The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-09-15
HOW MASKS ARE MADE.
A Visit to . shop Whore One May See
Nasks of All Natforalitfea

Masks OF AL Natfonalttfee.
A comic mask feet high hangs on tho
wall OF down town costumer's shop. II 10
q gigantic face Of funny looking man,
with great warts on his nose. and hte mouth
and eye on one side screwed up absrrily.
His agonized expression Is accounted for
by mosquito l2 inches long, which 10
fastened upon his cheek. The insect-4t
must represent one of those famous jersey
gallinippers which carry bricks under their
wings TO sharpen their beaks with--hss q
wooden body, wings Of wire gauze and legs
Of iron wire.
Such masks rs that are for ballroom
decorations, said the costumer. Unison
was made IN New York. tits Off paper. TO
make it is very simple. To begin with the
face is modelled in clay. Then an ordinary
plaster mold Is taken from Il, With the
mold you can produce as many masks just
like the original model as you choose
First you take a sheet OF paper, wet IL and
lay it over the inside OF the mold. pressing
IL with the fingers into every part. Next
you put coat OF mucilage all over the pa
per. Having done so, you take another
sheet of paper and perform the same opera
ton with II. When you have done this
with dozen sheets Of paper and coats Of
mucilage, you let them dry. Finally you
separate the paper from the mold, and you
have the mask. All that it requires is To
be painted.
"All OF the ordinary pasteboard masks
are made In precisely the same way But
they are manufactured in Germany and
imported into this country. After they are
painted a gloss Is put on them by varnish
usually, but the best ones receive wax
finish. Tho curtain masks, such as are used
at fancy balls. are turned out in New York,
| Philadelphia and elsewhere in the United
States.
Most of them are OF cotton, but tho
more costly ones are Of silk and satin.
! Pasteboard noses, with or without spects-
Giles and mustaohss attached, come from
| abroad Ordinarily the hair Is simply
painted on the masks Of pasteboard though
sometimes wool of different oolors is fixed
upon them with muclage. Here, you see,
Is such mask. with bright green hair. IL
il not expected that masks shall be very
true 10 nature.
"By looking over my collection You will
observe that the German masks represent
all the races of mankind Here are the no
gro, tho Indian and the Chinese. This
face with the long whiskers Is palpably an
English lord, and you will notice that the
typical Yankee is not left out. Besides
there are animal masks, representing all
sorts of beasts and birds-the pig, the fox,
the jackass, the elephant, the monkey, tho
frog, the eagle, the goose, and so forth.
Here il the devil himself. He In very popu'
lar. SO is the human skull, which Is quite
realistic.
IL have quite a stock of counterfeit hui
man skulls for the use of secret societies in
| their initiation ceremonies. The jaws are
made TO snap by means OF rubber bands.
Here are imitation mustaches by the gross
and boards also They are all made of hu-
man hair Yet the mustaches cost only q
cent apiece. OF course the poorest grade Of
human hair is used for such purposes. II
Is this waste that Is good for nothing eles
and 1t sells for 10 cents pound. A better
grade Is required for boards At the same
time mustache of the finest quality costs
g.. Children buy great many mustaches
at penny apiece.
Here is japanese mask made out OF
wood. You will notice that there Is a hol-
low Denlnu LOT tnc hose Oh lho Weafer 10 ut
into The latter holds the mask on by
biting into a wooden plug which ia left pro
| jecting for that purpose Over at the Ma
tional museum you can see great many
Eskimo masks made Of pieces OF drift
wood. Some Of them are worn ct the GER
emonies Of those people, while others arc
put over the faces Of the dead when the.
are buried. Washington Star