The herald., 1896-03-02
MONSTERS MADE 70 ORDER
A Shop for Making Freaks and
Mummies
A MAN WHO SHEDS HIS SKIN
A ratt0oed Captive Takes Two Hours
to Make
Ossiflcation Comes Less AgreeabIv, and the
Artificial AIbino Is Almost Reai-No
Pauper Labor Employed

FdupST LhuoE LmCsOyeu
There is freak factory in the 1900
block" Of East One Hundred and Eight
eenth street which daily adds fresh mon
strosities to the list Of dime museum at
fractions. A moro grewsome place would
be difficult to find. Hideous anatomical
sketches adorn the walls. Tho human
form, frightfully distorted is visible every
where. The dissecting room of a medical
college has an air Of cheer as compared to
this place. 1t Is a thorough proof, too, of
the late p. T. Barnum's s assertion that the
American public loves to be humbugged.
Nature Is not sufficiently prolific Of
freaks to satisfy the demand of the exhib-
Stors thereof. Therefore they are made to
order, and 1t ia no small tax on the inven-
sion OF g creators of these objects of in
forest to satisfy the constant demand for
something new. The presiding genius of
the factory referred to revealed "a few Sc
orets Of the profession the other day,
which, to say the least, are startling.
An invention of the freak genius is that
OF the man who can, snakelike, shed his
epidermis at will. After this performance
every little vein stands out in bold relief
The freak is apparently skinless, and the
strange feature of tho whole thing is that
he sheds his skin at specified hour each
day. The process is simple enough when
understood. The skin which is shed is con-
etruoted-just how the freak inventor re-
fused to say-from the membranes Of the
antestines of animals-the same sort of
material which binds together that epicu-
sean product, the bologna sausage The
real skin Of the freak is first covered with
. preparation which seems to render it
very thin, but only does so in appearance.
A delicasely constructed rubber stamp is
used to put the veins on, and the skin
shedding freak is complete. "Oh, it's a
rare one!' the freak inventor said as he
gleefully rubbed his hands. "They amt
any of 'em in it with me on this'' OF
course the false skin is put on every day,
but just how the freak man declined to
say.
There was also in the course of prepara-
tion at the factory the other day the equip
ments of tattooed man, an albino and an
Osstfied man. Perhaps there have been
genuine specimens Of all three, but that
was long time ago, and anyway there
wouldn't be enough to go around
The process of making a tattooed man is
simplicity itself. 1t Is just as easy as put
ting big firms name on boxes Of goods
which it ships. And it is done the same
way. Tho would be tattooed man poses In
"the altogether" while another man.
with series Of very fine stencil plates and
india ink, proceeds to make him ian un-
fortunate man who after many years. CAP
tivity among the south sea islanders has
at last succeeded in escaping to civiliza-
tion."
The genius Of the freak factory said it
was no unusual thing to make tattooed
man in two hours.
From appearances the role Of the ossif1ed
man is not likely to prove popular. To
properly construct ono is no small task, A
system of delicate steel rods, covered with
. peculiar sort of cement, is the material
for making the case into which the sup
posed ossif1ed man enters. Once inside
and properly fastened he is, to all intents
and purposes, so far as he is concerned,
truly ossif1ed until he is released. There
are several secrets connected with the ossi-
4cation process which the freak construct
or said it would be unprofessional to re-
veal. The facts stated form a rough out
line Of the methods pursued.
The albino is the nearest approach to
the genuine of any Of the freak factory
products. 1t is absolutely necessary that
the person cast for this character shall
have eyes approaching reddish white In
color. Thus equipped by nature, art will
DO the rest. The hair, which, of course,
must be long, is bleached to the proper
shade and then is thoroughly anointed
with a preparation which first makes it
assume almost perpendicular and then
curl at the ends. After this the eyebrows
aro bleached. This accomplished full
2edged albino is ready for exhibition.
The manufacture of these freaks, as
may be imagined, requires highly skilled
labor. The first step in making ancient
Egyptian Inummies is to construct the
original body, which is afterward decorat-
cd to suit the demands and taste of the
purchaser. These objects are first cast in
wax, and the freak factory is provided
with COM lete outfit for making wax
casts. The figures in most cases are cast
In dozen or more different pieces. There
are dozens OF molds used for casting hands
and feet OF various sizes. There are head
molds which turn out heads to fit num-
mics OF all ages and conditions. These
molds are used over and over again, SO
that very large families of mummies are
turned out all as much alike as can be.
1t may be seen, therefore, that the work
OF constructing simple mummy 2,OoO
years old requires considerable skill and
Ingenuity. In 0ne corner of the little fac
tory Is stove arranged for boiling large
quantities of wax, to be used in casting
these ancient mummies. The freak manu-
3acturer buys wax 100 pounds at time.
In this branch Of the business it is only
necessary to cast a fairly regular human
form, and the addition of the cloth wrap
ping and varnish serves to conceal all but
the mere outline of the original form. Gen
orally In Nummy manufacture it is neces-
sary to leave some section of the mummy
unwrapped to illustrate how the flesh look
% 1000 years ago, SO that this exposed
part must be made with great care before
wrapping is commenced.
The cost Of these attractive objects va
Hes. Some of them command as high
price as 800 or 800, the price, of course,
varying according to the age of the mum
my. An Egyptian mummy 2, 900 years old
Is much more difficult to make than an
Indian mummy less than 100 years old.
The ancient relics require much more work |
IN wrapping and painting in order to pro-
auoe the very old, dry, decayed appearance.
New York Journal
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