Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-01-04
MAKING WAX FIGURES.
Through the Boiling Pot, the Mold and
tho Eye and Hair Artists.

Through the Boiling Pot, the Mold and
the Eye and Hair Artists.
smiling young lady seated at a piano in
a large show window on State street at
tracted crowds last week. She was pretty
enough to catch the masculine eye and sutfi-
GENTLY well dressed to hold the feminine
critics But, despite the 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-shough she looked
it, especially in the gaslight-but only 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, emery
ing into q small room in the rear Of the
building Two or three men were at work,
one stirring a steaming mixture in an iron
pot over an oil stove, another daubing plaster
over a mold Headless corpses were every
where. They stood on platforms, under
meath tables and in corners. In a small ante
room whole collection was piled up. The
limbs of some were contorted and bent as
though in awful agony. The active young
superintendent opened boxes and cupboards
and drew out heads of men and women, old
and young, beautiful and ugly, some without
ewes or hair, others looking startlingly real.
From 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
tho torsos-ars made out of papier mache.
A ,yx-ba lined with ON
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 that!'
ga work that requires seven persons to
complete. The first step is to make NINA
ture model in clay of the figure or group that
is to be represented From it we get some
idea 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
if it were to be chiseled in marble or cast in
bronze. The hands are omitted. They are
modelled from life always. Next the rlo]der
prepares plaster paris cast in sections from
the model, and into this the wax is poured by
the wa1worker. If the result does not sat
isfy the sculptor the head is remelted No
attempt is ever made to change head The
mold is simply broken up and new model
made The heed goes next to a woman, who
inserts the hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, and
beard. 4 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
various means makes its surface look like
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 il is ready for ex-
hibition.n
"How long does all this takef'
SIT depends upon the sculptor entirely.
Figures nowadays are mostly portraits, and
in modelling one, especially of q contemporary
individual, the SCULPTOR is likely to make half
dozen models before the correct one is hit
The figure OF Thurman, for instance, re-
auired a great deal of preliminary study.
The sculptor had to see him several times, TO
observe most closely various details, such as
the expression of his face In varying moods,
the size OF his head, color Of his eyes-can any
man tell the color Of his nearest friends eyesi
the way his hair was arranged, his weight,
carriage, etc Little details, such as the ear.
occupy the artist day sornetimez He can
not be hurried Sometimes two weeks is re-
ouired to model single figure. No, sculp-
tors rarely model direct from life, except II
the case Of the banda, although instances are
known Of their having done 50. They prefer
| q photograph and rely upon their memories
! for details in making head But they al
ways mold hands fran life. No arts; in the
world can exactly represent that wonderful
human member, with ali it, thousand lines,
creases and its expressions-for the hands
have expressions. Figures cost al high q
$500. The hair on the head of the figure Of
Mrs Langtry cost SIS. Hair is always an
important and expensive item 50 is the
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