Evening star., 1903-07-28
PRETTY w Ak GIRLS
HOW THE DUMMIES FOR SHOW
WINDOWS ARE MADE.
Cast in Molds - Glass Eyes-Human
Hair-Rouge for Lips and
Checks
From the Philadelphia Press

From III" Philadelphia Press
"WaN forms. or dummies" said the deal
or. have iron feet. Whv have they iron
| feet? To weight them down So that they
will stand erect
He stood in hts workshop. a room as b:
as a concert hall. All around him helpers
| were making legs. heads. hands trunks
| feet. Floods OF clear light from the glazed
| roof fell upon heaps Of limbs upon rows
OF heads. upon mounds OF bodies The place
| had "A ghastly look. 1t rcsembled the scene
| of a massacre.
The art of making show figures" said
| the dealer. has improved" He took Up in
! his hand the head of "A young girl. The
red lips smiled. revealing white teeth. The
brown hair curled gracefully The eyes
| were bright There a dimple in the
cheek. "A head like this he said. is
worth Sl5. Heads range In price from s. 20
So. They are made of WAX, they are hol-
low: the eyes are of glass. and the hair ~
| human hair. I'll tell you how they are
| made
Molding the Wax
WAX great quantity of it's boiled IN
! big kettle until il has the con-
sistency of water. 1t is then poured into D.
row Of hollow molds. the mods of heads
that stand awaiting it. The molds ar" hung
up and shaken about This process causes
the To cool and to adhere. In Il crust.
to the mold's side. The agitation is kept
UP until the crust of wax has reached H..
thickness that the operator requires. here
upon the hot wax the surplus. "a poured
back into the kettle. About the mold
which is made in two halves a Jacket Is
/ placed, and the coutrivanCc is put away to
dry. w hen the drying is complet. the mold
I Is taken off. and Il man goes over tn.
/ head with Il sharp instrument. clearing ui4t
| the noStrils and ears and smoot hing away
| the lines created here and there 10y the
! junction of the molds halves. He also in
Serts. with d-ft movement, glass eyes in
| the empty sockets.
Now the head PASSES t" eir-a girl
| with a strange sort of needle. TIA" eye Of
! which is open. or split ut the top The
/ girl first puts on the eyebrows. She threads
/ the needle with hair. runs 1t through IT,.
wax. and, withdrawing il. leaves tie hair
! behind. for tn. needles -y. that is open
at the top makes II inevitable for the hair
| 10 stay where II is put The girl works
! with great rapidity. In Il few minutes she
| has the head adorned with pair of long
and shaggy eyebrows.
Next She puts on the hair. For THIS
! work she uses the same sort of needle. the
! hair being in every cas-" human. For the
/ cheaper heads. however. II is Chinese hair.
human. but Very lusteriess coarse varie-
| ty. Beside her stands a tiny spirit lamp.
| This she applies To the wax when il Ee-
! comes 50 hard that the needle won't pen
citrate it easily. As soon she finishes
! one ntau she passes on To another. while
the head she laid down is taken up ny IA
! man.
Painting the Face
This man cleans it first with kerosene
| Then he paints IT all over "A l-asant and
! inviting flesh color. II" tints the checks
! the ears and the nostrils with carmine.
| and he paints the lips with rouge \ girl
| IL professional hair dresser takes the
head In hand. cu.ls the hair and dresses 1t
! fashionably and applies Il coat OF French
| powde! to the face. The head is now fin
! ished.
Hands and feet are made. as a rule OF
PAPER mdche- enameled and painted "a flesh
! color. So that they look like the best WAN.
| Hands. feet bodies. legs and arms are
made in hollow mods."
The dealer led the way to the back of
| the shop.
Here lie said. "arc some men making
! forms OF papter mache now. Watch ti.em"
The workmen had moIdS of various sizes
| ana Shapes before thc'n-"n" the mold of q
! hand, another that OF "A foot a third that
| of a whole iisurc, from the neck down to
| the ankles.
| These molds are IN halves The papier
mache that to ill them looked. in its
| dry state. like blotting paper. Wet II re-
sembled a gray pulp. With this gray pulp
the workmen lined the molds' interiors
we'll seeing to IT that every Granny and
| nook got its thick lining. When the molds
We're filled-some We're in numerous pieces
they We're Joined together. covered with
! their jackets and put away to dry.
| The drying of these papier mache figures
depends upon the drauGht of the mold The
! draught is the opening. the place that let's
in the air. A bust dries quickly. because
| It's draught is a circle as big as the body
| A full figure dries slowly. the neck opening
| being its largest draught.
Papier Mache Forms.
! Forms Of papter mache-and OF this
terial they all are made-come in every i'm
aginable size. They are the forms OF chill
| dren one year old. the forms Of little fat
men. the forms of majestic women with
| forty -eght-inch busts To make these
! forms requires certain artistic feeling
| though not so much is required In the
| making OF heads. The artists IN the
| ton of show forms few. The intators
| are many.
The artists cannot protect, cannot copy
right. their work in any way. Hence they
are constantly being preyed upon 10y imi-
| tatorS and thieves. dealer. for instance,
! Will order original head of woman
| from noted maker Of show figures. He
| will turn out Il masterpiece. The dealer
| Will make a mold of II and sell duplicates
| of the head broadcast.
There were In the past only three four
| makers OF show forms in America. Now
there are over go. The average workman
at this business makes from $50 to So a
week. The artist of great ability makes
| from $40 TO $50. Show forms OF the best
| sort worth 500 and more apiece. They
are rented by their owners to shop keep
ers more often than they are sold out
right, the advantage of this method being
| that the shopkeeper. through 1t. is able TO
change his show forms often.
The Nervous Child,