Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-07-21
PLASTER IMAGE MAKING.
Cheap Art Which Wins Bread TO
Italians, Makers and Vendors.

Cheap Art Which Wins Bread for
Italians, Makers and Vendors.
''We're busy all the year round" said
maker of plaster of Paris statuary to
Philadelphia reporter. "Our trade doesn't
vary with the seasons, except in the
spring, when there is an extra demand
for statuary for gardens"
"What do you sell principally?"
''Ihere is a constant demand for We
muses. and ApOllOs, with an occasional
Minerva or Bacchus, for gardens. life
sized figure of that kind costs about $50.
They are covered with a waterproof
coating Of colOrless varnish to keep off
the rain. Then we are always selling
busts of Webster, for legal bookcases;
and MinerYaS, Shakespeares, Byrons and
sometimes a Socrates for literary mems
libraries. For advertising purposes there
has been nothing of late years like the
bust of Garfield. 1t is still as popular as
ever, and / have Just finished plaster
mould of his face which a firm in Ger
mantown will use to make soap busts out
of to place in drug store windows. The
country will be full of soap GarIelds in a
little while l expect to have orders for
Cleveland's bust and that of Blaine. So
far, however, there has been no political
work.
'dOW muc0 QO6S Dust COSGE'
HThat depends. We can sell bust of
Shakespeare or any of the standard worthless
for about 81, life size. But If a man comes
here and wants a bust of himself made.
we charge HIM $50. That will pay only
a small profit ON the cost of labor for
making the cast and the mould. When
the mould is once formed, we can make
hundreds of busts from it, but a customer
who wants to crafty his own vanity only
wants one or two"
''DO you sell many religious busts?"
mo, there is little demand for them.
We occasionally sell a bust of Jesus.
taken from i don't what model, and, as /
am a Catholic, | sell a few figures of the
Virgin. AS a rule, however, classical
figures sell best. There never has been a
figure of life size which sold so well as
the Venus de Medici. The Apollo Belvi-
dere and the Venus de Milo are the next
best, and then comes the Greek Slave, the
Gladiators, and half-a-doZen other well
known pieces"
The workshop of plaster statue maker
is an interesting place. There are only
five of them in the city, not counting the
homes of Italians, where miniature fig
ures, classical and common, are made.
These are interesting also, although at
this time of year few of the home facto-
ries are at work, the energy Of Italy's
sunny sons being mainly occupied in
selling ice cream, sausages and peanuts.
These Italian makers get hold of a cast
for a small sum, make a mould from it
and then duplicate images endlessly.
They will ask s. for one OF them, and take
half a dollar with eXuberant Joy. They
are much looked down upon by the regu-
lar workers in plaster, who have large
stores and employ several men in theirs
shops. These stores are filled with white
statuary, ranging from the modern comic
to the most dignifed antique. The work
shop is usually beneath, in the base
meRt, and the ingenuity, variety
and cOmplexity of its methods would sur
prise an investigator. The plaster mould
of bust of Garfield, for example, con-
tains over thirty pieces, which fit together
like Chinese puzzle. When these are all
put together on the inside of a shell,
which parts IN the middle, enough soft
ened plaster is poured inside to spread
evenly over the whole surface, which has
been wet with lard oil. The mould is then
rolled and turned so that the soft plaster
spread evenly over the inside, reaching
every crevice and crease of the uneven
figure and making very thin shell. The
process is then repeated, so as to thicken
the shell and make it firm. The mould
may then be taken to pieces and the bust
will be found inside, and little smooth
ing with the knife makes it ready for sale.
Beside the plaster moulds, gelatine ones
are made, which are elastic, like rubber.
They need be only in two halves, instead
of many pieces, and are much cheaper
than those of plaster. In warm weather,
however, they can be used only from two
to four days, and they shrink rapidly as
they harden.