The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1897-03-26
Qhrprmorrat-S Star
TRADE IN FALSE EYES.
NAHUFACTUEE or OPTICS A DELICATE
TASK
New York Cor Washington Pot.

in this big city, and n that rank
pre.emincnt in the peculiar line Is ;
glass eye factory. Ii may seem strange
tlat there should bc a sufficient de
mdnd for glass eyes To support such ;
factory, especially as it employees ;
number OF skilled wOrkmcu all tho
year round. But when one learns
some Of the secrets OF the trade al.
cause for wonder yaHishcs.
The prime reason tor its existence
is that a glass eye does not last more
than a year, and very often not more
than six months. or course. this ne
ceSSitates the purchase Of new optics
every little while by afflicted people.
and the number Of people who use
these eyes is surprisingly large. judged
by the yearly production Of the fac
tory.
Five hundred eyes are turned out
weekly, or about 10000 in the year.
Not all Of these are sold, but this per
ccntage is very small. The unsold
ones are stock cycS-that il, they are
used in the sale department Of the
factory or are sent TO dealers through
out the country as samples.
The prices Of glass eyes vary con
siderably. An ordinary ready-madc
eye costs s., while madc-t0-ordcr eye.
with the pupil and corners carefully
c0lored, costs anywhere from $40 TO
$50, and %occaionally as much as so,
bat this latter price is a rare one.
Poor people a only afford the ready
made eye, and a large number Of these
are always kept in stock in different
shades Of blue, gray and brown.
Gray eyes are the most common;
then comes blue, and then brown.
Black eyes are Il myth, and the factory
has never had call to make one. Op-
thalmic hospitals are the largest con-
Sumers Of the false eye. These buy in
quantities, and naturally get the pro-
duct at reduced rates. They buy the
ordinary, %ready-made eyes, as they are
used, for the most part, on poor PEG.
pie who are financially unable to be
faStidious in the matter Of exact
color.
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 n tray: brown eyes OF
all kinds in another, and gray eyes OF
many varieties in a third.
When a purchaser comes in lie OF
she is fitted with an eye from one OF
these trays, and il the buyer is con
tent with the rcady-madc 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 tn
minor changes or improvements tina
can be made.
All Of the regular customers hav,
sample eyes in the factory. This en-
ahleS them to send from adistancc 70
a duplicate, and a new eye, perfect,
fitting and Of the correct color, i
shipped to them,
The reason that this eye wears on
is that the action Of the tcar-whici
is aCid-atfccts the enamel, rouglIin!
the edges and surface and causing al
irritation Of the cyelids.
There has ncver been a time in tn
history of the world that artificial
eyes did not exist. The ancient EgyI
tians, four and five thousand year
ago, wore false eyes Of gold and silver
and later Of copper and ivory. 1t i
OF record that two patriotic Lutte
tianS, when their country was il
financial distress, generously pre-
scented their golden eyes to the publ
treasury. During the middle aye
porcelain superseded metal in tn
making Of eyes, and Il century ago TIN
glass eye arrived. Now enamel is con
sidcrcd to be the best material for tn,
work. and it is used to the exclusion
OF all others.
The process Of making the eyes l.
easily described, but the work call
for much delicate and painstakin,
labor on the part OF seven or cign
skilled workmcn. Formerly one MAJ
made an artificial eye from the crud
TO the finished state, but now tn
work is divided into a number o
specialtics, each man performing onl.
. fraction of the whole task.
In its initial stage the eye is a long
slender stick of enamel, made Of per
jectly transparent and fusiblc film
glass. This Is placed in a crucibI,
and exposed to great heat. Th,
globc-maker places the enamel over
blow-pipc supplied with wind. which
is pumped by engine power into ;
large cylinder and stored under waite
pressure. Under the careful mauipu
lation Of the workman the cname.
tube is formed into an 0blone globe
just the size and shape Of the human
eye.
Next it passes into the coloring.
room. A piece Of colored enamel is
placed on the summit Of. the globe,
and this is gently heated in a small
flame and continuously rotated. Grad
ually this takes the form OF the iris,
and then a spot Of darker enamel is