The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-04-27
CARVING IVORY AND BONE.
USES TO WHICH BONES AND lie
PHAJyT TUsKS ARE PUT.

the world out of which to bring beauty
of shape and purity of appearance is a
bone, discarded by butcher and pur-
veyor, and possibly flung into the
street to await removal by a foraging
dog or uncertain street-cleaner. Yet
this same bone, like the boy who is to
be President, may have afuture before
it, and dwell in marble halls. The
dainty, jeweled fingers of some bright
maiden may clasp it in the form of
parasol or umbrella handle-the valued
gift of friend, treasured and admired.
Or, more remarkable still, it may hold
the soft bristles with which the beauty
cleans her pearly teeth.
Yet, after all. the process of trans
formation that fits a former resident of
the gutter or refuse-heap to be welcome
in a palace is very simple. All the Gu
riously carved handles which are 81
fashionable, and the quainter the more
sought after, are shaped upon a series
of rapidly revolving wheels, ranging
from an eighth to three inches in di-
ameter, and which are "a cross between
a file and a saw upon their cutting sur
face. Ivory and bone are carved in
precisely the same manner, the only
difference in the handling of the two
being that bone has to be boiled a long
time to free it from animal matter be-
fore it goes to the carver, while ivory
is clean and pure from the start.
When it is desired to produce any
given object in bone or ivory, an UNI
brella handle with a crouchedtiger upon
it, for instance, the carver takes a
piece of the material of suitable size
and presses it against one of the wheels
described above. AT the point Of con-
tact it cuts with amazing rapidity.
Soon the shapeless block begins to as
sumo the rough outlines of the object
intended. The lathe is then stopped,
which requires but an instant, and an
other, probably a smaller wheel, is sub
stituted. In this way a dozen wheels
may be used before the final finish is
given with a delicate disk, little larger
than a pins head; but when the work
leaves the deft fingers of the skillful
worker a perfect miniature of the
royal native of the jungle is seen. The
only remaining thing to be done is
polishing, which is accomplished by
means of canvas belts with pumice
uponthem, and finally by canton-ilannel
belts or wheels.
a firm of this city have workmen
who will actually take a photograph of
a person and from it produce Il life-like
s~tatuette, which can be attached to
any suitable article as a handle. This,
of course, would enable a gentleman to
combine his likeness and an umbrella
in n gift.
AS will be inferred from Informal
ton here given carving in this
country is almost entirely done by ma
chinery. The Chinese do more labori-
u carving than any other nation, but
time with them seems to be of no ac.
count. Hence the great amount of in
tricate and "trick' work which aston
ished people at the Centennial exhibit
ton. A Chinaman will spends months,
and even years, patiently cutting, atom
by atom, objects within objects, until
the final result is astonishing. But
the secret is largely patience. Many
people suppose that bi!liard-balls are
turned by means of some eXquisitely
adjusted machinery in order to secure
their spherical perfection. The eX-
quisite machine is the eye and hand OF
the artisan. The writer saw a gray
haired workman turn several billiard.
balls, and the only tool he used was an
ordinary turner's chisel. His eye was
his gauge.
1t is a curious fact that ivory varies
in texture with locality. The most OF
it comes fromAfrica. That from the east
coast is softer than that from the west,
Hence it is used for billiard-balis, OF
whenever an object is required to sus
tain a blow. Though west coast ivory
does just as well for handles of al
kinds. p~aper-cutters, pen-racks,- etc.
yet it would o chip to pieces il
made into billiard-balls.
One other fact about ivory. Not
much more than half of the tusB
is seer protruding from the elephant
1t really extends to the top of his head
growing thinner and membraneous al
the extreme upper end. Tusks range
in weight from two to three pounds
to far above a hundred. A firm from
which many of the above facts were
obtained had one tusk which tipped the
scale at 1876 pounds. 1t was as thick
as the trunk of a good-sized tree, an
a terrible weapon when welded by thu
mighty q%uadruped to which it be
longed.
Besides elephant ivory a great many
walrus tusks are worked up into trink
cts and fancy articles. This is whittier
than the other, and has not the deli
cate tracery which is so beautiful il
the best ivory. Speaking of walru.
tusks reminds the writer that in a biz
full he saw a lot of dog-sledge runner
made of them, which were either de
f~ective, and. therefore, pruiently real
lied upon, or else some young Esqui
maui of erratic tendency gettins
somewhat hard up had to pawn them
and they were sold as unredeemet
pledges. Which it was the runner
failed to reveal.-Phuadelphia Times