon, and
organ keys writes: "I employ a lady bookkeeper, but my business in the
manufacture of keys for musical instruments is such that it requires men
alone, although the work is very light and clean."
=291. Rules.= The materials for rules are ivory and wood. The prices of
rules have fallen during the last few years--so the profits are less. A
rule manufacturer in Vermont writes: "We employ women graduating rules
by machinery and stamping on the figures. We pay 7 cents per hour. Women
are paid proportionately while learning. Common sense and a slight
knowledge of arithmetic are the only qualifications needed. They work
all the year, ten hours a day. All are American. Women are quite as
rapid as men, and, in application, better." A manufacturer in
Connecticut writes: "I employ but one woman, and she takes the work
home. It is paid for by the piece. There are many parts suitable for
women, but it is more profitable to employ men. The great demand for
female labor in the domestic employments in this section of the country
is becoming intolerable, on account of the general desire to obtain
employment in the factories." The machines are small and easily worked,
for making lines and figures on rules. The rivets of rules might, I
think, be inserted by women. I was told, men employed in working at rule
manufacture are paid $8, and some $9 a week. The ruler stands while at
work.
PEARL WORKERS.
=292. Pearl Workers.= At S.'s, we saw a man grinding the outer and
rougher coat off of pearl shells. It requires some strength, as it is
done on a stone wheel moved by steam, the shell being kept in its place
by a wooden rod held on it. It is wet and dirty work. The water is cold,
too, even in winter, for warm water would soon become cold on account of
the rapid motion of the wheel; and it would not do to heat the pearl, as
it would cause it to split. The polishing was done on a wheel covered
with leather, and could as well be done by a girl as a boy. S. had never
known women to work in pearl, except to make paper cutters, and then
only in Germany. The inlaying of pearl is in some places done by women.
A worker in pearl writes me: "The pearl button branch is separate from
the pearl shell work. In the first, females are employed; in the latter,
they are not, as it is unhealthy and laborious. In Birmingham, England,
where pearl buttons are almost exclusively manufactured, upward of two
thousand hands are employed. Pearl buttons are made in Newark and
Philadelphia." A manufacturer of pearl buttons in Philadelphia writes:
"I employ women in finishing, and pay from $2 to $3 a week. It requires
from one to three weeks to learn. The prospect of the business
increasing is good. The work is regular, and the hours ten a day. I
employ women because they are cheaper." To polish pearl buttons is very
simple--merely placing the button in a pair of tongs, and holding it
against three revolving wheels successively. The carving of pearl is
wrist work, and S. thought women have not sufficient strength in their
wrists to do it; but I think many have.
TORTOISE-SHELL WORKERS.
=293. Tortoise-Shell Workers.= Shell is made into clock cases, cigar
cases, card cases, writing desks, and other such articles, but is most
used for combs. In Brooklyn, a manufacturer of shell combs told me they
had several times thought of employing women, Gutta percha and
vulcanized india rubber have become, to some extent, a substitute for
tortoise shell. On tortoise-shell combs the light carving might be done
by women; the heavy cutting requires more strength. The sawing out of
the figures is suitable for women. The finishing could also be done by
them. To learn the finishing would not require a person of ordinary
talent more than a week, and either of the other processes probably not
more than six or eight weeks. Workers could earn from $6 to $7 a week,
if they could have constant employment. The business is very dependent
on fashion. P. & B. used to employ girls in rounding the teeth of shell
side-combs, and paid each $4; but gutta-percha combs have done away with
shell ones. A worker of shell combs told me he had employed girls,
paying some by the piece and some by the week. They earned from $3 to $6
per week. It requires about six months to learn carving and
sawing--polishing, not so long. Care, judgment, and a good idea of form
and proportion, are necessary. The business is now very dull. The style
of carving on combs is very different from that worn a few years back.
It is now of a heavier kind, and the work not so suitable for women.
GUM ELASTIC MANUFACTURE.
