The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-12-14
THE CHRISTMAS TREE.
SANTA CLAUS WORKSHOP
Germany France. Switzerland and ENGLAND Busy All the
Year to Make Toys for the Children of the World

Old Santa Claus is one of the largest
employers of labor in the whole world.
His workshops are to be found in near
ly every country, and thousands of
men, women and children are busy all
the year making millions of toys of all
kinds and sizes to fill the capacious
bag which their genial master carries
about him on Christmas Eve.
No sooner has he delivered the last
toy on Christmas Eve. removed all
traces of SCOT from his smiling face.
and turned his bag inside out to make
quite certa in that nothing has been
left in the corners, than he begins to
busy himself with the manufacture of
toys for the next year.
The most popular toy is. of course,
the doll: and when you consider the
number of girls who possess at least
one, and sometimes a whole family of
dolls, you will be able to Understand
that many thousands of work people
are employed making this one kind of
toy. There are wax dolls and rag dolls
made in England: china-faced dolls
made in France. and Dutch dolls.
which are not Dutch at all. but only
called so because they are principally
shipped from Dutch ports.
Then, of course. there is the old
favorite, the wax doll. Let us take a
peep into some of the rooms of a toy
factory or workshop and see for our
selves how they are made.
On the tables and counters are hun
dreds of wax heads. more or less fin
ished. In another part of the room is
a pile of bodies, legs and arms all
heaped up together. and if you take
glance into that bag in the corner
will ha haf 81 e., -
is fun of dolls eyes looking up at you
with CLASSY stare.
y number of men and women are
busy. A large pan of wax is placed in
still larger pan containing water
heated by means of gas. AS the water
gets hot the wax, of course, mets. In
to the molten wax a workman now
drops the coloring matter, generally
rouge, to give the dolls that beautiful
complexion which we all delight to
see.
The plaster moulds for the heads.
made in three pieces. are then firmly
tied together, and the mould thus
formed is carefully filed with the Ii
guild wax. After a certain time the
greater part of the wax is poured
back, but portion coming into con-
tact with the cold plaster mould has
already set.
The mould is now united and re-
moved, and there we have a wax head
nicey formed and looking almost as
ma tural, and sometimes as large. as
life. Wax bodies, arms and legs are
made in a similar manner.
Two holes are cut in the wax head
for the eyes, which In the case of the
more expensive dolls have to be placed
into their sockets very carefully. Ir
| the cheaper kinds the eyes are first
| warmed and then forced into their
! place, being finally cemented with a
| little wax.
Although our doll is now possessed
OF pair of eyes, much still remains
| to be done. Eyebrows are required
and these are generally painted on,
but sometimes real hair is stuck into
the wax carefully and slowly, a few
hairs at a time, until the whole is
completed.
Then Dolly's face is ironed! With a
| specially constructed iron tool the
workman rubs at the wax until the
| face is quite smooth and polished.
The lips and nostrils are painted, the
teeth put in, without the aid of a dem
fist, and, finally, the head is carried
to another part of the factory to have
the hair put on by women, who, il