The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1897-05-06
MAKING HUMAN EYES.
FIVE HUNDRED GLASS OPTICS
EACH WEEK.
A Curious and Profitable Business.

A Curious and Profitable Business.
National Recorder.
There are many curious industries
in this big city, and one that ranks pre-
eminent in the peculiar line is glass
eye factory. It may seem strange that
there should be sufficient demand
for glass eyes to support such factory,
especially as it employs number OF
skilled workmen all the year round.
But when one learns some of the secrets
of the trade all cause for wonder yam
lshes.
The prime reason for its existence is
that glass eye does not last more than
year, and very often not more than
six months. Of course this necessitates
the purchase of new eyes every little
while by afflicted people, and the num-
ber OF people who use these eyes is sur
prisingly 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 percentage is very small. The
unsold ones are stock eyes-that is,
they are used in the sale department OF
the factory, or are sent to dealers
throughout the country as samples.
The prices OF glass eyes vary consid-
erably- An ordinary ready made eye
costs $5, while a made-to-order eye,
with the pupil and corner carefully col
ored. 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 large number of these are al
ways kept in stock of different shades
of blue, gray and brown.
Gray eyes are the most common /;
then come blue, and then brown. Black
eyes are a myth, and the factory has
never had call to make one. Ophthal-
mic hospitals are the largest consumers
OF the false eye. These buy in quanti-
ties, and naturally get the product at re-
duced rates.
A CABINET OF EYES.
The most startling feature of the fac
tory 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 va
rieties in third.
When a 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. If the
made-to-order article is wanted, 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 ena-
ables them to send from distance for
a duplicate, and new eye, perfectly
fitting and of the correct color, is ship
ped to them. The reason that the eye
wears out is that the action of the tear
is acid-affects the enamel,
roughing the edges and surface and
causing an irritation of the eyellds.
sThere has never been 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 record
that two patriotic Lutetlans, when
their country was in financial distress,
generously presented their golden eyes
to the public treasury.
During the middle ages porcelain SUI
perseded metal In the making of artlfi-
cial eyes, and century ago the glass
eye arrived. Now enamel is considered
to be the best material for the work
and it is used to the exclusion of all
others.
The process of making the eyes is
easily described, but the work calls for
much delicate and painstaking labor on
the part of seven or eight skilled work.
men. Formerly one man made an ar
tificial eyefrom the crude to the finished
state, but now the work is divided into
a number of specialties, each man per-
forming only fraction of the whole
task.
In its initial stage the eye is a long,
slender stick of enamel made of perfect
" transparent and fusible flint glass.
This is placed in crucible and expos
ed to great heat. The globe maker
places the enamel over blow-pipe sup
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