=294. Gum Elastic Manufacture.= "In nearly all the manufacturing
branches of this business, females are employed. After the articles are
moulded, females join them; also paint the toys, pack the combs in
boxes, &c. In most establishments they are employed the whole year,
while some only retain a small proportion during the dull season, which
is in the winter. All are paid by the piece, varying from $4 to $7 per
week. They learn very quickly, and are paid for what they do as soon as
they commence, although it takes six months or one year's practice to
equal the best workers. The manufacturing is almost exclusively confined
to the country, and, as a class, the women are in no way exceptionable,
many of them being considerably cultivated. There are plenty found to
learn the business, and it gives employment to several thousand." In
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and
New Jersey, 1,825 males and 1,058 females were employed, in the year
ending June 1st, 1860, in making india rubber goods. I talked with one
of the most extensive gum elastic manufacturers in the United States,
for the purpose of gaining some idea of the number of female operatives
in that department, their wages, if the occupation is unhealthy, &c.
This manufacturer has realized millions from his business; and, after
repeated efforts to learn how his women were paid, I succeeded in
learning that those who work out of the house are paid by the piece, and
earn only from $2 to $3 a week, working from dawn until midnight. Some
worked in the establishment, going at 7.30 A. M., and working until 6 P.
M., receiving about the same wages. They were employed in making
suspenders. More women are employed in the shoe department than any
other. The hard india rubber goods are labelled and packed by women in
some manufactories; but most of the making is done by men. At a city in
Western Massachusetts, ten girls were employed by one man, at an average
of $2.50 each per week, to mend imperfections in india rubber goods. I
went to Harlem, and was permitted with my attendant to go through the
manufactory and see the process of making up a variety of india rubber
goods. Some of the girls are paid by the piece, and some by the week.
They earn from $4 to $6 a week. It does not require a girl of good sense
more than from one to four weeks to learn. I inquired of one of the
proprietors and three of the foremen, if they thought it unhealthy. The
proprietor said, not; but the foremen were not very positive in their
assertions. I inquired of a girl in the sewing room. She said she found
it so in the cementing room, and had secured work in the sewing room on
that account. She attributed it to the evaporation of the camphene, and
the flying of the powder, made of pulverized soapstone and flour. The
odor, no doubt, is very disagreeable at first to most workers. One
foreman said he thought it would not be well for a consumptive person to
confine him or herself to that kind of work. One of the proprietors
said, if a nice, genteel-looking girl comes along, they will take her as
a learner, even if they do not wish a learner, that they may have good
hands when they need them. They have a great many applications. They
used to take learners, and permit old hands to instruct them, paying
them for the time spent in doing so. They are most busy in the spring
and fall, but have something to do all the year. Those in the first
cementing room were working at large tables, and stood. They were paid
fifteen cents for cementing the seams of a gentleman's coat, and some at
that work make $1 a day of ten hours' labor. Most of the girls prefer to
stand while at work. They were very neat, quiet, and good looking. In
the second room we saw women making rubber cushions, small tubes, &c.
One of the girls making tubes said she was paid by the hundred, and
could not earn $1 a day. All in the second and third room sat. In the
third room the ladies were finishing off coats, sewing in the sleeves,
binding, and putting on buttons. Most india rubber factories are in New
Jersey. There are none in the West or South.
=295. Men's Clothing.= The Rubber Clothing Company at Beverly, Mass.,
"employ from seventy-five to one hundred women. They report the work as
being light, and therefore requiring nimble fingers. Their girls are
paid both by the piece and week, and earn from $3 to $6 per week,
usually working ten hours a day. One half are American. Women are paid
as well as men in this branch. It requires four weeks to learn. Prospect
of future work is good. Activity and intelligence are needed. The work
is very easy, and is given at all seasons. Girls are usually not so
steady at work as men. Board, $2 per week." The superintendent of the
American Hard Rubber Company writes: "We employ ten women in making hard
india rubber goods. We prefer them on account of their small fingers. It
is piece work, and women are paid from $4 to $6 per week, ten hours a
day. Our women could not do the work of men, who have to be mechanics,
having learned a trade. Men receive about thirty-three cents more per
day than women. The time required for men to learn our business it is
impossible to answer. Women can learn sufficient in four weeks to earn
seventy-five cents per day. Carefulness and nimble fingers are
necessary. The business is new, but the prospects for the future good as
could be counted upon in any ordinary business. The business is not
sufficiently extended to furnish a particular set of people depending
upon it with labor. Some of our women are quite intelligent and refined.
