275. China Decorators.
We find that in France, some
years back, many females earned a livelihood by painting on
porcelain. During the last century, a Madame Gerard, "who
possessed a large fortune, had a hotel furnished with facilities for
painting Sevres. Her splendid cupboards of polished mahogany
were gilded and bronzed, and their contents looked like a rich
collection for the gratification of taste rather than for sale. She
purchased some pieces for sixty and eighty louis d'ors. A pair
of vases, not very large, painted with sacred subjects, sold for
26,000 livres." "There are two distinct methods of painting in
use for china and earthenware: one is transferred to the bisque,
and is the method by which the ordinary painted ware is produced;
and the other transferred on the glaze." In the former
process, women called transferrers and cutters are employed.
The cutter trims away the superfluous paper around the pattern,
which the transferrer applies to the ware, and rubs with flannel to
produce an impression. She then washes the paper off, and the
ware is ready for the hardening kiln. Women are excluded from
that department termed ground laying, though, from the care
and lightness of touch required, it is very suitable. In Staffordshire,
E., great opposition was made some years back to women
becoming decorators, and even now they are not permitted to use
a hand rest. In France, and to a limited extent in England,
decorating, gilding, and burnishing are done by women. This
is probably one reason that imported China is cheaper. Most
of those in France and England who attain respectable skill in decorating,
are the wives or daughters of working manufacturers.
Besides the mechanical skill, it requires a very exact knowledge
of the effects of the coloring matters employed, as they are much
changed by being burnt. Decorating is certainly a beautiful
employment for women, but few in this country have the opportunity
and are willing to apply themselves long enough to
learn the art. At K.'s china warerooms, Philadelphia, I was
told, no establishments of any size in the United States are engaged
in the decoration of china, because they can get it done
more cheaply in England and France. K. employs Englishmen
to do what decorating he wishes to have done. He employs
women to burnish. The following contradictory statement I
found in the "Manufactures of Philadelphia:" "Decorating porcelain
and china ware, which had been imported plain, is done in
one establishment in Philadelphia to an amount exceeding
$75,000 per annum." At H.'s, New York, I saw women burnishing
china. It is merely a mechanical operation, consisting in
rubbing the gilding with agate, after being burnt. The girls
earn from $3.50 to $4.00 a week. It requires care and physical
strength. One girl was cleaning superfluous paint off the china.
Women might learn to make impressions for letters, flowers, and
other patterns. I saw an English lady in New York decorating
china. A lady took lessons of either her or her husband, to teach
in the school of design. S. employs one woman for painting, and
fifteen for burnishing china. China decorating is usually paid
for by the piece. Mixing the colors for china painting is not
more unhealthy than mixing them for canvas, and putting them
on not more so than any other sedentary occupation. A French
decorator told me that in Paris he gave private instruction to
some ladies who learned it for a pastime, and a few who made a
business of it. Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and New Orleans
are the only places where china is painted in the United
States. L. thinks a person of taste and abilities could learn in
one year, earning nothing during the time, and after that earn
from $5 to $10 a week. He pays his burnishers $3 a week.
Another decorator told me he pays his burnishers (girls) from $2
to $2.50 a week. The foreman of a large establishment in New
York told me that it requires several years to learn to decorate
perfectly. Most decorators design their own patterns, and usually
earn $12 a week. He says, in busy seasons it is difficult to get
enough of good burnishers. His girls work only in daylight, and
earn from $3 to $5 a week. They are busy all the year—most
so three months before New Year. It requires three months'
practice to become a good burnisher. A learner receives $1 a
week from the time she commences to learn burnishing: he
thinks it is not hard on the eyes. The work is paid for by the
piece. If there was a higher protective duty, more decorating
would be done in the United States.
276. Leather.
A leather dresser, somewhere in New York
State, writes: "Leather dressing is a disagreeable, wet business,
fit only for men. After leather is dressed, all the other work
can be done by women. We cut by measure and by pattern.
A person cutting and making should earn one hundred per cent.
Women can cut, make, and sell as well as men, I suppose even
better."
