Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1901-11-19
CHEAP STATUETTES,
TOW THEY ARE MADE, HARDENED
 FINISHED AND C0LORED.

World Tn Their I'roauc.io:,--f
 De5::;s5>ti Een These Casts That
 Comes From GEE Schools.
 While il is not difficult b secure eaod American workman for carrying out schemes of interior decorations, it + Impossible yet to get native horn men capable Of modelling statuettes and busts s0cl. as are sold on the street corners and in many of the art shops All the workmcn employed in factories that produce these are Italians, chiefly from Tuscany. This is equally true oi these who follow this trade in Ger many and France. The iuscans ap. pear to have a natural ability for that sort of work that has given them tic monopoly of it.
 The great majority of these busts and statuettes are copied directly from the originals wherever they happen to be. and then the molds are made from that copy and sent to all parts of the world. the statues being cast in the place where they are to be sold. In the lar ger shops in New York city. however a certain amount of original work 1s done in order to keep pace With the popular demand for representations Of the hero of tine hour. A great many of our most distinguished poets, authors and statesmen whose buStS are exposed for sale on the street corners never sal for these portraits. Some workman modelled the head after photograph and occasionally has produced such good work that it is almost q pity the sculptors name should remain ull. known
 The chief purchasers of these casts from the larger makers are the high schools all over the country. They de mand, of course, not oai5s classical sub- jects and copies of ancient bas-reliefs and architectural details. but also busts Of famous men and women from every period of the worlds history. Such Il wide range of subjects is covered by this demand that seven and eight thou sand titles are included in some of the catalogues iSssuod. The factories where these figures are tUIneG. out exhibit in th2ir sh9Wrootns an assortment and confusioG of time. place and nature be- Wildoring to look at.
 The process of casting these statl,- cites is Il comp paratiyely simple one when the mold is once completed. The material used, plaster of paris, is cheap, and q very excellent quality is produced in this country. When the statucttc comes out, it is pure white and covered with ridges made hy the different sections of the mold. These ridges are carefully removed, and then the cast is placed in an oven heated at about 1SO degrees. After it has been baked for q ccrtin length Of time it is plunged into d solution Of stearic acid and kept there until thoroughly satu- rated. Then. when it has dried, the yellow color is gained by applying to the surface solution of beeswaX. tuT- pentinc and coloring matter. This color will not wash off. and. of colif'se, any shade can be produced at will.
 "Ihc demand for nude statues in the art schools is growing less every year." said one of Che largest makers of these casts. That is because people are realizing more and more that artists must draw from the human figure it. self if they wish to understand the human form. We get more orders ncw 1 for dr3ped figures in the art schools and for bt1sts in the high schools. Un- 1 til ycry recently the hlists of most of the celebrated Americans which we sell had been made in Italy from pho- to@raphS sent over from this country. and many mistakes occurred in mat tc!s of detail, like the cut of the coats l and coll;rS. We are trying to do these HOW in a more modern and chdracters- tic w&F and occasionally have been furnished With photographs hy their l famiIicS.'
 The statGettcs which are carried about the streets wrapped in hatmoni- olis yellow tissue paper CT arc display e, on the sidewalks CT on the steps of unoccupiea houses are made by quite q different set Of manufacturers. The larger dealers do not sell to these street peddlclS at all The pedJlers Lave their own little Wl rkrooms. which furnish l them with their stock at q much lower rate than the regular dealers charge. No originals are made in these atelieHs, and most of thc noldS are gained by taking them from d east bought from some other firm The stearic acid bath is left cut of the process, and coESe. 1 aucntly tie color of these cheaper