The Washington critic., 1886-03-22
ARTIFICIAL EYES.
Points of Interest Concerning Their
Manufacture.

Points OF Interest concerning Thetr
Manufacture.
among several thousand of these
artificial eyes there are hardly two
which are alike in size and color"
said prominent Chicago manufactures
to Neacs reporter. People speak of
glass eyes-they are made for animals
and birds, to be used by taxidermists-
but eyes for humans are made of
enamel, variously colored, excepting
the outer transparent part, or cornea,
which is made Of crystal.
I'm olden times golden plates were
used, and even now in some parts of
the old world silver plates are often
employed. You will observe that these
ewes are followed. This surprises
some people, who imagine they are
round and solid like marbles.
"When an eye is diseased its COM
panion is liable to suffer, through sym.
pathy, and the removal of the former
is imperative. 1t is probably reason
able estimate that one person out of
every 1000 has lost an eye. In about
half the cases the eye is entirely re.
moved, and in the remainder an opera
ton is performed, the conjunctivc be-
ing divided and the natural muscles
left to control the artificial eye, or, as
in accidents, the vitreous humor ex-
udes from the eye, leaving u stump
which receives the enamel. In these
latter cases the artificial eye will move
similarly to the good eye, and the
movements of the eyelids aid further in
making the appearance natural.
1.-The material is obtained direct
from Paris and the process of making
| is, of course, secret but the eyes can
not be nodded. They are usually
made to order, several being manufac-
| tured from which the one best suited to
| the customer is selected. The re-
| mainder are thrown into stock, which
| accounts for the fact that no two are
| alike. The eyes in stock are sold to
the general trade in collections of fifty,
one hundred, or more. Where parties
| out Of the city want eyes they are
usually sent case of fifty to select one
from, the rest being returned. This
house and one in New York city are
the only ones manufacturing artificial
eyes in this country, but there are sew
eral such concerns in Paris. We do q
business of probably $40, 600 annually,
the charges being $40 for an eye, or
$15 if made to order.
people can often be fitted from
stock, but they will come hundreds Of
miles to be fitted exactly with respect
to cavity, color, blood d-vessels, etc.
Sometimes customer will take an eye
of different color from the natural
one, and have seen-though the fact
is not recored in medical works-per-
sons who have one gray eye and q
blue one, or n brown and blue one.
There is one thing that cannot be imi-
tated-the contraction and dilation of
the pupil; therefore, the pupil Is made
of medium size. But there have been
fashionable women who have ordered
an eye for daytime and different one
for night-one with Il small and the
other II large pupil.
"Some people have queer notions
about artificial eyes and inquire in all
seriousness if they can see with them.
A notorious Chicago darky, who was
fitted with an eye, had his Imagination
so worked upon that he insisted he
could see with it, and another negro,
in New Orleans, said all his friends be-
| lleVcu nc saw Wlln MS oNuiilcl SNc'
countryman once came in to have his
eye changed for one with more cX.
pression-a manifest absurdity.
Il had customer who successfully
pursued the vocation of thief 10y
means of IN artificial eye. When he
stole he was one.eyed man, and i'm
mediately afterw0rd he appeared with
apparently two good eyes, He escaped
detection for a long time. And, speak
ing of theft. we had our entire stock OF
600 eyes stolen before the fire by Dlch
Lane the noted criminal, now serving
a term in the Michigan penitentiary fol
larceny, Eyes We're higher then and
the lot was worth at least $40 each
Lane went about the country as an oc'
culist and had sold all the eyes before
he was captured"