Coloured Furs Now On American Market In Keen Demand

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 30, 26 August 1949, Page 7

Coloured Furs Now On American Market In Keen Demand

One way to please many a woman is to give her a fur coat. But will she like a fur coat in green or yellow or fife station red? At least two former fur merchants, Mr E. F. Pearce and his brother-in-law, Mr W. B. Morton Maskell, think that British women may be a little hesitant but American women will fall for the idea. Accordingly fur waistcoats for women will be followed by fur jackets, fur skirts and fur coats. The fur is to come from the humble mole, regarded as a pest in England and therefore cheap co come by. Previously regarded as an unreliable fur, bad wearing and inclined to split at the seams, experiments completed in 1936 proved that the mole pelt could be used quite effectively. Of course, it 'would take 350 to make a coat, but they would not weigh any heavier than any other fur coat —only 41b in fact*—so the quantity of moles to be sacrificed was not a deterrent. After the secret process the mole skin is soft and pliable, easily cut for style and capable of being produced in brilliant colours. So 10,000 mole trappers working on farms all over Britain are supplying moles® for a small factory in Horley employing 60 workers turning out 100,000" processed skins a week.

American furriers are enthusiastic about the brightly coloured furs; they are earning'dollars for Britain. The American mole is not as suitable as the English variety. American women are likely to be enthusiastic about them. Says Mr Pearce, “They’ll try anything in the United States; the madder the better.” Well, he ought to know. At least one U.S. furrier has asked for some skins to match a scrap of bright green blotting paper.