The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-04-21
THE TYPICAL AMERICAN.
sculptors' Models of the Two Sexes Pre-
pairing for the Worlds Fair.
New York Sun. j

New York Sum-
Sculptors Harry Kitson and Miss Theo
Ruggles are modelling two figures in clay
in Boylston street studio, of the typical
American male and female forms of the
present day. This is the result of the
long labor of DIR. D. A. Sargent of Har-
ward, director of the Heminway gymna-
SUM, to secure model of the most per-
feet forms ideally of modern life The
figures are the result of measurements
carefully taken by the most approved
anthropological methods, of no less than
10000 persons, nearly all of them be-
tween Is and rs years of age. and the
majority OF them college students Five
thousand Harvard undergraduates were
measured for the male statue. Several
measurements of students of other col
leges and few of professional athletes
have been used. There are little less
than 5000 measurements of females. most
Of them from Harvard Annex, Smith.
Vassar, Wellesley and other institutions
OF learning for women. Ever since 1880
these measurements of Harvard men
have been piling up in the archives of the
gymnasium. Sixty-five different meas
urements had to be taken of every indi-
vidual. The measurements include the
girth of the head, neck, trunk, arms and
legs, each IN various places. 1t is posi-
Die from the measurements thus taken
to form an exactly accurate statue of the
person measured, perfect in every detail
or muscle and configuration, except, of
course, the features and expression. The
% measurements of the 10000 people are
classified and the mean obtained.
The mean, instead of being the aver
age, is the instance that is found most
frequently. For instance, if most of the
5000 men are just IS inches tall. IS inches
is the mean. By this method of calcula-
ton the extremes do not count. An odd
feature has been that scarcely an indi-
vidual filled the measurements of the
type in more than one or two particulars
and a great multitude, of course. have
not single one of the measurements of
the typical figure.
One difficulty that has greatly bothered
the artist has been the impossibility of
finding model who could come any
where near the proportions of the figure
ordered. One man would be possessed
SeeSoiJ WV VI LllG lyD0. anu
therefore would be the characteristic
Amei lean man in that particular. An
other might have the collar bone of the
typical American and be violent de-
parture from the type in all other re-
spects.
AS matter of curiosity, Prof. Sargent
may some time go over the measurement
and pick out the individual who comes
the nearest to the type, but this would
be a big task, and is not likely to be done
right away. The faces of the figures are
taken from composite photographs.
Some 300 faces of young men will be
represented in the face of the male figure
and about as many in that of the female.
The female face is that of co-composite.
representing number of separate com
posites from the different female col
leges already enumerated. The face of
the male figure, which is beardless, is
composite of Harvard men, reinforced
by composites from Amherst, Bowdoin.
and other colleges. The figures are for
the worlds fair They will be complet
ed early next month. Replicas in vari-
GUS materials will be furnished all muse
ums and other institutions that may wish
to possess them.