THE TECHNOLOGIST. [May 1, 1864. 



456 ON THE STRAW PLAIT TRADE. 



bonnet trade was the late much-respected Mr. Edward Waller, who, by 

 his enterprise, laid its foundation. His brother, Mr. Thomas Waller, 

 helped much in this direction by the excellency of his productions in 

 Tuscan bonnets. About the ^sanie period, 1830 to 1840, branch esta- 

 blishments were opened in Luton by London 'firms, as Vyse and Sons, 

 Gregory and Cubitt, Welch and Sons, Munt and Brown, the first-named 

 firm especially helping to bring Luton manufacture into reputation. 

 A good deal was being clone at Dunstable in bonnet and hat making 

 about the same time. At the early period of bonnet making in Luton, 

 other materials were used in their construction besides straw, as chip 

 and sewn willows, the latter having first been woven in a loom, after- 

 wards dyed black, and then the cut strips were sewn into bonnets and 

 carefully pressed ; hence the cheap willow bonnet. The making of 

 Tuscan bonnets was a very important branch also. 



Further improvements in shape, superiority of colour and finish, 

 continuing throughout a series of years, brought the Luton trade to its 

 present perfection, and have been the causes of the present extensive 

 English and fore : gn business. Luton was described by Boswell, in 

 1781, after his visit to Lord Bute's, at Luton Hoo, as a " village," by 

 after writers as " a small dirty town in Bedfordshire." In 1801, the 

 census showed 3,095 inhabitants ; in 1841, 7,740. In 1851, it had 

 risen to 12,783 ; at the present time it is well drained and paved, and is 

 supposed to contain about 18,000, and will in another year or two 

 amount to 20,000, if its trade still keeps enlarging. As would be 

 supposed, the females out-number the males, but not quite to the 

 extent some imagine. « 



The sewers of Luton are divided into two classes, those employed in 

 the rooms of the manufacturers, or who are employed directly by them 

 out of duors working at home, all of whom are under direct control ; and 

 those who are employed on " sale work " on their own account, and who 

 are their own masters. More are employed on " sale work" than in 

 rooms. There are many persons of respectability who employ 10 to 20 

 or 30 sewers, and dispose of their goods likewise to the warehouses. 

 Of the whole population, 12,000 are supposed to be occupied directly in 

 the trade, the remainder being chiefly dependent upon it indirectly. 



Of the class of sewers employed by the manufacturers the most 

 skilful are the room hands. Their earnings are excellent, and superior to 

 any similar class in the kingdom ; some two thousand or more are engaged 

 in the room v ork, and their hours commence at 9 o'clock in the morning, 

 and in general terminate at the same hour in the evening ; they are all 

 employed upon piece-work, and have to sew up the plait or other 

 material to a given shape and size of hat or bonnet. They are not strictly 

 confined to the rooms when at work, as in the cotton factories of the 

 North. The rooms are in general provided with every comfort and con- 

 venience for carrying on their work and for preserving health, some 

 masters taking especial care in this respect. Their earnings in the 



