It is not known when real brushes began to be
made for the first time, but it is known that
brushes were made from furs of black rabbit,
green weasel and white he-goat in ancient
China, 6000 years ago. These brushes were
used in calligraphy. Three thousand years
before the Christ, the Egyptians used the
brushes to draw their hieroglyphs on papyrus
(made from softened cane) and at the same
time, the brushes were also made for make up
use In Ancient Rome, combs were used by men
and women. We do not known for sure
whether they used brushes, but many handles,
usually regarded as mirror handles, could have
been brush handles.
There is one certain thing that during the Romans, crests for centurions were made with similar method as it is used now for manufacture of horse fur brushes. Here, in this part of the world, the brush-maker's trade has centuries old tradition and once, this, now strange, craft numbered many craftsmen.There is a brush-makers' cooperative in Cazin, but there is no one dealing with this trade manymore. The brush-maker's trade and the way the brushes are made, have not changed in basis. Brushes are still hand-made products of high quality and various purposes. There are brushes for household use, machines, baker's brushes, chimney-brushes, bee-keepers' brushers, house-painting brushes, and other. The materials used for production of brushes are horse fur, ox tail, fur of pig, badger and marten, nylon, thread, iron, and wood.
