Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1884-04-02
Glass Eyes.

Passing u sign in the narrow door
way reading "Glass Eyes inserted, -
and going up u steep flight of stairs,
the reporter and his companion found
themselves in the parlor of the inn
porter.
eyes, import all my human eyes"
said he, "and sell them ut n uniform
price of ten dollars each. There is n
larger sale for them than you might
think. They are merely shells made to
fit over the face of the eye-ball, as you
see"
He took brown-irised eye out of its
padded case and handed it over for in
spection. 1t was simply shell of glass,
with perfectly smooth edges, shaped to
cover the eyc-ball from muscle to mus
Gle. The iris, pupil and veins that
traverse the white of the eye were deli
cately painted in exact imitation of 1:
natural orb.
1.-The shell, ut first" remarked the
importer, "is concave bit of pure
crystal. 1t is then passed to the painter,
who colors it on tho inside, and thence
it goes to be fired. A small particle of
glaze is placed in the hollow, upon the
painting, and when the firing is COM
plete the colors are fixed between two
plates of glass, as it were. Unless
broken, through carelessness, the glass
eye will keep its color and usefulness
for ten years or more. "
'1s there any difficulty in inserting
themp"
None at all. Stand right still for a
minute
Slightly turning back the reporters
upper eyelid, the artist inserted the
upper edge of one of the shells; he
moved il sidewise and upward with a
dexterous motion of his fingers and
then, with little click, il settled into
place, completely covering the eyc-ball
and Of course binding the eve for the
time being. Beyond a slight feeling of
fullness, which it was declared would
soon wear away, there was no pain or
discomfort noticeable.
eve have quite as many gentlemen
as lady customers" came the response
to q question.
"When il is possible to cover so
prominent Disagreement Us an injured
eye, there is no question that duty TO
the public demands the wearing of
these shells. They are not painful
or injurious. There is no danger of
their falling out, as the muscles of the
eye keep them i'm place, and when
their durability is considered it
will be seen that they are very cheap.
Yes; sometimes il is difficult to get
perfect match for a good eye. The
size of the iris, the size of the pupil, the
veins and color of the white, as well rs
the size of the shell and color of the
iris, must be matched exactly"
"They are to be taken out at night,
Ike set of false teeth. supposc?"
"Of course, of course; otherwise an
awkward accident might happen.
Now. here is an eye that does not need
to be taken out from one years end to
the other"
He handed over solid crystal, with
six-inch wire inserted in the under
side The coloring was not so delicate
as in the shells, and the entire work
manship was inferior.
THAT Is homemade eye. II was
manufactured TO order for an amateur
taxidermist, who means TO insert II In
the head of a cat which he is stufiing
for an old lady on Seventh street. This
is very fertile branch of our business,
as we sell n great many more Of these
than of the human crystals. The price
Is, Of course, much lower, and varies
with the numser and kind wanted
CiacfHnat Enfufrer.