The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-12-23

$500 ~ = L. l0uEE. the artist Mr.
hutton says in the death mask. 1t shows
the subject often. as he permitted no one
out himself to see himself. He does not
pose ne does not try to look pleasant. In
ms mask he is seen, as il were, with his
mask ON Life masks also are often
taken, but death masks are much more
common than life masks. for the reason
mat taxing the mold of the living face is
very unpleasant to the subject. In order
70 prevent the adhesion of the plaster.
strong lather of soap and water. or more
frequently, small quantity of oil, is APP
piled TO the hair and to the beard In
some instances a napkin is placed over
Ihe mar The face is then mOistened with
sweet oil. quilts are inserted into the nos
trils in order that the victim NAV breathe
during the operation, or else openings
areleft in the plaster for that purpose
Lie masks are much more satisfactory
as portraits than those taken after death.
Life or death masks are taken usually in
plaster of Paris, much as stove plates are
nodded in sand, and when properly taken
are as absolutely correct as a stove plate
is OF the pattern from which il is moulded
IN the sand. Two plaster casts were
made nom the living face of Washing
Ton one or which was broken by the ner-
Nous artist before it was dry. Whereat
IL is said, Washington swore and refused
70 submit TO the operation the second
TIME: The other was taken by HOudin.
the famous French sculptor in 1855. The
original of this is now in the possession of
the sculptor, w. W. Story, in his studio
IN Rome. Ii is the most absolutely anthem
tic representation of Washington's face
its shape and features that exists. MIR
story cannot account for the fact that
the sculptor opened the eyes of Wash
ington in the mask.
The World says two life masks were
also taken from the face of Lincoln and
with less annoyance than Washington
must have endured. One was taken by
Leonard W. NOlk in Chicago in the spring
OF 1860, and one by Clark Mills three or
four years later. That by NJ. Volk is re-
produced by Mr.. Hutton.
According Mr. NO1kfq IF
taxing OF the mask, printed in the Cen
fury Magazine, Lincoln sat naturally in
the chair during the operation, watching
IN a mirror every move made by the
sculptor, as the plaster was put on with
out Interference with the eyesight or with
the breathing Of the subject. When, at
the end of an hour, the mold was ready
for removal-it was in one piece and con-
tanned both ears-Lincoln himself bent
his head forward and worked it off grad
ually and gently, without injury of any
kind, Notwithstanding the fact that it
chung to the high cheek bones and that a
Few hairs on his eyebrows and temples
plaster. This, Mr. Hutton thinks, lis
without question the most perfect repre-
sentation of Lincoln's face in existence
The most wonderful strange and novel
death masks l have ever seen are in the
Museum OF POmpeii of the things uncoV-
cred IN the excavations of that ancient
city buried by the volcanic eruption of
Mount Nesuvtus, a. whose foot the city
was located, when the last great calamity
fell upon it. Pompeii, an ancient city of
Campania. Italy, near Naples. after being
partly demolished by an earthquake in
the year 63, was rebuilt, but was over
whelmed by an eruption of Nesuvius, ac-
companied by an earthquake on the night
OF Aug. "a, in the year 49, The principal
citizens were attending a theater. where
public SpeCtacleS were being exhibited.
The fine ashes buried the whole city and
covered the surrounding country. After
a lapse of sixteen centuries the buried
city having been mostly forgotten,
countryman digging well found a
bronze figure, which led to further search
when numerous other objects We're
brought to light, and at length the work of
uncOverlng and eXcaVaung the entire city
1850 was supposed to be the main street
The work of uncOVering and exploring
buried POmpeii has been going on at in
tervals ever since, the work having been
recommended by the Italian government
in 1863. a museum of the strange things
uncovered in these excavations has been
established on the site of the buried city
Pompeii was not buried under hot erup-
tons of burning lava from the volcano
but by a heavy fall of fine ashes as fine
as molding sand that stove molders use
as molds for castings, and this came
down in such dense and darkening mass
that it speedily covered up all living Great
ures and inanimate things alike found in
the doomed city. The fine ashes were
partly cooled by the wind and the air as
they fell. The ashes cooled and com
pacted themselves by superintendent
weight ABOUT the living ana QedQ ODJeGIS
they fell upon, and eighteen centuries af-
terWard, when the ruins were uncovered,
although the bodies had nodded to dust,
it was found that these fine ashes con-
tanned perfect molds of the living men,
women, children and animals true to life,
which were alive when they were over
whelmed and enVirOned by the dense show
ers of the fine ashes or the eruption.
When it was discovered that these ashen
molds had thus preserved the counter
parts lineaments, features ana forms true
80 . l, foatrp he he bod
enveloped, great care was thereafter taken
in the excavations not to destroy, but to
preserve the mold thus created. When
compact masses of the ashes were found
inclosing ANYTHING interesting, that was
living or dead at the time of the eruption,
the ashen mass was carefully spit IN two,
so that the pieces afterward carefully put
together, served to form perfect molds of
the objects they had inclosed In this
wav perfect casts were made from these
moids The fine ashes themselves prop
erlv prepared and mixed, often served as
the material from which the castings
were made
other castings were made of plaster of
Paris, of bronze, or OF other materlals'
1Tba castings from these molds in the mu-
sellu consist of bronze gates, carriage
wheels vases, statuettes, skulls, casts OF
dead bodies found in the ruins, etc.
Among the figures seen that startled US
when we last saw them from their natu-
ralness was one of a mother agonizingly
clasping her young child TO her bosom;
another
10 become a mother; another was of
dog SO true to life that you could almost
see its coat of hair, and with its sacred
look one could fancy that he almost heard
the dismal howl of the poor creature in
its agony. In the house of Championette,
so-cailed. were found four females, deco
rated with numerous gold bracelets and
other jewelry which figures are in the
museum. BY the way, one gold lamp
weighing three pounds was found I'M
decayed but with its mold all the same.
Other figures from the molds are of pris-
oners with the irons still on their legs;
another the figure of man, escaping
with sixty coins, a small plate and a
silver saucepan in his hands; another an
armed soldier; another charitable group
were figures of a family. eighteen in
number found in a cellar, females having
gold ornaments on necks and arms. chill
dren in the group still retaining their
fair hair on their skulls. These fell into
the cellar. which was inundated with fine
alluvium, which took casts not only of the
bodies, but even of the most delicate text
ure OF the linen which they wore, and of
the iewelry which adorned their persons
one. the cast of the bosom of a young
girl All these wonderful casts We're in
deed what may be properly called live
masks. as well as dead masks, taken
eighteen centuries ago from molds made
bV the fine volcanic shower from Nesu-
sius that overwhelmed Pompeii in the