A DRESS OF SPIDERS' WEBS.
The Empress of Brazil has presented the Queen of England with a dress, the equal of which has never been seen. It is woven of spiders' webs, and is, as may be imagined,, "a work of art as regards quality: and beauty. The handsomest silk dress cannot compare with it ; but it can only be admired, hardly imitated. . There . have -already . been many attempts to make use of thethreads spun .by spiders,; but up to the present the experiments have not been satisfactory enough to encourage any further efforts m this direction. In the year. 1710 it was. discovered that to make a piece of silkit would%require;the websof 700,000 spiders. The Spaniards had already tried to use the spiders 5 threads, and make glove's; stockings,, and' other articles of the sort"; but' even these were so troublesome, . and yielded so little profit, that m spite of the f aubuloiis prices paid, they were obliged to abandon the trade. In certain parts of South America 1 , garments made of. these threads are worn, but the spiders m these lands are : unusually large. v ltig likely that' the above-nientidhed dress was made of the. threads of the smaller" species of American spider. There is therefore some hope : that the time is not " far distant when, thanks to the progress of modern industry, fashionable ladies may -have the satisfaction of . wearing elegant silks of delicate texture. _ o_j
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MT18770411.2.8
Bibliographic details
Manawatu Times, Volume II, Issue 50, 11 April 1877, Page 2
Word Count
239A DRESS OF SPIDERS' WEBS. Manawatu Times, Volume II, Issue 50, 11 April 1877, Page 2
Using This Item
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.