The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1883-07-29
AZ ARTIST IN DOUGH.
TaasoNsl RsSss ssss witch Csask 80 ere Get
-CaraSas0e0 track ere.


the artist. They are indispensable at even
ing parties. In demand at picnics. are found in
every well-regulated dining room. and are
nibbled constantly by ill-regulated children"
The artists studio 10 on the upper floor OF q
machine shop In Elizabeth street. Brass work.
ers were chsclling. hamm"rng. and filing In
an adjoining room. The artist sat IN his shirt
sleeves and swung ono leg idly over the arm OF
his chair. while he untolded the mysteries OF
his trade. On the walls Of the studio hung
pictures OF animals. Busts and statusttes Of
men. done In plaster or bronze. rs we'll - rep
reservations OF animals. adorned tables. desks.
and window stills. Half-opened drawers In
writing desks und cabinets were filed with
fancfully designed crackers. Piled loosely on
the table were cutters VI gun metal. with which
tho crackers are cut by q machine which
stamps the cuttor on sheet OF dough. These
are some OF my latest designs" said the artist.
~ he took one Of tho cutters In his hand. u
first sketch the design on paper and afterward
tho cutter makers put my idea into metal.
Gun metal Is used because 1t il ductile and lie
harder than brass.
Whit American, universally call crackers"
continued the artist. the English call biscuit;
but In the trade Americans call crackers bis.
cult. Tho reason OF this Is that our fancy bis
Invented and imported from England. We
have however. surpassed our teucl,pr Plain
Try before $50 m.'n suen as milk i' oyotr.
snaps. soon after the close OF tn. war, groccrs
70 import from, England the recently Invented
Cornhil biscuits. 50 called, presume. because
forms were stir and unmoAnins. being mod
cli"d on such geometr,cni figures rs squares
riaHncss, circles paraIl ., or rhom-
Jagged. or notchcd. and tho face Of the biscuit
stamped with lincs according to the fancy OF
pearls. brilllan's. and what not. the names
being ~ unmeani ng rs the forms OF the bis:
cult, Albsrt biscuit. rathor large. round. and
with the word Albert. was invented nbout the
tims tho Cor1hhills we're ilr;s ,mrortt;s Thu
to be ni6bled by gourmets while they were
SINGING champagne.
| bakers mach merry promptly appropriated the
new notions III biscuit making from their Eng
nr Their Soe som
Imitation OF the English inyention. while others
impor!.d machinery from England, II had oc-
!ish st9ndard in the invention OF forms. Al
last an English inventor planned biscuit that
scores Of fancy designs in crackers now sold
everywhere. The English biscuit which started
me- off was WIN, they Gall IN TINT country the
not make CRACKERS in the shane of the letters
more Thought about i the more / believed
hsH hit up 20, Eood thing All the leading
ineturei cracker cutters wsrs approachei on
.hs subject at one time Or anStnsr but they
seems as though tho task Of stamping piece
81 dough Into given shane L. easy enough.
difficulty lies in preventing, the dough from
| sticking To- the cutter and clogging it. II the
scraps Of dough left after the cutting are very
n
edge Of the cutter would often fail 10 cut clear
%ach hin a0u "a" st over T"I rr r%s
lens good while solved them. The edges Of
sRapd and tie dough- VAS s cleaved Glenn as
| whistle. Then. to prevent the scraps Of dough
from sticking to the cutter, l placed In the
biscuit while it carried on the scraps. Bakers
objected that the rough edges would make the
they were baked. tho edges were ornamental,
Then our workers in metal kilfuIly wrought
Who Sas Sn bike shop in his city
Tho fame of these biscuit went far and wide.
The English bakers oopisd them. had them
them, but they do They are not so good as
ours because they copy ours. and u copy Is not
it be- in dough or In oil nninting. suppose we
ought TO sue the imitators. but am too busy.
/ must keep on creating new designs"
| Then rs soon rs customers Of ornamen tai
beinyent-d to tick. their, faney?" 49,,
THAT'S it exactly" said tho inventor. :" I
haunt art stores on Broadway. for tho very
b,st a"sEns n must be had md these must be
| Then YOU cannot take up q pencil and draw
an outline which viii be suitable Tor ,nibhling
when IT has been reproduced in n cracker2"
! 1t isn't the cracker II lib ing l,nrsous whom
have to suit. but the bakers, They want the
designs TO bs graceful and Indicative of life and
PEELED to conyentiona!ize most ni the forms in
order that they may be worked In metal. When
see sketch or a print IN an nrt store which
study and sketch from it, But But some Of my
happiest efforts have been rickgd up in shop
mp Broadway or in the Bowsry. and when see zee
anything which ploa,es me buy II can. II |
#. it." oniy onc S have 1 met t, With any hut the
kindost yitations to sit and sketch AS long as
please. That exception was the proprietor OF
| an art store on Broadway whom asked for
permission to sketch y big carved wooden
-ag o in his show window IL. gr"wei out;
on his hee il got The hest OF, him though. for
sk"tch"d his face after got homo. and made =
what are the designs you have mndcp"
have d.iisnsd All now IN llsr IN ms eo 60, 4;
lain Inhntel ornament; bonr from a carved
wooden tobicco box on the shelf OF c,gar
store; an English pug dog, climbing monkey.
mnnts i bought in Park place: - eat. ioz.
rabbit jaEmar , ana lirn from snErpH vii :,i
YER cup in TilTany's window; butterfly from
n specimen in IN chronological 90 lection; Il
camel II cow. and n rum from ensrnvugs. The,
horse have never BEEN Hho - reproduce to
my satisfaction. but IL sells Tor a horse.
Then ] varied the series by making hcais
~ lion. lioncss. ia-snur. boar. dog. and tiger.
All these were very popular, ana the lemnu'l
for them l. greater than tor any other designs.
Ny frat cutters Of uninnls | ma'!- inr u Phila-
dclphia baker nnh he cleared 800 II day for
months by running his shop might and day.
| Quite succnss'ui. too. for n time, WAS n fun
set OF dinner dishes ncudin!: y SOUP turccn
with Indie projecting from nnd"r tho cover
plates. gobnts. vino glasses and coiIrc pot
Something more animated was wanted. how
cvnr. 50 sketchcl narraturrs ~ great or we'll
known men. These skotch"s w"r" sold uni,er
tho name pf Funny Boys Thny haL bit. h"n,ls
AMI short little legs. Anon. them We're Wash,
ington. Napoleon. bismarck and Lincoln and
soon aftarwnrd l aided representations ol
Grant. Arthur, John Kelly, Ben InN"r Logan
aud Garnrid. tn these aLel cnrira'ur,'s o!
the various nntiouniiti"S. Yank"n jew, Gnr-
man. Irishnun. and negro. as wei. rs III" po?u,
minstrel. All Ties" went nil Ike ol cakes in
tho political campaign of 1850. That is the
time when they were invented.
| About that timo designed cutters for n set
| of Spanish cards siNt""n il - pack and no
queens. for n baker in Cuba, He mad" II litth
fortune out Of the novelties Then, followed
bird biscuit, cut to represent u hawk. nm owl
AN engla and n cock. Then | took 10 water