The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-09-10
DEAD-WALL ART WORK.
METHODS BY WHICH ARTISTIC The
ATER PICTURES ARE MADE

Amount Of Paper Required by u First
Glass Company-Drawing on the Blocks
and Cutting Out the DesiGns-Litho-
graph department
The average theater man growls at the
show printing charges and swears at it, but
he cannot help himself. The printing for a
show ON the road costs SO much. No respect
able company, or pretentious outfit, ap-
proach IA theatrical show printing place for
less than from $500 to 5000 down. That
money must be put up. That covers the
blocks alone and the artists services The
blocks for big forty sheet poster cost not
less than 500. There are forty pine blocks;
if they are all in one color 1t is not much
trouble, but il there are four colors, as there
often are on big show stand, it means 100
blocks, each cut with mathematical nicety
and each to be put away on the printers
standing galley" and kept The printer
tries to get his money in advance for the
making of these blocks. They are of no use
to him after the original party has them.
Therefore he figures to get the first cost of
blocks, engraving and storage down, and he
Is then ready to treat for time on the balance
that is, paper, press work and profit.
A firSt-class theatrical company starting
on the road takes from 81 600 to &, 900 worth
of paper" These inside figures, far
as local figures go. Great combinations from
New York often bring a great deal more
than that but within the year have seen
very poor New York attractions fairly
scattering their paper between New York
and Chicago, at n cost of not less than 80, 900
for the engagement 1t is n dreaful waste of
money, for it doc, no good. Tho show print
ing of the country has had its greatest i'm
petus from Barnum and the rest of the circus
men. One thing mu 1 bc said of Barnum, ne
believes always in printers ink. He believes
in it SO Iniich that he buys his own presses
and his own ink for ordinary work because
he wants much of it. For the great en-
cravings hc, of cour~r, employs proper talent.
There is artist in his employ who
can cut three sheet poster in two colors in
one hour. II will not he "A Raphael or a
Corrcggio, but it viii look like something
when lac has finished il.
DRAWING AND DESIGNING.
Wooden blocks fot theatrical printing are
first drawn the wood and then "cut
around" The blocks soft pine, perfectly
dry, and are held like wise when the man
and his graver are digging out the picture.
1t requires not 50 much art to cut pine as
it does to design The competent to
take II scene plot Of play and fix up dead
wall matter can il. any fnst-class printing es-
tablishment command $50 week. His chief
skill comes in tn ,rawing and designing Of
blocks, that att. i he has a dozen more
made they shall ~ ult III "a striking picture.
His assistants re-. i've from $50 to So IA week
They arc the lard cutters" they are
called
The first blo-'; holds the drawing and
makes the picturc. The other blocks simply
fill in the coloring. Thus IA block com
bination of blocks when made will print a
complete picture, but l.. will all be in black
The colorinc-rcd, blue yellow, green, etc
is done by another series of blocks. Most of
theatrical fancy printing is in four colors
combinations of colors. The first, or "key
block" ~ it is called, costs Sl.35 for the
board, - for the designing or drawing the
picture or part of n picture, and - 60 for
engraving. These blocks, therefore, cost
about Sll each before the ink roller goes on
them. Most of the big stand work" as it is
called, comprises from twelve to fifty-fo
sheets, the general size for large picture work
being forty sheets. At Sl1 each for the blocks
it will lie seen, therefore, that u forty sheet
engraving ON IA dead wall representing two
fighting lfinoceroses, or herd of leoparls,
or MyleSna- -Coppaleen jumping off the rocks,
or q procession of elephants, means the ex-
pcn,liturc of about $50 before n single sheet
Is run through the press
But it is in the lithographing department
of a big show printing house that the money
is made, and wherein artists earn their fame
The best show work is now all done on stone
The first stone, like the key block, is the
pensve one The stone costs according To
the time it is required to hold one picture
The designing and engraving little
more expensive, but the printing, on the other
hand, Is a triiie cheaper As n rule the dead
wall Autographs are not so large as the wood
cuts, still they often run as large rs thirty
,siy, pf he
now visible on the fences will run to that size
They cost about eight cents "A sheet. The cost
of n thirty two sheet picture, aside from the
cost of express charges posting, etc, is about
SIS
THE NEEDS OF A SEASON.
A first-class attraction other than circus
which of course uses much more paper, will
consume in season about 500 thirty two
sheet s0o eighteen sheet and 500 twelve-sheet
pictures. These they divide up and often
make smaller stands, but that is about the
quantity Of lithograph paper they will use
OF wood cngravinss they run from 900 to
5000 sheets, and in ordinary letter printing
they run about the same. A recognized at
traction that employs that style of advertis-
ing will not expect to go on the road and
finish the season without supplying the goats
and the town scavenger with about $4,000
worth of paste and paper.
very ihihS VI INC siio" piNtuicS Va 'hc w
ter class the work of excellent artists
The smaller autographs, especially. are often
meritorious and worthy of better place in
art than the biii posters cart. There was one
put out some time ago of Kate Castleton,
the littlc ouakcre~s who used to sing For
Goodn,~Ss S..kc Don't Say Told You" 1t
was n full ii.surc cut, with the daintiest foot
and anLl,,, AMI the whole was surrounded by
a ltosT-.l.he,i frame representing pink plush
and hart wool That picture Is now on more
private wall. than it is on dead walls and
the iV..s5au J. that the picture was tasty,
mol, 1 ;....t AZ. IL. Barnum has some single
shcct E,i,.t .rs.:.:ls which illustrate the key
biloxi i.i.. i'i,ctr are variety of single
sheSt', i,.t - I.-.s, ihc venerable showman's
pictug -, q. T., block Sometimes they
nut IN !, H.. tralsZe with N woman III