The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1882-04-28
A Ghastly Business.

in skeletons and skulls take high rank,
not SO much on account OF the extent
Of the business, but because, like the
trade in mathematical instruments, il
assists the educational and scientific
wants OF the present age" said a
we'll known physician attached to
Bellevue hospital to the writer the
other day.
For some years past the business has
fa'hn of, but new life has been in
stillea into it, and the dealers are doing
thriving business.
A we'll known dealer in Chatham
street, when applied to for information,
said the demand for skulls and skele-
tons for some reasons had largely in
creased, more especially with the coun-
try trade. The cali is for the best to be
found in the market, and the price is
now q secondary consideration with the
buyers. A few years ago country
physician used to be satisfied with al.
most anything that was in the shape of
q skeleton, some OF which they even
used to fix up themselves while attend
ing the medical colleges. This is not
the case now, however.
Some OF them are more particular
than the regular city practitioner and
are more liberal in the price demanded.
With the man of moderate means q
simple skull or O few bones of different
variety would answer his purpose,
whereas the true medical student OF the
present age considers himself OF little
account dnless he can exhibit fine and
complete form in his surgery, and by
some it is considered almost as valuable
as the diplomasof their college. Strange
as it may appear, there are many per-
sons who study anatomy only for the
pleasure Of it, who invest in q whole
skeleton or skull to hang up in their
studies.
Why, to day we think nothing of
having as many ~ twenty orders ut q
time while year or two ago we
scarceIv h-i - ...ODth. InIs WAS ON
account OF hard times not that the
student or physician did not r, quire or
wish for them. The skeleton business
has largely developed throughout the
country of. late, and, owing to the de-
mand, prices have gone up instead Of
decreasing"
care many skeletons prepared in
this country"
"Not to any great extent; but the
business has been enlarged. as it is q
profitable one il person only under
stands it. We are the consumers, and
are to a great extent in the hands OF
those who import them They mostly
come from Paris and London, where
the anatomical art is best studied.
$50 far the Americans have not been
able to compete with the exporters,
although they are improving in the
manner Of preparing them. There is
but one man in this city who thor
oughly understands the business OF pre-
pairing these skeletons, and he is a
Frenchman, who has been in the busi-
qsHf n4HRBfsh Hs BffshSkse ssntSh II eaAiti; AT
Of his work, and by the time he has
completed his work the skeleton costs
almost as much as il it were imported
direct, and finer specimen might be
obtained. 1t is conceded that the
French anatomists are far superior ia
any others in preparing these skeletons.
The English come next. A few
specimens are sent from Norway, but
for the most part they arc coarse, and
badly prepared, and are sold for small
amount compared with the other i'm,
portations."
r "How long has this business been in
troduced in this country ?"
"About twenty-five years. At that
time pure French specimen was con.
sldored quite rarity, and the price
asked for 1t would be more than double
asked now for the best specimen i'm.
ported. Some twenty years ago mum.
Der Of dealers in this city. who dealt
mostly in surgical Instruments, saw an
opportunity for making money by ex.
norting skeletons apd kplls. .ar.5 ..waot
day there are about eighteen of these
men in the business who supply the
wants, in and out OF the city, Of the
medical men and students.
"The great secret in the business is to
set the bones properly bleached, a Sc
cret they have only partly learned in
this co lntry. The producers on the
other side are fully alive to this fact,
and therefore to great extent can con
troll the market price"
" What does it cost for g good skeIe-
ton or skullf"
Much depends on the sizo and
color. Iou can buy skeletons for $40
apiece, and good one for 500 and
$40. Three years ago you could have
bought the same for S35 and $50, and
the best Of them for $50 and S65. As
to the cost OF tho skulls2 Well, you
can buy them now from Sl5 to $40, the
price being regulated by the number OF
sechods into which they are divided.
But there are other importations besides
skeletons and skulls. For instance, you
can order a good pair of heavy thigh
bones for S5 and Sc"
us there much difficulty in procur-
ing bodies for skeleton purposes 2"
"The material is scarcer in London
and Paris than in this country, and they
cost more on that account.
"A fine field is open in this country
for good operators, as the 'stifls can be
obtained at the different hospitals for
little or nothing, setting aside those
sent 10 the colleges for dissection pur-
poses. A large portion OF young and
middle aged criminals are gwen up by
the authorities for one purpose or the
other and the best specimens in form
are always picked out. For some rea.
son the skeleton OF q man is of more
value than that of a woman ard is more
frequently asked for. AT one time the
skeleton of we'll formed Indian was OF
more value than that of civilized per.
son, from the fact that it would be moro
developed. The chief art connected
with the business lies in the bleaching
of the bones. Various attempts have
been made by some of the most practi
cal and scientific of this country to dis.
cover tho exact French and English
process of whitening the bones, but SO
far the attempts have not been success,
fnl. In many of the medical colleges
ard institutions artificial IN ,dals are
introduced, but they are not appreciated
"a the genuine skeletons or skulls
Ihey act as a means of melting the
stuay OF anatomy, and as soon as the
student becomes really interested in