Blue fox fur is a type of fur obtained from the arctic fox (most specifically, its blue variant). The other of the two zoological morphs is called white fox, whose fur (the white fox fur) is also a fur commodity.
The blue fox, an arctic fox variant, is considered more valuable than the matted and smaller fur of the white fox. Almost white blue foxes with only a slightly darker middle of the fur are traded as shadow foxes; pure white fur is usually sold to the end consumer as white fox, like that of the arctic fox.
In the jargon of the fur trade industry, the dark, bluish winter furs of all types are referred to as "blue", not just those of the "blue" foxes, in contrast to "red", the lighter and therefore usually less valued color variants of the same fur type.
The fur trade classifies the blue fox fur among the so-called noble fox furs, such as the silver fox fur, the arctic fox fur and the cross fox fur.
Fur The blue fox pelts from wild-caught specimens are around 50 to 65 cm (19.7 to 25.6 in) long, and the tails are 25 to 35 cm (9.8 to 13.7 in) long. The pelts of male foxes are only slightly larger than those of female ones. Pelts from breeding farms are considerably larger.
The long and very silky hair varies from blue-brown and lightest "café au lait" to light blue-grey and deep dark brown, sometimes almost black with shades of rusty red and loamy-dirty, sometimes with silver hair. The summer coat is dark black-brown and usually slightly browner than the winter coat.
The moulting process often begins towards the end of the rut period and is particularly visible on the coats of pregnant females. The first hair falls out on the shoulders. The winter coat begins to form in August.
The fur of young blue and white foxes from the wild is initially completely dark; Russian fur hunters call this age group nornik ("cave dweller"). The late summer pelts are lighter on the sides, belly and legs, while the dark gray shade remains on the neck, shoulders and back, where it creates a cross-like pattern. These pelts are known as krestowatik ("cross-bearers").Schmidt, Fritz (1970). Das Buch von den Pelztieren und Pelzen (in German). München: F. C. Mayer Verlag, pp. 203–213.
In 1960, the first cases of white foxes being born in Poland were recorded, and their systematic breeding was pursued further. Such animals are also said to have occurred in Norway. The young foxes that appeared in Poland were probably two genetically different mutations. After just a few days, the two mutations were easy to distinguish, one remained pure white, the other had the characteristic markings and color of the platinum fox.Szumann, J. (July/August 1968). Neugeborene Eisfüchse im weißen Haarkleid. (in German) Leipzig: VEB Fachbuchverlag, pp. 10–11.
Farmed blue foxes have a completely different hair structure to their wild ancestors. The wool fleece is thinner and the hair thickness is greater. The color is also different. The base of the coat is practically white and only tinged with gray in the lower area. The guard hairs' ends show a more or less bluish-brown coloration.
In the trade, individuals caught in the wild are divided according to their origin:Franke, Christian; Johanna Kroll (1988). Jury Fränkel´s Rauchwaren-Handbuch 1988/89. (10th ed., revised and expanded; in German). Murrhardt: Rifra-Verlag. pp. 136–138.
Russia-Siberia: medium-sized, medium density; very silky. Light-colored, partly silvered. About the same as the Greenland type. Arctic: from northern Canada and western Greenland. Medium-sized, silky and sometimes silvery in light and dark colors. Icelandic: small, light gray, partly woolly, almost milky, bluish gray undercoat. Back and tail often intermixed with white guard hair. Iceland provides the weaker in terms of quality, and Greenland the stronger ones.Dathe, Dr. Heinrich; Schöps, Dr. Paul; with the collaboration of 11 specialists (1986). Pelztieratlas (in German). Jena: VEB Gustav Fischer Verlag, pp. 131–133. Greenlandic: almost violet shimmering, light with silky guard hair. Usually with distinctive silvering. Profusely hairy belly part. Alaska: Hudson Bay and Labrador ones are large, very dense (full-haired) and silky. Dark and little silvered. Slightly coarser and woollier in hair, yet blue.
The durability coefficient for fine fox fur is given as 50 to 60 percent.The comparative values (coefficients) given are the result of comparative testing by furriers and fur traders with regard to the degree of apparent wear (usage). The numbers are not unambiguous; in addition to subjective observations of durability in practice, each individual case is influenced by tanning and finishing as well as numerous other factors. A more precise figure could only be determined on a scientific basis. The classification was made in steps of 10 percent each. The most durable fur types based on practical experience were set at 100 percent.Schöps, Paul; Brauckhoff, H.; Häse, Kurt; König, Richard; Straube-Daiber W. (1964) Die Haltbarkeitskoeffizienten der Pelzfelle (in German). In: Das Pelzgewerbe 15 / Neue Folge (2) Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Leipzig, Vienna: Hermelin Verlag Dr. Paul Schöps, pp. 56–58 When fur animals are divided into the fineness categories, among which are silky, fine, medium-fine, coarser and hard, blue fox hair is classified as fine.Schöps, Paul; Häse, Kurt (1955). Die Feinheit der Behaarung - Die Feinheits-Klassen (in German) In: Das Pelzgewerbe. 6 / Neue Folge (2), Leipzig, Berlin, Frankfurt am Main: Hermelin-Verlag Dr. Paul Schöps. pp. 39–40
Only the winter pelts of both blue and white foxes are traded. Hunting and trapping of young specimens in their summer coat is prohibited. General hunting and trapping bans for arctic foxes have existed in Sweden since 1928, in Norway and Finland since 1930.