277. Currying.
The currying of skins might be done by
women. Cutting it of the desired thickness, soaking it in water,
and working it with a small stone, cleaning it with a brush, and,
in the drying shed, applying oil and tallow, would not require
very long practice for one of any mechanical talent. The skin is
softened by being doubled and washed with a grooved board. It
is then carefully shaved, and worked again, after which it is
blackened and grained. The work would require some strength,
but not more than the ordinary process of washing clothes. All
the work must be performed standing. The process of converting
the skins of sheep, lambs, and kids into soft leather, is called tawing,
and is somewhat lighter work than currying; yet the leather
requires much stretching and rubbing. I am sure the work would
not be more, if so offensive, as morocco sewing.
278. Harness.
A harness maker told me that a lady
who stitches harness of the best quality, can earn from $1.25 to
$1.50 a day. He pays $1 a set for stitching the blinds. The
perforations are made by a man, and they are stitched by hand.
Not a great many are engaged in it, and he thinks the prospect
good of learners obtaining employment. Many earn $6 or $7 a
week. He employs two women all the year. A person that can
sew well, can learn in two or three weeks. It requires some instruction.
A maker of horse collars told me his women stitch
collars by machine; formerly by hand. He pays six cents a pair.
The wife of one of his workmen stitches twelve an hour, with one
of Howe's machines. B. employs from fifty to seventy-five girls
to make fancy harness, horse blankets, and coach tassels. Fancy
bridles he has stitched by Singer's machine. Good operators
can earn from $5 to $7 a week, and for leather work are paid by
the week. Spring and fall are the most busy seasons. The
fashions of fancy leather work change. One gentleman, who employs
many girls in making harness trimmings, says the cloth
pieces are made by hand, the leather by machinery. In Newark,
Bridgeport, and New Haven, much of the stitching for the South
is done by machines, and women are employed. The English
harness is considered the best, and is done by hand. In England,
men called "bridle cutters" get large quantities of bridles to
make up, and employ from one hundred to two hundred girls to
do the stitching. A lady who has quite an establishment in New
York, and employs a number of work people, told me that she
pays them each from $2 to $6 a week. She thinks machine
operating is trying on the health, but not so bad as sewing with a
needle. She pays by the week. Women do as well as men, except
for heavy work. The trade can be learned in a few weeks.
She pays learners something. Her hands have work all the year,
but are most busy from October till the end of December. They
work ten hours. She prefers men for most of the work. She
would like American women, but cannot get them. She says
girls think more of having a beau than laying up a few dollars
in a bank, and consequently spend all they make on dress. A
manufacturer writes: "Working on leather is considered very
healthy. I employ thirteen women in the manufacture of fancy
bridles, riding and driving reins, riding martingales, &c. They
average $1 per day. Three of them run stitching machines. All
are paid by the piece, except one, who does the overseeing and
writing. We think the girls receive as good pay as the men.
Considerable practice is necessary to do the work well. Learners
are paid for all work that is sufficiently well done to be salable.
Good judgment, accurate eye, and nimble fingers, best fit one for
the occupation. As our business is wholesale, it depends upon
orders. Spring and fall are the most busy seasons. Sometimes
the women are entirely out of work for a short time in winter.
They never work over ten hours. We will not employ foreigners."
279. Jewel and Instrument Cases.
At a manufactory,
I was told they employ some girls, paying by the piece.
The girls can earn $4.50 to $5 a week, of ten hours a day. It
does not require long to learn. In busy seasons it is difficult to
get good hands, and they have to advertise frequently. At
another place, the proprietor told me he used to employ girls who
earned $4 or $5 a week, but he prefers boys, because they can do
all parts of the work. At a manufactory of morocco and velvet
jewel cases, the man told me he pays girls $4.50 and $5 a week,
of ten hours a day. In busy seasons it is difficult to get good
hands.
280. Morocco Sewers.
At a morocco manufactory, I
was told by the proprietor, a German, that he employs girls, paying
twelve cents a dozen, and they can sew from five to twelve
dozen a day. He wants hands, and of course would speak favorably
of the occupation. He says they can have work all the
year except one or two weeks. At an American manufacturer's,
I was told it is wet, dirty work, and requires considerable time
and practice to learn to do it quickly. After working at it constantly
four or five years, a good hand may be able to earn from
$5 to $7 a week. Most of it is done in the families of tanners.
