St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1893-02-04
MAKING FIGURES OF WAX.
THE SLOW CREATION OF HAIR.
EYES, WRINKLES, AND PORES.
Coloring, Posing, and Providing the
Figures With Clothes-What Be-
comes of Them Finally.

6 Eden Musee, in New York, {
at Nine. Tussand's, in London, or tt
Musee Grevin, in Paris. Yet to ho
many, asks the New York Sun, has
occurred that the making of these figure
requires very large amount of time
labor and artistic skil!a The process
of making wax figures is much NOR
complicated that one would at first sigh
imagine. Take, for instance, the grou
of Lincoln liberating the negroes. Sup
pose such group has been decided up
on and the general arrangement elabora
ted, perhaps with the aid of some pencil
sketches. Then the first step is t.
model the figures in clay, which is very
necessary in order that the presence O
the body may be felt under the clothes
which otherwise-as In poor wax works
wrinkle and flap around the body in
most unnatural way. The first class
museum keeps regular sculptor, usual
| ly very clever artist, who works on 9
salary and IS kept busy enough in q
large and well-appointed studio. When
he has finished his fgure-Abraham
Lincoln in this case-in clay, a plaster
mould is made. Then it is ready to be
reproduced in wax, that is, the head and
hands but no. he body.
Right here we learn a curious faca:
Very little Of the "wax figure is really
made of wax. The exposed portions of
the body, head and hands are, but those
covered by clothes are not. The latter
are made of carton pierre, which con-
sists of strips Of paper and linen pressed
alternately into the plaster mold, the
inner side of the latter being lined in
this manner to thickness of about a
quarter of an inch. This layer is then
pressed down by thin coating of
plaster, and when the carton thus formed
is dry and ready to be taken aat, it is as
hard as stone. If Indians, Africans, or
other savages are to appear in a group,
their lightly clad bodies are cast in
plaster, painted over with the color Of
their dusky skins.
But to return to wax work proper.
President Lincoln's body, we see, is
being reproduced in carton as rapidly as
tae lively, plump French woman to
whom the work is entrusted can get the
paper and linen into the mold. Tne
mold of the head, meanwhile, goes to
the room of the wax worker, or cirier,
as he is called, for the French produce
the cleverest work in this line. Here it
is filled with hot wax, and when the wax
nearest the outside has cooled and hard
ened, c,inging to the inner side of tbs
mould, the rest, still warm, is poured off,
SO that the wax head is hollow when it
Is taken out Of the mould. It would be
diff cult at this stage to discover much
resemblance to President Lincoln, for the
head-hairless, eyeless, aud colorless-
looks exceedingly ghastly. It is now
that the cirer must show his skill, and
put the appearance of life into this
corpse-like face. His tools are of the
spatula and some blunted
needles set i'll small pieces of wood or
with these he works Won
ders. Hair and beard, eyelashes and
eyebrow are first put on, most labor
Gus task, for in a carefully md we'll !
made head each individual hair is pushed
into the wax with the needle. After
this hole is punched through each eye,
and bail, set on the end of a curved
rod so that it will pass into tae head
from below, is heated and pressed against
'he eye from the inside. This produces
hollow into which glass eyes are set.
Finally the heated spatula is used to
race wrinkles and crows feet, produce
oimples, and the cracks in the lips, and
% folm teeth and tongue if the mouth
appears half open. The pores in the
kin are produced by drawing lines on
he face across each other, by means of
/ number of blunt needles set in
wooden handle. The shaven portions
# the face are we'll indicated by dots of
:olor pushed in with the needle, while
or a bristly beard of recent growth,
hort hairs are used, lastly, the lips are
overed with colored wax-teeth, tongue,
nd finger nails being indicated in the
anne way.
So we see that there is work enough in
he mere making of wax figure, and
hat the work increases in proportion as
aore care and artistic skill is employed.
furthermore, when large group is to
'e made like that of Columbus before
ferdinand and Isabella at the Eden
1usee-the composition Chat is the
elative position of the various fgures)
as to be carefully considered. For this
purpose pencil sketches are first made,
nd these are usually repeated in clay
1etch, that is, small has relief in clay.
his, though rough in execution,
blocked out" as the sculptor says,
evertheless gives the artist good idea
f the arrangement and general effect of
be group. Only then, after careful
is the modelling of the
cures begun.
When the figures are finished there is
till enough to be done. The figures
lust be dressed, furniture and other &C.
essories must be selected and placed 1
18th care, the background prepared, the I
natter of effective lighting carefully con-
dered, and with all this, the arrange
lent and color effect of the whole must
g always kept H. view.
The matter of clothes presents not
Nv difficulties, even in figures of mod
m people. Fashions change rapidly,
nd to be correct Lincoln must be dressed
, the particular style of loose coat and
aggy trousers which was worn while he
AS President, nor would it do to put
ne Virginia mllitiamen who are guard :
lg John Brown on his way to execution
ito the uniform of United States regu-
lr of to-day. But such costumes are