There is a good library connected with the factory, and on Sunday they
have ready access to church."
=296. Shoes.= The application of india rubber to the making of boots and
shoes originated in the United States. B. & S. "employ seventy-five
girls, who earn from $3 to $6 a week. They are employed all the year,
and it is not unhealthy." The business has been on the decrease for two
years. The treasurer of the Boston Shoe Co. informs me: "The company
employ about seventy-five women, who work by the piece. The employment
is not unhealthy. Average wages from seventy five cents to $1.25 per
day, of eight or ten hours. Our women earn full as much as men, in
comparison with the work done. Three fourths are American. A smart girl
will learn in a couple of weeks to make from fifty to seventy-five cents
per day; in two or three months, she can earn full wages. The prospect
of future employment is fair. The fall of the year is the most busy
season. Good board, $2 per week."
=297. Toys.= The New York Rubber Co. write: "We employ women in making
and ornamenting toys. Little of the work is done in other countries. The
girls earn from $3 to $8 per week, but are paid by the piece. Men and
women do not perform the same kind of work. In a few weeks learners earn
$3; in a few months, $5 or $6. They have work at all seasons. The work
is pleasant. Board, $2."
GUTTA PERCHA MANUFACTURE.
=298. Gutta Percha Manufacture.= A manufacturer of gutta-percha goods
told me that the firm to which he belongs employ twenty-five girls. One
of their girls earns $1 a day, making handles. The others close the
seams of coats, and other articles of dress, with cement. Some work by
the piece, and some by the week. When by the week, they are paid $3.50
and $4; and those by the piece earn about the same. He thinks, if it is
unhealthy, it is because the sulphur used opens the pores and renders
the person liable to take cold. I visited a gutta-percha comb
manufactory. The girls receive $2 a week, while learning. They can learn
in a few days. They polish and pack the combs. They work ten hours a
day, and receive $4. Few of them get $4.50. The employer thinks there
may be more work in that line hereafter. A woman acquainted with
machinery could superintend the machine that cuts the teeth of the comb.
Rounding the teeth is done by men, but could be performed by women. I
was told there is a manufactory at Stratton, L. I., where seventy women
are employed.
HAIR WORKERS.
=299. Artists.= The making of hair ornaments is a distinct branch of
labor. Some very beautiful and ingenious pieces of workmanship have been
executed. Bracelets, earrings, breastpins, and guards are the most
common articles. The work is nicely adapted to the nimble fingers of
women, whether engaged in it for pastime or profit. A foreign lady, that
does ornamental hair work, told me that it is a right profitable
business to one that can do it well, but American women have not
patience to learn to do it in a superior manner. A hair jeweller in
Philadelphia told me he employs six girls--all Americans, and he thinks
they do better than foreigners. He pays a girl seventy-five cents a
week, for three or four weeks. By that time she has learned enough to
earn $3 or $4 a week. Formerly he required a girl to spend two years
learning, and paid her nothing during the time. He mentioned one firm
that required three years' apprenticeship. But the girls often became
discouraged, and went at something else. Now the business is not so much
of a secret. He has now and then paid as high as $12 a week, for a hand
that was very ingenious and successful. They pay high for their designs.
The gentleman had paid $50, the week previous, for a design. His girls
all work in the establishment, and spend about nine hours at their work.
It is done altogether by hand. The only disadvantage attending it is the
confinement that pertains to it, or any other employment of that kind.
An artist on Fifth street gives work out of the house. The average rate
of wages he pays is $4 a week. Hair artists, when employed by the week,
receive from $4 to $5. At S.'s, New York, they pay a good hand from $4
to $5 a week, ten hours a day. A person of good abilities can learn most
of the patterns in three weeks. An ornamental hair worker told me she
charges fifty cents a lesson of an hour. A lady was taking lessons who
had recently married a jeweller, and was going to Louisiana to live. A
good price can be got for such work in the South, for Southerners have
had all such work done in the North. A German, who made very pretty
ornamental hair work in New York, told me he charges from $25 to $50 for
teaching the art--those that wish to learn in a short time, and so
require much of his attention, pay $100. It can be very well learned in
six months. He pays $10 a week to good hands. The work is the same at
all seasons. Strong eyes, nimble fingers, and a clear head are the
essentials for a learner.