The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1880-10-12
LIMBS.
How Padding 10 Done Upon the
Stage.

The Post Dispatch says Certainly
there are no such things in existence.
said a statqueslue fair one OF the serio-
comic line To y reporter who had deli.
cately veutured an inquiry as to aids
to the human form divine, known a.
pads. The fair one in question. a. re-
marked, Is statuesIue, and her 'gambs'
are Of attractive contour and unusual
size. that is rs seen from the front.
Further than that the reporter knows
nothing. The warmth with which the
aforesaid >tatuesI ueseriO-comic denied
the existence Of the articles In quest
ION gave rise to the suspicion that,
with her as with other things Oh the
stage, all is not real This is only a
suspicion.
In the comic negro act the professor
1T elocutioD tells the student that all is
not real ON the stage. There. for in
stance, is the ballet. Magnificent limbs
we'll rounded real"
What. Not real What are they ~
'Sawdust."
The reporter made no effort ;o push
his inquiries with the first fair one,
but sought the mature judgment and
observation Of a lady v ho, once stateus-
que, has become obese and short. and
plays the benevolent mothers. why
bless your SOUL" said she on the in
slant of the question. Of course they
pad. They all do it. Men more than
women or Is much. anyhow. VIVA. is
the use Of denying il when know that
seven out Of ten pairs Of twinkling,
bewilching burlesque legs have the
assistance Vt symme,ries."
But can the auditor be deceived
BY these symmetries ?"
Not if he understands their use.
1t Is like one ut those picture puzzles
which You might look ut for days
without discovering, and once solved
You eau see nothing but the trick.
With cOlored tights. light or dark blue
and red il Is almost impossible for any
but professional 10 detect them.
Fleshings are much harder on the
wearer particularly il she Dies much
dancing. Oh, rs to ballet dancing,
paddings to the calf would be Instant
ly detected. Every theatrical goods
house has pads in stick and they open
ly advertise them. Look at the Clip
per tor a moment. Here Bloom al
vertises. Our anatomical pads are q
study. 1t is impossible To detect them
from nature even upon the Most min
utest examination. For symmetry,
durability, light weight and finish they
are unrivsled.' Here in the next col
umn another firm advertises to be the
sole makers Of the perfection pad and
another publishes this price list. Cali
pad, g 80; calf and thigh, 50 ; calf
padded tights, Sc; thigh padded tigh,
So padded shirts, So Now this is
only few varieties of the su-called
symmetIies. l have known women
who were padded from the ankle up.
One girl in the Lydia Thompson party
was setting the bald heads crazy. and
the critics raved about her perfect
limbs The fact is. they were as straight
up and down As table legs. and the
symmetry which transported the audi
ence was made to order and cost SS5.
There has been great improvement
in this business Of late years. The pad
is woven into and is part Of the tights.
Actresses to whom nature had not been
generous, formerly made their own sym
metres out Of old stocking cut in pieces
OF diminishing size and sewed one to
another, which. placed upon the calf Of
the lex, and covered with two OF three
pairs Of stockings, would give q good
appearance Of graceful contour. But
few women pad their arms. Fashion
sule women use them very frequently.
Shoulder pads are used mostly by
young male actors with immature
forms. who have been cast for
Roman soldiers or Grecian
populace. These young men are lib
eral purchasers ofpadded tights. which
will account tor the sturliness Of the
limbs Of the aforesaid populace or ar
INV. Their use is perfectly legitimate.
Some managers insist upon the SYM
metries on the score that the public
desires its eve filled pleasantly. The
pslPitating limb flashing before the
footlights may for the mist part be al
assumption, the flesh and blood may
be absent. but the appearance is there
and where ignorance is bliss it were
folly to be wise.