Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1895-06-15
segato,s GhastIy Table.

/ Sitihlis dlnDuntbu blldD ne mao uiS-
covered way Of petrifying the hui
man body so as to preserve its form
without change of appearance. He
submitted specimens of his work to
the grand duke OF Tuscany, who
thought well of the discovery, and
offered to buy it from Segato. The
| physician refused the offer, and while
he waited for a higher bid died. either
suddenly or aftera very short illness
lie never revealed his process, and
his secret was buried with him.
The following description of Sega
to's best known specimen, first pub
lished about a year age in a medical
journal, has since appeared in almost
every newspaper in the country:
In the Pitt palace, at Florence, is
4 table which for originality in the
matter of construction, and ghast-
illness in conception, is probably
without rival 1t was made by
Giuseppe Segato, who passed several
years of his life in it's manufacture.
! To the casual observer it gives the
\ impression OF a curious mosaic OF
marbles ofdifferent shades and colors,
for ii looks like polished stone. In
reality il is composed OF human
4 mus eles and viscera No less than a
( hundred bodies were requisitioned
4 for the material The table is round
and about yard in diameter, with
pedestal and four claw feet, the
whole being formed OF petrified
( human remains. The ornaments of
4 the pedestal are made form the in
testines, the claws with hearts, livers
I and lungs. the natural color of which
is preserved. The table top is con-
structed Of muscles artistically ar
ranged, and il is bordered with up
wards Of hundred eyes, the effect
OF which is said To be highly artistic,
4 since they retain all their luster. and
I seem To follow the observer. Segato
died about 80 years ago. He OBJ
/ tanned bodies from the hospitals and
indurated them by impregnation
with mineral salts.
Curiosity led the present writer,
when in Florence recently. to obtain
I "A view Of this curious piece of furni-
ture, What he saw was so entirely
different from what he had been led
To expect, that he is moved to tell
the readers of the Sun about it.
In the first place, the table" is
not in the Pitt palace, but in the
anatomical collection OF the new st.
/ Mary's Hospital; there the present
( writer had an opportunity of ex-
aiming it, in company with DIR.
\ Stanislao Bianchi. who is in charge
OF the collection.
The table" is oval. of what looks
like mahogany. il is about Is inches
long 10y II wide. and consists of
top only, il has no appearance what
ever ofever having had a PEDESTAL
The human putriiactions on it con-
sist or thin of small sections orslices
about 1854 Of an inch think. which
are veneered upon il; some are dia-
mond shaped, some oval. Others
square, with surface like fine
metrical rectangular oblong design;
there is a border around it. present.
ing at first sight the appearance of a /.
checker board Some of these We
neers, by the effects of dampness, I
have become detached; one or two I
have fallen off altogether. Prof. 4
Bianchi pointed out that these were /
small bits oforganisms ofthe human I
body. such ms the loins, Kidneys. liv- /
er. spleen. lungs, skin, ali of natural /
color, and that probably, in order 1
to get them of small size they had /
been taken from boys cadavers.
There We're, however, no human ewes |
in the border or anywhere else.
DIR, Bianchi showed other speci- /
mems of Segato's process--a female
scalp of perfectly natural color, with /
long flowing hair attached: wom-
ans breast, fair and white. perfectly
hie-like. In these cases the parts pre-
served were like medium pasteboard in
thickness and firmness. He showed
also petritied reptiles, fish, and sepa-
rate parts of the human body, all /
prepared by Segato. and doubtless
submitted by him when he offered to
sell his secret To the Tuscan govern
ment.
Il was difficult to get anexpression
of opinion from the doctor about the
value of Segato's process, and the
consequent Importance to science of
its loss, lit has not been discovered
since; it is a pity that it still remains
unknown" was all that the kind and
courteous professor would say ON the
subject. "Scgato asked rather
large price, perhaps, but he knew his
own business, doubtless.
The table" is not seen by many
visitors to Florence, or even by many
Florentines; the custodians of Sega
to's specimens, even if they do not