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A wealthy Mestiza of the upper class, Manila, Philippines, 1900 or before

An illustration from the old book: The Pearl of the Orient: the Philippine Islands 1900

 

The merely well-to-do and the poorer classes wear clothes woven of cotton, silk, and pina and hemp, or of hemp or bamboo. But the glory of the wealthy, Spaniard or Meztizo, man or woman, are their garments of pure pineapple-leaf fiber, called jusi. This is durable and almost priceless. I small jusi handkerchief is worth $50.00. So delicate is the thread, that, in weaving, it is protected by gauze from the gentlest breeze. The costliness of the material, therefore, is due to the difficulties of the weaver and to the time and patience necessary to produce even a single inch.

 

Author: Browne, George Waldo

Boston: D. Estes and Co, 1900

Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Library

 

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Uploaded on October 16, 2020