BIRMINGHAM'S TRADE IN COFFINS AND IDOLS.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 10973, 12 June 1903, Page 6

BIRMINGHAM'S TRADE IN COFFINS AND IDOLS.

Birmingham has many manufactures, great, useful, and curious, and among the; most curious are the*wares turned out for| sale to the natives of Africa. These include not only arms, but ' idols, amulets, and even coffins. An interesting description of the industry is given, in the Bir- . mingham Daily Post. < '

Perhaps.the oddest^of the city manufac- 1 tures is that of coffins for .the palm-oil potentates and native m chiefs in* Western and South-Western Africa. They are made of solid brass, &nd in the majority of cases ' are ordered by the chiefs themselves, and used in their houses, until required for their primary purpose, much after the style that we use a costly cabinet contain- ; ing treasures. Many, chieftains regard ilTe ' coffin with as much reverence as the Chinese. The coffins are of huge dimensions, being from seven to eight feet long, three feet in depth, and are in the widest jpart nearly four ieeb across. Sfte Yid , z&ovea on ' a hinge, and, is . always provided with- at least two padlocks and. keys. Sometimes ' the locks are fitted on the inside, which suggests that a chief may sometimes use the coffin" as a bed, and lock himself in. The brass is highly burnished, , and in the. bright sunlight gives off a dazzling glitter, • which appeals strongly t,o the native taste. • The coffins are richly ornamented with; raised ornaments, and attractively-design- ' ed rods run round the sides. The shield-, pJate bears emblazonifcgs, and sometimes; figures symbolical of mythologyiand of, strange religious beliefs. The general ef-, fectiveness- is enhanced by a number -off, swan or ostrich plumes, usually in crimson or gojd, arrayed in sockets at intervals. A coffin will weigh anything up to 7001 b, • and, as indicated, has sufficient space for | sex-era] hodiee. It. may be the desire of the chief, that his favourite wives ,|hall i .be buried with him. There is no recognised medium of currency with /many of the native , tribes, and trade is generally ! .conducted by barter. The exchange usually takes the form of gold Bust, elephants' vtusks, palm oil and nuts, and vegetable j gum. Not long* /ago- a OBirmhigbanv^manufacturer received s ip. .payment for one of these remarkable coffins many thousands of monkey skins. They had to be realised in the London auction market.

' For many generations' ddols For heathen worship have, been .manufactured in Birmingham. That they are still made is equally true,, but the output is very small. So far as Birmingham and the Midlands are concerned, it is a decaying industry, and to-day orders are seldom received for gods; o*> rather, this "quaint merchandise," as makers prefer ,to speak of it. Twenty, years ago .there was a' steady demand for ,idols of Birmingham • manufacture. There are, of course, very remarkable metal figures, some of distinctly Egyptian pattern, others peculiarly grotesque, ,prod,uced in, .Birmingham 'to foreign., orders. But, with these orders no indication is given that they are to be disposed of as pbjects of worship, although tha,t may be, the use to which, they are ultimately applied. Egyptian gods and cu-. rios produced solely for purposes of sale to people touring in" the Nile and Pyramids arp made in Birmingham. In their way^thfiy- are remarkable 'productions, because they appear to .bear many evidences of wear and ,of- 'antiquity. >. Yet they are perfectly, modern. By „a chemical process in casting, a "two days' old antiquijfcy" may be given a permanent verdigris appearance. ( One writer even goes sq far as -to assert 1 that more "curiosities" are manufactured in the city than are ever found in their' natiye resting-place!. . >Btit . while vastly less business is do ( ne in Birmingham, there is no gainsaying that Continental rivals are to-day doing a larger business ' in this direction than ever before. It is also an outlet for the energy, of the en-

.terprising American, and quite recently a large contract was given to' Philadelphia and New York houses for the manufacture' of Chinese and Corean idols.

For Children's Hacking Cough at night take Woods' Great Peppermint Cure- 1/6 and 2/6. ' '" " • ■ New Century Soft Rubber *Hair Curlers are rapidly coming into general use' by» ladies,' and no wonder! They <ire simply perfect.