The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1885-12-26

ted modelIer discovered child with a
countenance more beautiful than any he
had ever beheld. He spoke kindly to 1t,
and loaded it with sweetmeats and caresses.
Then, in moment of temptation which he
could not resist, he carried it to his studio,
where he delineated every feature of its
face, and saw so many suggestions for other
exquisite models by means of slight modi-
fcations that he secretly kept it. The
dolls modelled therefrom were sent all over
the world, and increased his wealth and
position far above manufacturers OF his
kind. When he was done with the child
he took its life, fearing the consequences
of abduction. Meanwhile the stricken
parents had not been idle. Alarm was
sounded through the country, and failing
in this way to secure the child, detectives
were set at work. One day a German de-
tcctive crossed over into Paris, and went
into a great toy shop where beautiful chill
dren were employed as pages. He did not
find the child, but on the shelves he saw
its image stamped with variations on
thousand dolls. The secret was found out
at last.
Nine-tenths of all the dolls produced are
manufactured in the province Of Thuringia,
in Germany. This comprises but thirty
five square miles, and belongs to the Duke
of Sake Coburg. The central market of
receipt is Sonneberg, city Of $1,000 IN
habitants. The population of Thuringia is
about $4,000, or 1900 to the square mile.
Every one here is a doll laboror, engaged
in making a wig, a leg, an eye, an arm, or
some part of doll furniture, or at work In
the ovens and clay, or elsewhere. The
children work until they are sent to school,
under compulsion, where they remain to
the age of fourteen. Then the girls re-
turn to their work for life, and the boys go
to the army for period of years, after
which they return for life, unless called out
by war. These wretched people have been
trained to this drudgery so long that it has
become matter of instinct with them.
They are fitted for no other work, and if
they were, have no money by which to get
away. If they went away there are few
doll manufactures elsewhere. So it hap
pens that whole families, from grandsire to
grandchild, labor from generation to gene
ration, and from morning to night. Each
family has little patch of land where a
few potatoes are cultivated. If a mishap
befalls the potatoes, it brings more misery
and woe to them.
If these families have bacon and potatoes
once week during the year, they regard
it as a season of prosperity. Every day
people may be seen entering Sonneberg
with large baskets upon their heads, bear
ing the product of several days or perhaps
weeks industry. For this they receive
dollar or fifty cents more, which is greed
lily but scantily divided for absolute neces-
Sites
The manufacturers of Paris produce the
finest wax dolls. 1t requires almost con-
summate skill to make these toys. Each
workman has models at home and buys
material for manufacture. The skeleton is
constructed out of lime and plaster of
Paris, and the eyes, nose, mouth and ears
are cut with knife. The figure being
ready, is dipped in hot wax and dried. 1t
then goes to the painter for features, and
then to the hairdresser for wig, and
finally to the work-girls to be dressed. The
money value of the doll depends upon its
coating of wax; the thinly coated ones
usually crack in cold weather. The wax
was formerly produced through the agency
of the bee, but substitute is beginning to
be found in ozocerite, or wax made from
the residue of petroleum.
China dolls are more exclusively the pro-
duct of the factory After being modelled
by hand they are baked in great oven for
week. During this time the utmost care
and watchfulness is required. The tenders
are never permitted to sleep. A draught
of air will produce disastrous results. A
single oven contains 5000 dolls, and thirty
ovens are often full at once in one factory.
At the end of the week the dolls come out
in all conditions About one in five is per-
feet. After baking the dolls are painted
and glazed The imperfect ones are sepa-
rated by themselves and sold to ''fairs' and
"cheap- John" concerns, which dispose of
them to people who infest such places.
One German factory has been running
about one hundred and thirty years, and
has produced one billion dolls. Some of
the manufacturers are enormously rich
All attempts at manufacturing dolls in this
country have failed, owing to the cheap
labor abroad Congress, however, levies
thirty-fve per cent. duty on these toys
(Which make women of our girls, in ex-
pectation of future manufacture here.
The dolls form miniature world of in
animate women, since the young ladies who
play with dolls prefer young lady dolls. 1t
is difficult to comprehend that they require
every article in use by the human being
except food and drink The style of doll
outfits change with the fashions in dolls.
The ''chignon" and waterfall" the high
back hair and the Langtry bang, with others
of their kind, passed away successfully
within a few years. Their furniture,
dresses and other articles of wear and tear
are patterned after the fashions of the ami
mate world The dolls themselves have
undergone a marvellous evolution. They
can walk, kneel down, sit down, stand up,
or be placed in any attitude. Not satisfied
with this, the inventor has provided them
with interior apparatus to play musical
airs. They squat and laugh artificially,
They automatically say papa" and imam
ma In a word, the modern doll has been
favored by invention, as plants and animals
are by selection, and threatens to talk to us
automatically, and become human without
humanity, and living without life,
1t cannot be said that the modern pro-
gress of the doll toward artificial being has
an elevating tendency on the young. The
primeval object of the doll among the
Greeks and Romans-an object persistent
through all later history-was to impart to
the mind of the young girl the duties of