Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1886-08-20
IN THE DOLL FACTORY.
Curiosities of a Business which Seeks 60
Please Babies

Please Babies.
There is much that may he seen by .
visit to doll factory, that would have
for many people all the force of a rev.
citation. Few probably realize what a
number of processes are necessary be-
fore even the tiniest of dolls is ready for
the nursery. There is certainly howil-
dering number of suitable substances.
Beside the various kinds of wax. from
the best English to the commoner for
eign sorts. there are spermaCeu and va
rious kinds of compositions India rubber,
gutta percha, wood and rags, not to
mention various iudicious combinations
of these and other materials. But the
best dolls are made only of the best Eng
lish wax. Then come the composition
dolls, which are much more durable
and some of which have their faces pro-
tected by thin piece of muslin, and so
on through the whole list. 1t is, how
ever, the waxen dolls that appeal
most powerfully to the affections and
the admiration of the girls of England.
The construction of the molds in
which these are made involves some
knowledge of modelling. The molds are
made Of plaster of Paris, the various sec
tions being deftly joined together with
such nicely as to leave but few marks of
the joints. Into this the melted wax is
poured while still very hot, and thin
film Immediately adheres to the sides of
the mold, which is quickly inverted in
order that the molten wax in the center
may flow out. But although this
rough mask is fairly complete
in point of outline, much re
mains to be done before it can be re-
garded as possessing those charms which
are commonly believed to be dolls
rightful inheritance The roughnesses
have to be smoothed down. distinctive
character has to be given to the mouth
and nose, the eyebrows have to be deli
cately penciled in; and we may well
cease TO wonder that Shakspeares lover
should have written an ode "to MS mis-
tress' eyebrows" when we see the Won
derful effect produced on a dolls face by
various arrangements of brow and lash
Then the eyes, which are like beauti-
full shells, although they can be bought
by the gross, of any color and size, have
to be fixed in, which is done by plastering
them at the back with little soft wax.
The method of fastening the hair SO as
to give it a natural appearance, is one of
the best tests of the care with which
doll has been made. In the best dolls
almost every strand is attached separ>
ately to the wax itself, while in the
cheaper kinds wig is roughly stuck on
the dolls head. This is very important
point, which doll worshippers will prop
erly appreciate, for is not the most de-
lightful part of dolls daily toilet the
brushing and combing of her hair: Then
there are many qualities of hair, from
the best mOhair to common flax.
We have said little about the tinting
of lips and cheeks, processes which in
volve nice appreciation of effect. So
far doll fanciers seem to be believers in
the ruddy hue of health. for we have
never yet seen an Interesting" doll
with cheeks of the color of underdone
pastry. But it would be rash to specu-
late upon the future. for the new science
of taste may yet influence even the nur-
sery and the doll trade. Fam
lily Magazine.