Some women undertake it, but give it up because they do it so
slowly it will not pay. The man said nearly or quite all who
work at it are Germans, and the wives and daughters of those in
the business. They are paid twelve cents a dozen. The occupation
he thinks is full in New York, for women. Beginners are
apt to hurt their fingers, as needles are used, the sides of which
are triangular. Sewing five skins a day is considered very good
work. Dr. Wynne says: "Exhalations from animal substances,
which are very offensive to the senses, more especially to that of
smell, not only appear to be in most instances innoxious, but often
of absolute advantage in affording a protection from disease."
Most morocco is made in Philadelphia, none South or West. S.
employs sixteen women, and pays good hands from $4 to $5 per
week. He thinks there are at least two hundred morocco sewers
in Philadelphia. It does not take long to learn. He pays from
the first. They have work all the year, but the prospect for
learners is poor. At A.'s, Philadelphia, I saw some women sewing
up goat skins, which were to be tanned. It is extremely disagreeable
work, as the skins are wet and smell offensively. The
women are paid twelve cents a dozen, and find their own thread.
A steady hand can earn from $3.50 to $6 a week, and can always
find work. They are most busy in spring and fall. A morocco
dresser writes: "He pays by the piece, and his women each earn
about seventy-five cents a day. A woman can learn in two or
three weeks. The prospect for future employment is very poor,
as skins are mostly tanned now without sewing. A location
must always be had where pure water is abundant."
281. Pocket Books.
One man told me he employs a
woman to make portemonaies, paying $5 a week. On Broadway
a firm employs four or five women, paying from $3 to $6 a week.
It requires but two or three months to learn the business. The
women sew with a machine, paste morocco on, and varnish some
parts. C. pays his girls from $3.50 to $4 a week. At another
place one of the firm told me their girls earn $3, $4, and $5 a
week. It is piece work, and requires but three or four weeks to
learn. A smart girl can earn $2 the first week. The busy
seasons are spring and fall. They find it difficult to get enough
good hands in those seasons. The business is mostly confined to
New York and Philadelphia. A manufacturer in New York
told me, about two hundred women are employed in making
pocket books, &c., in that city. He pays $4.50 a week, but they
have a certain quantity to do in that time. It requires but a
short time to learn to do the stitching only (which he has done
by hand), but about a year to learn to do all parts. He pays $2
a week while they are learning, and then he increases at the rate
of twenty-five cents a week after a few months, and at the end of
the year some are earning $3; some $3.25. Neatness in cutting
and fitting the parts together is desirable. He keeps his hands
employed all the year. There is a scarcity of good hands, but
an abundance of indifferent ones. A manufacturer in Maine
writes: "We employ from eight to twelve American girls. They
are paid by the piece, and earn from $12 to $16 per month.
Boys earn about the same as girls. They are paid while learning,
if the work is well done. It requires about a year to become
proficient."
282. Saddle Seats.
In Philadelphia, I was told at a
large saddle store that they employ women to stitch saddles,
paying from fifty cents apiece for common ones to $1.25 for
those of a better quality. At a large saddle and harness manufactory
in New York, I was told they employ women to stitch
by the machine and by hand. They are paid by the day, as there
is a variety of work, and their girls are not confined to exclusive
branches. In prosperous times their hands are employed most
of the year. Spring and fall are the best seasons for work.
There are small factories in most of the Southern and Western
cities. The hand sewers earn but $3 and $5 a week; a few operators
can make $6. At S. & M.'s they employ about twenty
women in the different branches, and, when business is good, have
work all the year. It does not require long to learn. They are
paid by the week, from $3 to $4. Prospect dull. This kind of
work is mostly done in Newark.
283. Tanning.
Leather can now be tanned by a chemical
process in a few days. Leather has been made so thin, and received
so high a polish, that it has been used for making bonnets
in Paris. Buckskin is used for making many articles in this
country. Shoulder braces, drawers, shirts and gloves, are made
of it. A tanner writes: "I know of no country where this business
exists in which females are employed, unless perhaps in some
of the smaller German States, where female service is not deemed
incompatible with the services of the ox and the horse. The
tanning business in all its departments is laborious and offensive,
and although not unhealthy, is dirty and disagreeable, requiring
a great amount of muscular power. I know of no employment
less congenial to the taste of women, or less suited to their elevation.
