Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1891-02-11
CHEAP FOR CASH.
They Are Bought and Sold Like Merchant
disc in the City.


disc in the City.
SIS it really true" | asked an up
town dealer in surgical goods, ''that
human skeletons are bought and sold
extensively III the city?"
The man hesitated a moment and
then replied: II don't know that there
is any secret about the trade. 1t does
amount to quite an industry, but we
I look upon the purchase or sale Of a
skeleton in the self-same light that we
regard any other transaction of bust
ness nature.
'sSkeletons are procured in per-
fectly legitimate manner" he con-
tinued, land are carefully prepared for
market. The source of supply is, of
course, from various hospitals and
morgues throughout the country. The
bones are prepared for us by long
and labo1'ious process and the work of
articulating the various parts is con-
Quoted by an experienced anatomist
cit is not simple matter to make up
a skeleton from heap of dismembered
parts, except a man thoroughly under
stands the human frame and can fit the
various bones to nicely.
''When prepared for sale the skele-
tons are bought by academies and
schools, museums of natural history
and of the dime variety, physicians and
surgeons, and by others who have use
for the article, either for the purposes
of study or to utilize them as attrac-
tions for a chow.
''The strangest thing of all about the
| 7 - a. ~
in the skeleton trade, as in every other,
there is a variety of qualities Of the art
/ icle and even base adulteration-for
| what else can a spurious skeleton be
| termed?
can A No. 1 skeleton is a valuable
addition to any surgeons cabinet" con-
tinued my informant. GAS such it COM
mands good figure in the market
$500 is the price demanded for first
class case of bones
'There is another quality of a hetero-
/ genous makeup, formed from the skull
of Tom, the ribs of Dick, the right leg
and arm of some other unfortunate,
and the whole completed by odd bones
! furnished by any number of individuals.
"The various mbers thus arranged
cellent skeleton for theatrical display
or a cham Der of horrors. They are of
course of but little use for purposes Of
study, except as a curiosity illustrating
what man can do with job lot of
material. The meHbers thus patched
together are derived from innumerable
sources, dissecting tables and places of
that kind.
! ''Of course the composite skeletons
thus formed do not command as high d
price as the Simon Pure article, but if
they are capped with a genuine skull
! they are much more valuable than the
imitation variety and will bring at least
| $3.50"
| ''How about the imitation" / asked.
| "The spurious article in the skeleton
/ industry" the dealer said, ''is made
from compressed paper pulp and other
materials which form compound not
unlike papier mache.
''These interesting specimens are in
exact imitation of the real articles.
''They are used chiefly in the ritual
| of one of the secret fraternal orders and
are scarifying enough to terrorize any
neophyte into keeping the dreadful Sc
crets of the order.
''Being entirely product of manu-
facture they can be made in assorted
sizes. They range in price accordingly
"a child's size is sold for R75, an adult
for 500, and heroic size for $3.50. The
range of price is entirely arbitrary with
! the dealer, for the skeletons are really
not worth S. a piece.
Packed in a caSket, however, and
suspended by a silver hook from the
skull they serve every purpose for the
ritual as well as the genuine article.
Gone of these limitations was recently
shipped by a Fourth avenue dealer in
Masonic goods to a lodge in Lowell,
Mass. The box containing it broke
| open while in transit and the delightful
contents were spilled on the floor of an
| express office. To the uneducated ex-
pressmen the article was a real sl1ele-
ton, and the story that crime had
been committed was immediately re-
ported to the police and the news was
| telegraphed over the country.
'"The facts relative to the manufact-
ure of skeletons came to light during
the investigation which followed the
discovery of the contents of the box in
the New England express Office"
care there any other varieties of
skeletons?" | ventured to inquire.
sob, yes, was the reply, "but they
rarely ever find their way into COM
merce. The doctors watch them too
carefully during life, and the variety is
only to be met with in some hospital
cabinet.
''They are the franeworlzs of people
who have in life been sufferers from
some peculiar bone disease.
ga woman now suffering from a curl
Gus complaint known as electromagnetic is
now in one of the city institutions. The
| disease is one in which the bones of the
entire body continue to grow, skull and
all. Such skeleton would be invalu-
able to dealer, but we never meet
with such a rare variety"
Surely commerce, | thought, as left
the dealer in surgical implements and
skeletons, finds curious channels.-N.
Y. Herald.