Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-03-24
MAKING WAX FORMS
SHOW FIGURES FOR SHOPkeEpERs
ARE COSTLY AFFAIRS.

>'N f'' Ht(t' '''C
they iron feet? TO weight them down,
30 that they will stand erect"
He stood in his workshop, a room as
big as q 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 n ghastly
look. 1t rrsembled the scene OF n mas
sacre.
The art of making show tigures,"
said the dealer, has Improved lie
took up III 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
was a dimplc in the cheek.
"a head like this" he said, 'is worth
SO. Heads range in price from 81 to
$50. They are made I wax; they are
hollow; the eyes are Of glass. and the
hair is human hair. III tell You how
they are nude.
"WaX a great quantity of it's boil
w ~ a Di5 ~ ubAl IL hdn lI' 'O4l-
Sistency OF water. 1t is then poured
into a row Of hollow mol1s, the molds
of heads. that stand awaiting il. The
molds are hung up and shaken about.
This process causes the wax TO cool
and To adhere ia a crust to the mold's
inside. The agitation j. kept up until
the crust of wax has reached the thick
fnss thaf fI,c Nar.+D rart,gn,g xrI,..a
upon the hot wax. the surplus, Is pour
cd back into the kettle. About the
mold, which Is made in two halves, n
jacket Is placed. and the contrivance is
put away 10 dry.
when the dry ing Is complete the
mold is taken off. and Il man goes over
the wax head with a sharp instrument,
clearing out the nostIils and ears and
smoothing away the lines created here
nnd there by the Junction of the mold's
halves. lie also inserts. with Il deft
movement, glass eyes in the empty eye
sockets.
Nov the head passes to "A girl. a
girl with Il strange sort of needle, the
uye of which is open, or split. at the
top. TIE girl first puts on the eye
brows. she threads the needle with n
hair, ruus it through the wax and,
Withdrawing it. lea YES the hair behind.
or the needles eye, that is open at the
top, makes It inevitable for the hair
. stay where 1t is put. The girl works
with great rapidity. In a few minutes
She has the head adorned with a pair
of lonS and shaggy eyebrows.
Next she puts on the hair. For this
work she uses the same SOFT Of needle,
he hair heinE III every case human.
For the cheaper heads. however, it Is
-Ninese hair. Il human. but very luster-
less, coarse variety. Beside her stands
4 tiny spirit lamp. This she applies to
he wax when it becomes so hard that
HE needle won't penetrate it easily. AS
soon as she finishes one head she passes
OIL to another. while the head she aid
Town is taken up by a man.
This man cleans it first with kero-
iene. Then he paints If all over a
pleasant and inviting flesh color, He
ints the cheeks. the ears and the nos
nils with carminr. and he paints the
hps with ronge. \ girl, a professional
pairdresser, now takes the head in
hand, curls the hair and dresses II
lastionabiy and applies Il coat OF
french powder 10 the face. The head
$ now finished.
Hands and feet are maize. rs 4 rule,
pf papier narhe, enameled and painted
+ lesh color. 50 that they look Ike the
best wax. Hands. feet. bodies, legs
md arms are made In hollow mods
The dealer led the way to the back
Of The shop.
Here be said. ARE some men max
nG forms OF papier nache nov. Watch
hem"
The workmen had moldS Of various
Ii2es and shapes before them Il the
mold OF a hand, another that Of Il foot.
/ third that of a whole figure from the
ieck down to the ankles.
These molds were in halves. The pa
pier maclR hat was to I'LL them looked
III its dry state IKE hlottiug paper.
Wet it resenlbled gray pulp. With this
gray pulp tho worklnen lined the
holds interiors well, seeing To it that
very Granny and nook got its thick
ming. When the molds We're filed
ONE We're in numerous ~pieceS-they
we're joined together, covered with
heir jackets and put away 70 dry,
The artists cannot protect. cannot
copyright, their work in any way,
fence they are constantly being preyed
Upon by imitators and thieves. 4 deal
~, for instance will order IN original
,ead OF Il wOman from "a noted maker
If show figures. He Will turn out a
masterpiece. The dealer Will make q
mold of il and sell duplicates Of the
4ead broadcast.
There We're in the past only three or
our makers of show forms In Amert-
N. Now there are over POO. The ave
lge workman at this business makes
hon! $50 TO So n week. The artist of
'reat ahility makes from $40 to $50.
show forms of the best sort are worth
400 and more apiece. They are rented
~ their owners 10 shopkeepers more
,fton than they are sold outright, the
~llVantage of this method being that
he shopkceper through it IL able to
,hailge his show forms often. Phiia-
lelphia Press.
AS GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE.
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