Morocco is polished by hand, and in some places is done
by women. A tanner writes: "It requires strong and healthy
men to perform any part of a tanner's trade, and they do not
get very highly paid at that. The business is decidedly dirty,
and oftentimes very disagreeable, not fit for women in any particular.
In order to conduct the business successfully, one needs
to be located by a good stream of water, or where it can be easily
obtained, plenty of bark, and not far from market." Among the
Cossacks, some women are employed in tanning.
284. Trunks.
A trunk maker said he thought women could
not well put the tacks in trunks, because the trunks are first put
together, and are heavy lifting; but I think it could be done by
them. Putting the linings in trunks could certainly be done by
women. The man referred to said he thought some women are
employed in a large trunk factory in Newark, because the proprietors
thought they could get their work done cheaper, and he
hoped they failed, because of their motive. The employment of
women, he urged, cuts down men's labor, and so all labor is reduced
below its worth, just as it is now in England. There a
woman must neglect her home duties, to help make a living. If
women, he added, were paid at the same rate as men, and so
there was a fair competition, he would not object to women being
employed.
285. Whips.
V., of New York, says he and his partner
have whips manufactured in Westfield, Mass., and some in the
House of Refuge, Charlestown. Westfield is the principal manufacturing
place for whips in the United States. The daughters
of farmers for miles around the town braid lashes. The covers
are put on the handles by machines attended by girls. That part
is usually done in factories. The part called buttons is also made
by girls, and done by hand. Girls can earn from $3 to $5 a
week. They receive about three fourths the price paid men, because
the work is not so laborious. It requires from three to
nine months to learn, according to the skill of the person. They
are paid what they can earn while learning. They have been
able to keep their hands employed all the year, but fear they
cannot this winter (1860). In 1857, there were probably but
one half the working class able to obtain employment. The
prospect for work in this line is better than in most others, for
the whip market has increased twofold in the last ten years, and
is likely to extend. The work done at home is piece work, and
that done in shops is usually so. The business suffers in hard
times, for people then think they can dispense with whips. V.
said the Philadelphians and Yankees have different views in regard
to woman's labor. The Yankees know they can get it
done cheaper by women, and the Philadelphians think they cannot
get it so well done by women. The American Whip Company
write "they employ eighty females; about one half are
American, and one half Irish. Women are employed in any department
where they can labor with propriety and advantage.
The prospect is that the business will always continue as good as
now. All seasons answer equally well for the work. During
working hours, one of the women often reads aloud for the benefit
of the others in the room. Board, $2 per week." "The reason
why women are employed at making whips is, the work being
light, they can do as much as a man, and competition compels
the employer to get his work done for the lowest wages." P. &
S., in Philadelphia, employ some girls to braid lashes. It requires
about six weeks to learn. Some earn $3, and some $4 a
week, working from nine to ten hours, but are paid by the dozen.
All their girls are Americans, as are the generality of females in
this business. "In London," says Mayhew, "the cane sellers are
sometimes about two hundred in number, on a fine Sunday, in
the summer, and on no day are there fewer than thirty sellers of
whips in the streets, and sometimes—not often—one hundred."
The branch of finishing in whip making has been entered by
women in Birmingham, England, and created some opposition.
Sellers of large, coarse whips usually frequent market houses—those
with fancy whips stand on the sidewalks.
286. Whalebone Workers.
The natural color of whalebone
is nearly the same as gray limestone rock. The black
ones we buy are colored. Whalebone is exported from New
York. About four hundred American vessels are employed in
whaling, and about ten thousand men. Enough whalebone can
be prepared in one factory to supply the whole United States,
I was told by one of the proprietors of a whalebone factory. He
paid a boy $2 a week for tying up whalebone for parasols and
umbrellas (which work could be done by a girl). Small holes
are punched by machinery in the ends of bones to be used for
stays. A woman runs a thread through, and ties them in bunches.
