New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-02-13

4
even distinguish the right knee pan from
the left; but tho little maitre of Blocker
| street alone Sends his perfectly actlculated
skeletons forth without q grease spot No
BODY, however, may look into tho work
shop of Maitre Mazzur. There stands tbs
old.fashioned house in Blocker street, into
which visitor may freely 60; little plain
board door in the upper story will'be locked
| against him; he may contemplate human
| skull screwed thereupon; aad Maitre MAJ
EUR, in his shirt sleeves, will tell him that a
secret is secret, and that he intends to
keep his for awhile yet. What that secret
is, before the puissarce of which human
grease spots grow faint and die, nobody
| other than the maitre knows it came down
to him from his predecessor, and he pre-.
| serves it, and utilizes It, and doubtless
profits by it additionally to profiting by this
pursuit of his other business of manufsc-
| turing musical instruments.
But if the skeletons of Maitre NazZur are
the only ones which may walk abroad, as
I it were, at MONDAY, without being ashamed
| of themselves, there are still other skele-
tons in New York which come from other
| places than his workshop. II is not an IN
common practice for the janitors OF the hos
| pitals to ciesh bones and to artloulafo them
| for the students, though this practice is for
hidden them by the authorities. A student
| will sometimes select his prospective ekele-
| ton while it's owner Ia lying sick IN the
! wards, watch it not unkindly as Its super
| incumbent flesh passes through nature,
trace it through the post mortem to the dis
seoting room, there OBTAIN portion OF 1t by
lot and the rest of it later by request orpur-
| chase. send it to the janltOr to be cleaned.
| articulats IL himself, and SO come into pos
session of an anatomy " hich has the double
merit of being cheap and possessing an
| identity. And then skeletons are imported
| from France and Germany, four or five
houses in this city doing reg llar business
in the article, though always IN connection
| with some other trade.
| At the house of Messrs Otto g. Reynders
! in Chatham street, the writer was referred
| ton department" A thin little man, with
| bald head and deep set, nervous eyes,
| bowed and, rubbing his hands slowly to-
| gether, said that he should be happy to give
any informal Oh possible. The writer re-
| piled that he would like to be made &C
| quaintei with any interesting facts concern
| ing the trade, and, if allo vable, would like
! to look over the stock.
If you'll have the goodness 70 step down
stairs, si-,' said the skeleton salesman, I'm
show you
Lighting candle a. he spoke, he led the
way behind showcase filed with surgical
instruments to . door, and through this
door down a light of awkward etairs to the
cellar which. although the dusk was only
lust beginning to shut in, was quite dark.
The salesman paused at the foot Of the
stairs to close . second door, elevating the
candle as he did 30 in order the better to
gee.
My young men, be said, so not Like to
come here after dark They have a senti-
mental idea that things of this sort grow
uncomfortable when the lights gone, but
bless your heart, sir, bones is honest; they
never str unless l stir en- and settin z
his candle on a convenient box. the skeleton
salesman waved his hand az if II indicate
and recommend general view OF the plsce.
AS the eye gradually accustomed itselfto the
moiera-e light i. became filed with vision
OF boxes innumerable. These were stran gely
labelled with such specifications as, Bones:
temur, humerus; No. 4o5;" "F9ta. heads.
feet, hands," Skull, seven cuts" skull,
after Bouchene." and many similar. Some
of the boxes were opened, and revealed
bones of all sorts and conditions. physio-
logical specimens Of the heart, lungs and
liver, and numerous other interesting reali-
ties which looked rather CHASTITY in the
candleight. The skeleton salesman after
moment 5 pause. turned to a curtain Of
some dark material which screened COM
plete!v large cabinet on one side OF the
apartment this curtain he drew. discover
lEy tuS InlcIloI VI Tue CdU.uct, WHICH Wac
lined with black velvet and which CON
tanned half dozen full grown snatomies
dangling at the end of short copper wires.
Now said the skeleton salesman.
shading the candle with his hoIlowed hand
in order to throw a stronger light upon the
pleasant spectacle in the cabinet, that's
much better quarters for EN- than those
silver handled horrors as taey commonly
pack EN- in-dOn't you think!
hat Il NV i1ryop = = in1
horrorsl'
"Cefiins. Of course People have a notion
that they must pack EN- away in boxes
and brick graves at a ruinOus expense,
when they might make profit on EN- and
keep EN- OF some use in the world by net
cOnsigning EN- to some respectable house
az did good business in that line
Turning the subject the writer proposed
a number of questions, in answer to which
he obtained q variety of Information. The
best workmanship in skeletons-always ex-
cepting the work of Maitre Mazzur-ls
done in France. There the joints are artic.
ulated with screws, and the bones are cap
able of being taken apart and replaced
without trouble. In Germany the Joints
are articulated with wires simply. This
process not only renders it impossible to
take the different bones apart, bu. allows
Of 20 rotary motion of bone il i.s socket
The German skeletons are articulated by
q number of small and comparatively
unknown business houses, scattered about
the country, and oftentimes by the pc
del1en of the universities, bu. all ths
French skeletons emanate from the one
great house OF Vasseur, in the Rue derEcole
Medecin. Wherever a skeleton is seen with
screws in its elbows, that skeleton came
always excepting the work of Maitra
Mazzur-from the Pays Latin of Paris It
was put in an oblong box. in company with
two others, with it's knees against its chin
and its feet securely tucked into the hollow
of its pelvis, and SO, unknown to the super-
st;tiOus mariners who sailed the ship. was
sent across the water like tea or sugar. or
any other amiable and inoffensive thing
There is no duty on skeletons-if there
were there would not be near go many sold.
Skeletons, as a rule, ars luxury rather
than necessity.
But at this point the skeleton salesman
seemed utterly exhausted from having been
80 long held down to fact Probably never
before had he drawn the screen over his
stock and left his department for the day
with 80 little regret as he then experienced,
and his good night" as he pulled out his
nan NJ %ha Sc A.