The morning times., 1896-02-23
Hundreds of Them Being Com
pIeted in Time for Ex-
hibition During Con-
vention Week.
QUEEN VICTORIA BECOMES SENATOR HlLL
Brice Must Be New, but Bismarck
Is Cleveland by Changing
His Clothes.
NAPOLEON is MCKINLEY
Copyright, 1860

After the academies and the salons get
come the Grand Opening of the Exhibit
ton of Ceroplastie Art. This is the art
of making wax figures. Though less pre-.
tentious in its claims, this art exhibition is
seen by more people, is more realistic" in
execution and costs more than the National
Academy exhibits. 1t is old in history,
having been begun by Nine. Tussaud dur
ing the French Revolution, and there are
few people who have not at some time
seen it,
This year the exhibition of art takes the
form of political figures and convention
history. The exhibition is not single one.
different branches of 1t being seen in diff
ferent parts of the country, but all over there
will be found the one general motif, the poll
tician. and what he can do and has done
for his country.
One morning last week your writer
strolled into one of the workshops OF u
wax-works exhibition, and had the pleas
ure OF chatting an hour with the chief
of the large staff of wax-workcrS. This
gentleman, dressed in q long, white linen
robe, as becomes an artist who handles
delicate work, stood upon a tan box
working iDdustriously upon a head that
nigth have helorgVd to anybody in town.
You catch me-" said he. looking up.
in an embarrassed way and brandIshiDg
the shears as though in hurry to chieve
something, lat the worst minute for me.
II the boy had kept you ringing the bell
five minutes longer | should have had
something 90 show you. As it is" A
shrug nearly lifted the pointed beard OF
the artist to a level with the sharp-lookiug
spectacles.
Il am glad to catch you in the midst
of your interesting work.
delighted smile spread over the iu-
dustrious features. "Yes, it is inter
csJlng work. Bat now ! am engaged in
the hardest part of it. To tell you frankly.
| am Transforming the features of Queen
Victoria to those of Hill. Victorias birth
day is comiug, but we have something
new for that. AT present there is a de-
mand for Hill. Have you got Hill?
Where is Hip our country visitors ask.
and | have promised to get Hill ready for
the opening this afternoon.
For Hill we take off Victoria's hair.
clipping IT short in the back and pulling
it out on top. We put a mustache on her
aud we take off her skirt and wrap. The
attitude is like Hilrs. Dressed up in "a
black suit, with one hand on her knee,
Victoria viii be David b. Hill before she
knows it. We will place him in the
Democratic council scene, and he will be
stared at as though he had never exchanged
Identity with the queen. Is il easy To do?
Oh, yes. Yictoria's features aud figure
readily become Hill.
Now you are going TO say that our art
exhibition would be disa ppointment to the
public if they could see it being prepared.
But there you are mistaken. Where we can
assist one figure, as we call it, we have
TO make a hundred. Often we count on
assisting and cannot manage it. 49,
In the case Of Elizabeth Cady Stanton's
big birthday cclebra ton, ] wanted to
use Cleveland with gray puffs on each
side of his face and a white lace sha wi.
But our manager wouldn't allow 1t. Make
a new figure for Elizabeth he said, and
you can use it for Morton afterwards
81 knew better, but l went to work.
set the Blanikin girls at work upon the
figure, and the wardrobe woman to getting
the drapery arranged. We moulded an
entirely new head, put in big blue eyes,
threaded ali that gray hair through the
scalp and seated her on platform with
| a group OF woman's rights people around
| her. That figure, counting the six ounces
OF gray hair, cost US $500, but followed
| out my orders.
And what was the result? Why, she's
| set away now to remain until-untiI an
event shall render her a person passed
away into history. She wouldn't make
Morton. We would have had to shave
her off, build her up taller, scalp her
put on a flat wig and take off two of
her ohins. Itcouldn't be done. The manager
realized that he had tied up money, but it
couldn't be helped then.
You want to know how wax figure
can cost $500. tell you it could cost
SToO without any effort on our part to
spend money.
First, we have to have plaster cast
OF the person. This is hard to get and