The record-union., 1893-02-25
TIE FORM DIVINE.
A Beauty Contest That Is Interest
ing Our Girls.
Who Shall Be the California Venus at
the Worlds Fair9-A Boom In
Tape Lines.

Mrs. Frona Eunice Wait of San Fran
CISCO, the lady who is to have charge of
the California room in the Woman's s
building at the Worlds Fair, is in the
city. Mrs. Wait is taking a deep interest
IN the matter of the proposed statue of
the California Venus to be exhibited
there. She is determined that native
daughter of the Golden State shall fur
nlsh model to represent the true type
OF California beauty where visitors from
. all the world may see and admire it.
The contest for the honor of posing for
the model of the proposed California Ve-
nus is now on, aspirants therefore being
reqU ID to submit their photographs to
Mrs. ', ait at 30l Jones street, San Fran
cisco. In an interview on the subject
Mrs. Wait said:
What we want to do is TO exhibit at
our California room statue that will
honestly represent California beauty, and
the best way to accomplish that is to have
woman of this State for the actual
model. OF course it will be a statue OF
the ordinary Venus pattern, with very
little drapery or none at all, but the exact
design cannot be chosen until after the
contest.
''Our standard of beauty is the Venus
of Milo, and the successful candidate in
the contest will be the woman coming
nearest to that statue in form and meas
urements. All candidates must be at
least feet . inches in hight, but the only
other requirements are that they be ma
uves of California and residents at che
present time.
The contest, which begins imme-
diately and will continue long enough to
give all the State a fair chance in getting
ready for the competition, is by means OF
photographs. There is no charge for en-
tering the contest, and all that any woman
has TO do is to get two suitable photo
graphs of herself and send them to me.
Accompanying the photographs must
he the name and address of the candidate
and the place and date of birth, but these
tacts will be for my knowledge only.
And beside tor the use of the judges and
public) the complete physical measure
ments and weight must be given.
POINTS FOR VENUsEs.
"Of course, The photographs need not
be entirely from the nude. The candi-
date, when posing for photographs, may
wear drapery OF cheese-cloth or crepe,
which will conceal while yet revealing.
The figure must be shown We want
the drapery to be classic, though not
necessarily conventional. Anything new
and artistic is admissible. The pho
togra phs must be in the Paris panel form,
one full-faced view and the other pro-
file.
Now, as 1 receive the photographs I
shall enter them in book which l will
keep strictly to myself Nobody else
shall see it, not even the judges or the
sculptor. | shall number each photo
graph to correspond with the entry num-
Der in my book, and there will be no
means by which the public can identity
the candidates except by recognition OF
the pictures.
THE CHOOSING OF THE MODEL.
"When the time for selection arrives we
shall appoint committee of three lead
ing artists to pass on the photographs.
These judges, having no information
about the originals, viii select the three
that are the best-modeled, making use of
The measurements together with the pho
tographs.
After that shall give public ex-
hlbItlon OF all the photographs Submitte d
to me, each one to have with it the name
OF the locality in which the original re-
sides and the statistics presented to the
judges. The three chosen by the artists
Will be exhibited in position separate
from the others, and ii is on the compara-
tive merits of the latter three that the
public Will be asked to vote. There will
probably be charge for admission to aid
in the more complete furnishing of the
California room. However that may be,
Tor it is not finally decided, each visitor
TO the exhibition will be given ballot
with the request to vote for whatever of
the three leading candidates Mmay re-
gard as the nearest approach to the ideal
Venus.
THE MODEL MUST POSE.
'The woman who is chosen will then
be asked to pose for the sculptor. Rupert
Schmid has promised his services and he
viii do his best work in making life
size statue of our California beauty. An
exact likeness OF the face will be made,
and the form will be in the exact proper
tions. How much the sculptor will have
10 work from measurements in designing
the figure is a matter which, of course
must be arranged by Mr.. Schmid and his
model. The name of the model may be
forever withheld if SO required.
when the statue is finished it will be
taken TO Chicago and placed on a marble
pedestal in the center OF. the California
room in the Woman's Building, and it
viii be entitled A California Venus
THE photographs of all the candidates,
as to be shown in our public exhibition
here, will be found in an album and also
exhibited in our room at Chicago. Still,
and at all times, no names will be re-
vealed without permission. 1t ought to
be the grandest exhibition of beauty
ever made by any State, and we think it
is the duty OF every beautiful woman in
California to assist in the work Only
one woman can win, but the loveliest
may be among the unsuccessful because
they chance to be more like some other
Venus than like the Milo statue, which is
our standard.
"At the close of the fair the model may
buy her statue of she chooses, and if she
does not want to do so it will go to the
San Francisco gallery in the Hopkins
mansion"
BOOM IN TAPE-LINES
Mr.. Schmid, the sculptor, says the sub
iect that he wants for the statue is the
iypical California beauty. 1.-The matter
of measurements" he says, 'is a yerv
important one in the contest and it will
undoubtedly be a difficult one. Any
woman can put on gauze costume of
taken. but to measure her own proper
tions is not so easy. In fact, woman
should not attempt TO do the work her.
self. but should stand erect. like a soldier.
while some competent assistant takes the
measurements. That is the only way of
being accurate, and any slight variation
from the real proportions would be detri-
mental in the contest.
HOW TO MEASURE.
"All measurements should be from one
we'll defined bone point to another. This
il the process that would recommend:
.sGet the entire hight. From the CEN
tral no1nt of the collar-bone, right where
fbe front Of the neck begins, measure the
iangth of the trunk of the body and then
,nessure the remainder of the distance to
tbe ankle. Measure the waist. Get the
LARGEST measurement about the hips.
Measure the circumference of the chest
md also of the Eody just above the waist.
.sNIeasure the face from the lower point
of the chin to the edge OF the hair GU the