The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-09-06
How Casts aro Takou,

In Grand street, New York, stands a
plain-looking, thrce-story building. Sur.
rounded by an atmosphere of restless bust
ness activity, it nevertheless has tho ap
pcarancc within Of a vcrltablc abode of
silence. None of the hurrying passcrs- by
would suspect that It's trout wall hides
from Wow "citv OF the dca,,' the nina.
turc streets OF which arc lined with the
forms Of many who have gone over TO the
great majority. 1t MAY be entered with
ont dismay, however, for its ''sheelct
dead" arc but plaster:casts. quite unable tc
"squcak and gibber," though many hav,
indeed "spcaklng' likeness. Here may
bc found the gods and goddcsses. the
emperors, generals, statesmen and authors
of the ancient world, and famed ones o
the modern world as we'll. In the con
structlvc economy of tliis museum the dis
tlnctions Of casts oeac, tsd in tho outeidt
world arc no longer found. On tho same
shelf arc the '.Ox-eycd Juno, Queen OF
Heaven" and the "GrCck Slave" Jupiter
ronans and the "Supplcant YOUTH D
Augustus and the '.DYing Gladiator u
Nero and ST. Francis, the Madonna and a
Venus. Here Mercury Is ever "ncw-!lgh.
ted on a hcaven-kisslng hili," there the
heroic Pallas Athene stands with upright
spear, Diana the Chastc again starts for
the chase, the DiscObolus never quite lets
go his quot. On the extended arm of the
Fighting Gladiator the blow is ever coming
as of old. About arc scattered relieves
Of fruits, flowers and leaves; animal terms
and heads arc iumbled together IN a happy
family; prizes, medalIlons, vases p4dc-
tails and brackets iii up the ntcrsllccs.
One feature Of the collection. the fractions
of The human body, suggested the follow
ing conversation between Il reporter and
the proprietor, 9. Ginocchio.
'Docs any one ever come here to have
cast made Of III arm or land or lee2
and what ls the process and time takcn?'
awe have frequent calls for casts of
hands; not SO much for arms and legs.
The casting varies IN regard to the time,
leg or an arm taking much longer, Of
course, than a foot or hand The pro.
cess, however, is the same in all these
cases. First, the hand IS covered with
plaster from au inch to an inch and halt
thick. We wait till this settles and grows
ukcwarm, perhaps twenty minutes in the
case of hand. Then with a string the
plaster IS cut into sectiSns and removed.
1t is now put together; again, the inside
hollow having the exact shape, lines and
thickness OF that part of the body to which
the plaster was applied. This hollow Is
next washed with OIL because We are now
to fill 1t with plaster, and this mmst not be
allowed to stick Gas it would without the
oily to the outside plaster first put On.
Then the mold thus filed, ls laid away,
for five hours or 80 in the case Of haud.
Afterward, the workman chissels away
the outside plaster, working down TO the
hand formed within. This of course re-
Qalrce care and dclicaey lest the inside
hand be cut. The chssellng takes a half
day, and the whole operation consumes
day. Two days are required for Il leg or
All arm."
'For what purpose" asked the rcpor-
ter, "are these casts generally madc2"
'For personal qualification, or for SUR
glcai operations "a surg, on frequently
finding Il cast Of tlsortru or diseased
limb, useful Tor study before the operation
ls performed. Also, you know, art schools
need them for anatomical study. a cast
IS copied in marble sometimes.
Is the mark OF the human facc ever
taken from hlc2"
'Ics, it ls done. We have taken such
a mask several times though we dislike II
and will probably refuse To do so again.
The plaster is put on in three sections
separately, the space around the mouth
forming one section. and a line reaching
from the centre of the forehead down To
The tip 0! The HOSE dividing the rest of the
lace into two sections. A small pipe is
passed through To the nOstrils for breath
ing purposes. The plaster is likely to stick
to any hairs on the lace and hurts tle.i-
cate SKIN. Our charge for this cast is over
eight times as much as for a hand, 40 you
sec TINT We regard it as matter requiring
great care"
~ suppose you are called upon to make
masks OF dead mems faccs2"
"Ics, and bnsts, too. The cost of these
is rather high; $l5 for the mask and 800
Tor The hns!, bat we have iai. Il number oi
calls in That department of our work. This
operation requires more time than others,
a hall dAy being needed for applying and
removing the plaster, and then three days
more for the mask and week for the
bust"
Are there ever cases of 'monstrositics
applying for casts OF themselvcs2"
'Wc!l, don't know that you would
call This case of montroally, but one
woman recently had Il leg taken in plast cr
just above the knee which measured
twenty-five inches. 1t was to be pul in a
ow.casc, she eald."