Trade and history
The fur trader Stepan Glotov managed to reach the coast of Alaska via the islands of Unalaska and Umnak in 1759. Others soon followed to exploit the fabulous wealth of furs, which far exceeded that of Siberia. The main beneficiary was the merchant Gregor Schelechow from Okhotsk. From his very first visit, he brought back 17 tons of walrus teeth, 8 tons of fish glue, 2000 beaver pelts, 4000 sea otter pelts and 6000 blue fox pelts.Schier, Bruno (1951). Wege und Formen des ältesten Pelzhandels in Europa (in German). Archive for Fur Science Volume 1. Frankfurt: Verlag Dr. Paul Schöps, pages 57–58. Table of contents.
The wife of Henry II of France, Catherine de Medici (1519–1589), owned a very expensive blue fox fur coat during the peak price period of blue fox fur.Richard Davey, (c. 1895) Furs and Fur Garments. London: The International Fur Store and The Roxburghe Press, p. 82. Blue fox fur has always been considered more valuable than white fox fur; only in the 1920s did white fox fur also experience a heyday as a glamorous piece of clothing. In some areas, the targeted hunting of the blue fox led to the former balance shifting in favor of the white fox. Around 1742, almost only blue foxes were captured on Bering Island, which led to their population being destroyed "down to a meagre remnant", while the white foxes remained almost unharmed (according to Georg Steller). The same shifts caused by this targeted hunting can also be observed in the Siberian Arctic Ocean region. One of the areas most populated by arctic foxes is the west coast of Greenland. In the past, 7 white foxes were caught for every 10 blue foxes. In 1961 it was stated: "For some time now, however, the ratio has been 5:5. The white fox has always predominated on the east coast. Catch result is 2 blue foxes to 10 white foxes".
The Russian Arctic Research Institute observed on the Commander Islands that "big" blue fox years, with unusually high numbers of animals, occur about every four years. In 1858, a Russian decree ordered the killing of all white foxes while restricting the hunting of blue foxes.Samet, Arthur (1950). Pictorial Encyclopedia of Furs. New York: A. Samet (Book Division). pp. 226–229Großdeutschlands Pelzfelle und ihre Verarbeitung. (December 1, 1942; in German) 27 cont., In: Kürschner-Zeitung, 59 (43), Leipzig: Verlag Alexander Duncker, pp. 254–255.
The first commercial interest in blue fox fur emerged in 1835 when Russians brought blue foxes to Kiska Island in the Aleutian Islands, Amilia Island and the Cascade Mountains to let them develop there, initially in the wild. In 1885, the Semidi Propagation Co. of Kodiak began farm breeding with ten pairs of wild animals living on the Pribilof Islands, which were brought to Chowiet Island, later known as South Semidi Island, off the coast of Alaska for breeding. The company itself was not financially successful, but by supplying other islands with breeding stock, it laid the foundation for blue fox breeding in Alaska. The actual upswing began in 1916, after the temporary reduction in demand caused by the First World War.Ewing, Elizabeth (1981). Fur in Dress. London: B. T. Batsford Ltd, p. 151
In 1911, Emil Brass reported on blue foxes on the Pribilof Islands of St. Paul and St. George, among others. The native foxes kept free-range there are "large and well colored. The animals are properly bred there and only the best specimens are allowed to breed.... As a result, the breed has been significantly improved so that the pelts fetch a good price. Around 500 animals are now killed there every year. Blue foxes are now also bred on various other islands on the coast of Alaska in so-called fox farms, for which the land is leased from the government for a very nominal sum. These ventures are paying off very well. About 3000 to 4000 blue foxes from the Alaskan coast are now traded to London every year, but this number is expected to increase considerably soon. Also from northern Siberia come blue foxes of good quality and color, large pelts, but somewhat dull in color. I have not been able to determine the exact number, but there are probably no more than a few thousand a year. Almost all of the pelts coming from the polar region to Seattle and San Francisco stay in the country. The value of a blue fox is 60 to 200 RM per piece, depending on the quality."Brass, Emil (1911). Aus dem Reiche der Pelze (in German). Berlin: Verlag der ''Neuen Pelzwaren-Zeitung und Kürschner-Zeitung'', pp. 465–468.
In 1926, there were six groups of Alaska Islands on which blue foxes were bred. The first group was formed by the islands southeast of Alaska or the Alexander Archipelago; the second group was on Prince William Sound, the third in Lower Cook Inlet, the fourth in the Kodiak-Afognak District, the fifth on the Alaska Peninsula itself and the sixth on the Aleutian Islands. At that time, however, it was already becoming apparent that enclosure breeding was probably less costly than island breeding. Among other things, breeders were not only losing foxes to birds of prey, but it became apparent that the foxes were good swimmers and disappeared to nearby islands or the mainland.
In 1801, Buse wrote about blue foxes: "Their rarity makes them worthy of appreciation. Their hair reflects a beautiful shine." And about their use and value: "...White ones are used to lining Hungarian furs.... Blue ones are used to make furs and lapels for ladies. Because of their high price, they are only used by rich and distinguished people.... The current value of these furs is 10 to 25 thalers per piece."Buse, Gerhard Heinrich (1801). Das Ganze der Handlung (in German) Erfurt: Henningschen Buchhandlung, p. 27 (according to secondary source Schöps, Die Polarfüchse)