Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1897-05-14
MAKING HUMAN EYES.
FIVE HUNDRED GLASS OP-
TICS EACH WEEK.
A Curious and Profitable Bus
mess.

There are many curious in
dustries in the big city, and one
that ranks preemiuent in the
peculiar line is a glass eye fact
ory. 1t may seem strange that
there should be sufficient de.
rnand for glass eyes to support
such a factory, especially as il
employs a number of skilled
workmeu all the year round
But when one learns some of the
secrets of the trade all cause fol-
wonder vanishes.
The prime reason for its ex-
istence is that glass eye does
not last more than a year, and
very often not more than six
months. Of course this necesst
itates the purchase of new eyes
every little while by afflicted
people, and the mum Der of people
who use these eyes is surprising
ly large, judged by the yearly
production of the factory.
Five hundred eyes are turned
out weekly, Or about twenty-six
thousand in the year. Not all of
these are sold, but this percent>
age is very small. The unsold
ones are stock eyes-that is.
they are used in the sale depart
ment of the factory, or are sent
to!dealers throughout the country
as sample.
The prices of glass eyes vary
considerably. An ordinary ready
made eye costs S., while a made
to-order eye, with the pupil and
corner carefully colored, costs
anywhere from $40 to $50, and
occasionally as much as $50; but
this latter price is a rare one.
Poor people can only afford the
ready-made eye, and a large
number of these are always kept
in stock of different shades of
blue, gray and brown.
Gray eyes are the most CONS
mon; then come blue, and then
brown Black eyes are myth,
and the factory has never had
call to make one. Ophthalmic
hospitals are the largest con-
sumers of the false eye. These
buy in quantities, and naturally
get the product at reduced rates.
A CABINET OF EYES.
The most startling feature of
the factory is the cabinet in
which the stock eyes are kept.
They are placed in large trays,
sectioned off into tiny squares,
each square containing an eye.
Blue eyes of many shapes and
shades are in one tray; brown
eyes of all kinds in another; and
gray eyes of many varieties in a
third.
When purchaser comes in
he or she is fitted with an eye
from one of these trays, and if
the buyer is content with the
ready>made article, a duplicate
is furnished from the stock. fl
the made>to-order article is want
ed; the sample is sent up to the
work>rooms with instructions
covering the minor changes or
improvements that can be
made.
All of the regular customers
have sample eyes in the factory.
This enables them to send from
a distance for duplicate, and
a new eye, perfectly fitting and
of the correct color, is shipped
to them. The reason that the
eve wears out is that the action
of the tear-which is acid
affects the enamel, roughing the
edges aud surface and causing
an irritation of the eyelids.
There has never been a time
in the history of the world that
artificial eyes did not exist The
ancient Egyptians, four or FIVE
thousand years ago, wore false
eyes of gold and silver, and later
of copper and ivory. 1t is on re-
cord that two patriotic Lutetians,
when their country was in fnan-
cial distress, generously present.
ed their golden eyes to the pub
lie treasury.
During the middle ages por>
celain superseded metal in the