Evening journal., 1888-12-05
MAKING WAX FIGURES.
Through the Boiling rot. tho Mold and
tile Eye and Hair Artists,


Through tho Boiling Pot. taa afold ane
tile Eye and Hair Artists.
smiling young lady seated at a piano in
large show window on State street at.
tracted crowds last week. She was pretty
enough to catch the masculine eye and sufi-
GENTLY well dressed to hold the feminine
critics. But, despite tho constant scrutiny
Of The ever changing crowd, the young lady
never changed her position. The smile that
parted her lips did not change; her fingers,
raised an inch above the piano. never struck
them once-all for the best of reasons. She
wasn't real young lady-though she looked
it, especially in the gaslight-but only a wax
one. A young man curious to know some
thing Of the method Of her construction
climbed up to the top story OF the Eden Musee
in company with the superintendent, emerg-
ing into a small room in the rear Of tile
| building Two or three men were at work,
one stirring steamfng mixture in an iron
pot over an oil stove. another daubing plaster
over q mold Headless corpses were every
whore They stood on platforms, under
meath tables and in corners. In a small ante
room whole collection was piled up The
limbs Of some We're contorted and bent as
though In awful agony. The active young
superintendent opened boxes and cupboards
aud drew ont heads Of men and women, old
and young, beautiful and ugly, some without
eyes or hair, others looking startlinglv real
troin another set Of drawers he pulled dozens
Of hands and laid them beside the heads.
There, said he, "are all the parts Of an
image which are made out Of wax There is
no such thing as a wax figure. The figures
the tolsos.-are made ont Of papier mache
a wax torso, even when it is lined with an
iron framework, does not give satisfactory
effect. The process Of making the papier
mache bodies IS precisely that Of the heads
and hands"
"And what is that9p
"a work that requires seven persons to
complete. The first stem is to make a minia-
ture model in clay Of the figure or group that
is 70 be represented From it we get some
iden Of the effect. When all details are de-
cided upon the sculptor models the figure
life size in clay the same as would be done
u it were e. be ehiseled in marble or cast in
bronze. The hands arc omitted They are
modelled from life always. Next the molder
prepares plaster paris cast in sections from
the model, and into this the wax is poured by
the waxworker If the result does not sat
isfy the sculptor the head is remelted. No
attempt is ever made to change a head The
mold is simply broken up and new model
made The head goes next to a woman, who
Inserts the hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, and
beard. A little instrument with two or three
sharp needle points is used for this. She
works rapidly, more so than any of the 9TH
ers The sculptor after the glass eyes are
put into the socket, then takes the head and
finishes it, Its color is pale pink, and he
gives It the hue of the human face, and by
~afssas
skin Meanwhile the costumer has been at
work dressing the torso and the carpenter
fixing it upon a pedestal The head and
hands are joined to it and it is ready for ex-
hibitionp
"IIow long does all this take9s
ut depends upon the sculptor entirely.
Figures nowadays are mostly portraits. and
in modelling one, especially Of a contemporary
individual, the sculptor is likely TO make half
dozen models before the correct one is hit
The figure Of Thurman, for instance, re-
quired great deal of preliminary study.
The sculptor had to see him several times. to
observe most closely various details, such as
tue expression Of his face 10 varying moods.
the size Of his head, color Of his eyes-can any
man tell the color of his nearest friends eves7
the way his hair was arranged, his weight.
carriage, etc. Little details, such as the ear,
occupy the artist day sometimes He can
not be hurried. Sometimes two weeks is re-
quired 70 model a single figure No, sculp-
tors rarely model direct from life, except in
the case Of the hands, although instances are
known Of their having done so. They prefer
photograph and rely upon their memories
for details in making head. But they al
ways mold hands from life. No artist in the
world can exactly represent that wonderful
human member, with all its thousand lines.
creases and its expreSsions-for the hands
have expressions. Figures cost as high as
$500. The hair on the head Of the figure of
Mrs Langtry cost SIS. Hair is always an
important and expensive item. So is the
costume. Chicago Tribune.