Los Angeles herald., 1891-12-20
THE SKELETON TRADE.

the middle of the ceiling with thongs of
tanned human hide.
TIE SKELETON TRADE.
De Rebaire himself is an odd looking
man, and the resemblance between him
and one of his own skeletons is decidedly
striking. He has gaunt, wolflike fea-
lures, his thin upper lip and bony chin
being adorned with an iron gray nous
tache and imperial.
For score of years he has been carry
ing on his business in the old place, hav-
ing emigrated from France in 1866,
coming direct to Philadelphia, where he
established himself in business. For a
time he had hard struggle to keep body
apd soul together, owing to the number
of competitors in the field, together with
the dullness of business. Itsoon became
necessary for Linn, in addition to his
other trade, to set himself up as O drug
gist, and he still runs his little shop,
though principally as decoys
Late in the sixties, when the knights
of Pythias were organized in this state,
the demand for skeletons increased, as
they were used to a great extent in the
lodgerooms. De Robaire prospered, as
consequence, since most of his compet-
itors had given up the business.
Off and on during the following twenty
years business was dull and brisk by
turns, but the old man had amassed a
small fortune, and there is no reason
why he should longer continue in the
business except that he has taken a lik-
ing to his work, such as every true artist
does. He is an artist in the full sense of
the word. There is undoubtedly no ono
who can articulate a skeleton as neatly
as he, and it is no idle boast on his part
when he claims that with eyes blind
folded he can take mass of bones repre-
senting the human frame and build up
the skeleton as it was originally, with
out one bone out of place.
WHAT THE DOCTOR" SAYS.
The doctor" while standing in his
workshop few days ago with his sleeves
rolled up over his skinny arms, thus held
forth on the subject nearest his heart:
''This skeleton you see me operating on
l have imported from France. You will
notice the high polish on the bones, due
to method of preparation practiced
only by the French. They clean the
bones by a process of maceration with
nuriatic acid, the whole operation re-
quiring two or three months time, while
in this country the bones are hastily and
carelessly boiled and come out rough
and dirty. In all my twenty years serv-
ice have never come across a Chinese
skeleton. This is due to the fact that a
Chinaman believes he will not reach
heaven unless his bones rest in the Flow
cry Kingdom.
1.-THE different prices of skeletons are
based upon their degrees of hardness
and whiteness, upon the development OF
the bones and the amount of absence OF
fat in their extremities. For this reason
the French article is decidedly of more
value than the American or German.
Up to this year over 1900 skeletons have
been imported into this country, but
they have become scarce of late fol
some reason, and to supply the demand
/ find it necessary to manufacture them
of paper.
''Of course I have stock of them in
| my bedroom, Dut would not parU Will
any of these. Mon Dieu! have come tc
look upon them as dear friends and com
panions. Here you see my artificial skel
etons, made of papier mache, with arti
| fetal teeth, and the whole covered with
white polish which gives the appear
ance of the genuine article. can make
three of these each week, and they bring
from ten to fifteen dollars, while the i'm
ported genuine article costs from thirty
to thirty-five dollars and the domestic
twenty dollars. But then the limitations
are bought only by secret societies.
Eyes, I have grown old in the busi
ness and love it. have articulated ant
handled over5 &, 900 skeletons in my time.
-Philadelphia Record.