Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-15
MAKING GLASS EYES.
More of Them i'm Use Now Than Ever
Before.


Before.
"The demand for artificial eyes" said
| the proprietor of a glass eye factory in
New York to a writer for The Star recent
ly, was larger during the last two years
than / have ever known it to be. and 1
have been engaged in the manufacture of
the article in question for the past quarter
of 4 century. Last year we sold $4,000 ar
t,fcial eyes. or an increase of 1000 over the
previous year. Prior to that our sales
would not exceed 10000 annually. The re-
cent demand indicates that more people
are wearing glass eyes than formerly, and
one of the chief reasons for this is that
the false articles sold cheaper and are
made TO resemble the natural organs more
perfectly now than ever before. Hence the
poor who are compelled to wear glass eyes
have little difficulty in obtaining Them and
rich people are less sensitive about wear
ing the artificial product when necessary
Ten years ago ordinary glass eye cost
fl ON So to 81. while those made to order
with the pupil and the cornea carefully
cOiored sold anywhere from $12 to $50
Competition has cut these prices down. I'M
til now an ordinary eye sells for 81, and the
tiEer grades are worth from $40 to $50, ac-
cording to finish
More gray eyes are manufactured than
any other color; then comes the blue and
next the brown eye. The call for black
eyes is quite rare. They are only made to
order, and seldom. if ever. kept in
stock Opthalmia hospitals are the largest
consumers of false eyes. These institutions
huy in quantities, and naturally obtain
their supply at reduced rates. They gen.
orally purchase the ready-made eyes, which
are used on poor patients who are not in
a financial position to be fastidious either
to the quality or finish of the article
We have hundreds of customers scattered
all over the country, for all of whom We
keep duplicates. ready to ship when order
ed. The best glass eyes do not last for
more that j year. owing to the action of
such moisture the tear, the acids of
which affect the enamel, roughen the
edges Of the surface and very often cause
painful irritation of the eyelids.
THE process of manufacture is interest
ing. In its initial stage the eye is a long
slender stick of enamel made of perfectly
transparent and f'lsible flint glass. This is
put into a crucible and exposed to grea:
heat. Now the globemaker places the en-
an1el over Z blowpipe supplied with air,
which is pumped by machine into huge
cylinder and stored under water pressure.
Then under the careful manipulal lion of
the workman the enamel tube is formed
into an oblong globe, just the size and
shape of the human eye. Next it passes
tint is applied to the summit of the globe,
and this Is gently heated by small flame
and continuously rotated. When it has as
sumed the correct form of the iris more
colorng matter is added to represent the
pupil and 1t is then covered by a thick
layer of crystal to form the cornea. This
done, the eye is cooled and sent to the cut
ting room, where it is formed into small
hollow oval, with irregular edges. These
edges are again heated and the eye allow
toughenS tie enamel and renders il less
liable to break. The finish work consists
in polishing the eye, and when this has
been completed it is ready for the market"