The San Francisco call., 1899-03-05


or can successfully follow the craft or
making wax figures-secures his model.
1t is necessary for him to work alto
gether from life, and that means IN the
nude There is no difficulty Whatever In
securing beautifully proportioneo ngures,
but Ii is the face which causes the most
trouble. If the sculptor wishes to be par
tic,1Ia rivt true to life he does not care 10
! idealfze If that can be avoided. Therefore
he tries many models until he finds one
whose features are such as to be capable
Of reproduction in wax and still preserve
| their beauty.
The model secured the moiding Of the
clay begins. and 1T is here that the
| sculptor's early lessons in clay modelling
! ara Of the greatest use to him, for If he
| has neglected these in any way he might
| better saw good to the wax figure and
try something else. The clay having been
| satisfactorily nodded a plaster cast OF the
model is made. When the plaster is har-
dened sufficiently melted wax IS poured
| into IL through an opening in the mead.
| right where all humanity is born with
| a soft spot This opening is closed and
war and cast are allowed to stand twenty
| minutes BY this time the contents OF the
| cast have partly cooled. part Of the top
| Of the head been removed and such ef the
wax as has not adhered to the cast IS
| poured out into the Dig receptacle used
| for that purpose.
| The amount of wax that has adhered to
| the plaster is generally about an inch in
| thickness. The plaster IS broken from IL
| and then the wax is washed in turpentine
| in order that 1t may be hardened, after
! which IL is sandpapered. While the gen
eraI contour of the face has been retained
during this casting process, the eyes and
the mouth must be formed This is the
| sculptor's first task, and he curves the
opening for the eyes and inserts the glass
| orbs, for the eyes Of every figure are of
glass
1t is by no means the case that figure
| is always constructed in one piece. More
often. to expedite matters. the limbs,
trunk and head are cast separately, and
when this is the case one individual at
tends to each part. When the different
sections of the figure are complete they
are wired together, all but the head and
bust These are in the hands OF young
woman. who Is engaged in putting on the
hair. Most persons have an idea that wax
figures wear wigs, but they do nothing
of the sort. Each separate hair Is fas-
tened in as tightly as nature has fastened
the hair on a person. Nor is the hair man
| ufactured 1t is all human and comes al
| most entirely from Germany.
The task Of placing this hair in the fig
| ures head is a rather tedious one A
| needle, just a trifle larger than hair, Is
| used to puncture the wax, and in this
puncture the young woman places the end
of the hair Then she presses the wax
tightly against it. This process is con-
tinued until a regulation head of hair is
affixed. The most delicate task Of this
sort is afixing the eyelashes and eye
| brows. These are 50 conspicuous that the
| slightest error has an i'll effect.
Again, there is always the danger that
the eyelds will break If the pressure upon
them is too great. and this practically
means the ruin of the f1gure-or at least
| the head and bust. This work is done, in
every case, with the view OF the closest
| inspection being given, and II IT Is pro-
nounced perfect the chances are that any
flaw which exists will be visible onIy 10
the eyes of an expert.
| THE task of affixing hair, eyelashes and
| eyebrows complete, the figure is ready for
| inspection, and If this is satisfactory ft Is
| shipped to the purchaser. The best or
these figures are SO lifelike that If the
light be, otherwise than bright only close
inspection will reveal the fact that the hg-
ure is of wax. OF course these works of
art-for they are nothing else-are high
priced and range from $500 to $500. +
! fairly good figure can be secured for
| a sum considerably lower, but the very
| best work always comes high The So sort
are to the figures described about as the
! fearful daubs sometimes termed paintings
are to the work of the brushes OF the Aca-
| demicians They are cheap, and yet dear
at any price
The wax used in the manufacture OF
| these figures in the pure white refined
| beeswax 1t comes from Texas, Caltfor-
MIA and South America, and the average
| price is 20 cents a pound. To make the
| head and bust of a figure from eight to
ten pounds of wax are needed, while a
half figure takes from fifteen. to seventeen
pounds. The hands and forearms of fig
ure are generally solid wax, but all the
rest is mere shell.
In the studios where these figures are
constructed every nationality is represent
ed that is ordinarily found in the ranks
of the workers. AS no particularly artistic
taste Is required to perform the mechan-
| ical tasks of figure work, there is little
| evident among the workmen. The mold
ers, those who put on the hair, eyebrows
| and eyelashes, receive from $40 to S24 a
week as do those who finish and paint the
| figures The other salaries range from
| about $40 to SIS per week. The wax re-
| ceives certain portion of color when 1t
| is melted by being mixed with artists
paint therefore the painting of the hgure
consists in the coloring of the features.
| All the larger museums or the country
make their own wax figures. Each estab-
| lishment is presided over by, sculptor OF
| high ability. Time was when an artist
who engaged in task of this sort was
| looked down upon by his professional
| brethren, but that day is past. Mrs. Jar
| ley's Wax Works are no longer considered
| in trade.