BACKSCRATCHER, a long slender rod of wood, whale bone, tortoiseshell, horn or cane, with a carved hand, usually of ivory, mounted at the extremity. Its name suggests the primary use of the implement, but little is known of its history, and it was unquestionably also employed as a kind of rake to keep in order the huge "heads" of powdered hair worn by women during the i8th and early 19th centuries. The backscratcher varies in length from 12 to coin., and the more elaborate examples, which were occasionally hung from the waist, are silver-mounted, and in rare instances the ivory fingers bear carved rings. The hand is sometimes outstretched, and sometimes the fingers are flexed ; the modelling is frequently good, the fingers delicately formed and the nails well defined; the hand was sometimes replaced by a rake or a bird's claw. It was indifferently dexter or sinister, but the Chinese variety usually bears a right hand. The backscratcher has become scarce, and is sought after by the modern collector.