She is paid one cent a bunch, and, as she ties up five hundred or
six hundred a week, earns $5 or $6. At another factory, I was
told they employ girls and women in tying up some whalebones
and stringing others. They sit while at work, and are paid by
the week, working ten hours a day. They keep their hands all
the year, but are most busy in the fall. Tying up whalebones
looks simple, but it requires practice to become expert, and requires
discrimination to select the indifferent from the salable.
The woman we saw earns $4.50, but she has been at it several
years, and is very expert. Women seldom earn more than $3.
Girls might polish the bones—a something I saw a boy doing.
287. Brush Manufacturers.
Women have from the
earliest period been employed in making brushes. In France,
women are employed in preparing bristles for brushes, bleaching,
washing, straightening, and assorting them. If they are so employed
in this country it is at Lansingburg, N. Y. Indeed the
finer bristles are all imported. The process of preparing bristles
is simple, merely washing them and placing them in a preparation
of sulphur to bleach them. "The great art in making brushes
for artists is so to arrange the hairs that their ends may be made
to converge to a fine point when moistened and drawn between
the lips; and it is said that females are more successful than men
in preparing the small and delicate pencils." In shaving brushes
the bristles must be so arranged as to form a cone. This requires
skill, and commands handsome wages. A large number of bristles
are imported from Germany, Russia, and a considerable quantity
from France; yet the United States furnish some. We think
the owners of pork houses, and farmers in the Southern and
Western States, would find the saving of bristles to justify the
trouble of doing so, as they bring a good price. In this country,
the process in making finer brushes, called drawing, is mostly
done by women. The heavier kind of brushes is seldom made by
women. Persons working in horn, wood, whalebone, ivory, gutta
percha, pearl, &c., prepare the handles. Few if any brush makers
have them prepared in their own establishments. I called on a
brush maker whose manufactory is in Boston. The clerk says
they never have any difficulty in getting plenty of good hands.
They work by the piece. He says, if you advertise there, you are
sure to have hundreds of applicants, many of whom are already
in business, but hope to get better wages for the same amount of
work, or less work for the same wages. A manufacturer told me
that he employs boys, who do piecework and earn from $5 to $10
a week, but thinks he will employ girls, as he could get drawers
for from $3 to $4 per week. The girls sit while at this work.
H., a maker of tooth, nail, and hair brushes, told me his is the
only tooth brush manufactory in the United States. His girls
looked clean and orderly, and had intelligent faces. Those working
in the house were of Irish extraction—those who worked at
home, Americans. Most of them attend night school. H. finds
his girls more careless about their work Monday morning than at
any other time. He attributes it to their talking and thinking
of what they saw and heard the day before. Those that sew well
he finds work best for him. (I expect that principle generally
holds good—those that work well in one business are likely to in
another, because they are industrious and give their attention to
it.) If the work is not well done, he takes it out and makes them
do it over. As it is done by the piece, it of course is their own
loss. They engage in trepanning, wiring, and trimming brushes.
The trepanning and wiring are done altogether by women in England.
They are paid by the piece, those wiring and trepanning
earn from $3 to $4. The lady that trims earns $6 a week. The
work is very neat and well adapted to women. It requires about
three months to learn. Women are paid something while learning.
Care and nicety must be used to fill the little cavities in
the brush with bristles closely and firmly. The business is not
good, on account of competition in the manufacture with European
countries, where labor is cheaper. Women cannot polish the
ivory well, as it is done by hand and is very hard work. Women
are superior in the branches pursued by them. $2.50 is the
usually price paid by workwomen for board in New York. A
brush maker in Philadelphia writes: "I pay from eighteen to
twenty cents per thousand holes. No men employed by us in this
branch. Boys spend four or five years at this trade. Girls spend
six months learning one branch. The prospect for more work of
this kind is poor. Our women are all Americans, and work the
year round. Women are superior in their branch." P. & M.
employ girls to make ostrich feather dusters, and they earn from
$4 to $6 per week. They have had employment all the year.
While at work the girls can sit or stand, as they please. Their
girls also paint the handles. A manufacturer of ostrich feather
dusters told me, he pays girls from $2 to $3 a week for coloring
and putting the feathers in handles. They can always get enough
of hands. The girls work in daylight only.
288. Ivory Workers.
Ivory is generally turned in a
lathe—a machine 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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
