Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1904-07-13
MAKING WAX FORMS
SHOW FIGURES FOR SHoPKsEPERs
ARE COSTLY AFFAIRS.
The Way the Heads Are Nodded,
Dressed and Finishcd-rhe Hands
and Feet, Rule. Are Made Of
Papier S.sche In Initiation OF Wax.


Papier s.sche In Initiation OF Wax.
Wax forms, or dummies said the
dealer. ''have iron feet Why have
they iron fcetI To weight them down.
80 that they will stand erect"
He stood in his workshop. a room ms
big as a concert hall An 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 CHASTITY
look. 1t resembled the scene OF n mas
sacre.
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
was n dimple in the check.
"A head like this he said. "is worth
$40. Heads range in price from 81 TO
500. They are made OF wax: they are
hollow; the eyes are of glass. and the
hair is human hair. III tell you how
they are made.
"WaN-a great quantit, of it's boil
ed in 4 big kettle until IL has the con-
siStency OF water. II - then poured
into "a hollow moldS. the molds
OF hes. stand awaiting il. The
mol0s up and shaken about
This b. -;> causes the wax to cool
ana 10 adhere in Il crust TO the mold's
inside. The agitation = kept up until
the crust OF wax has reached the thick
ness that the operator requires. where
upon the hot wax. the surplus. is pour
ell back into the kettle. About the
mold which is made in two halves. a
jacket u placed and the contrivance is
put away To dry.
when the drying is complete the
mold is taken OF. and man goes over
the wax head with sharp instrument.
clearing ont The noStrils and ears and
smoothing away the lines created here
and there by the junction of the mold's
halves. He also inserts. with deft
movement glass eyes i'm the empty eye
sockets
Now the head passes To- girl. a
girl with strange sort OF needle the
eye OF which Is open. or split at the
top. The riri first puts on the eye
brOws. She threads the needle with a
hair. runs il through the wax and.
Withdrawing il, leaves the hair behind.
FOR the needles eye. that is open at the
top. makes il inevitable for the hair
to stay where ii is put. The gir works
with great rapidity. In few minutes
she has the head adorned with "A pair
Of long and SHAGGY eyebrows
Next she Jls on the hair. For this
work she USES the Same sort OF needle.
the hair beins an every ease human.
For the cheaper heads. however. il is
Chinese hair. a human. hut very luster-
less, coarse variety. Beside her stands
tiny spirit lamp. This she applies 10
the wax when n becomes So hard that
/ the needle won't penetrate IL easily. KS
soon as she finishes one head she passes
on TO another. while the head she laid
down is taken zap by a man.
This man cleans il first with kcro-
sene. Then Dee paints IL all over a
pleasant and inviting Gcsh color lie
tints the checks. the ears and the nos
AAAAN WIN I'll AAAAAA's anu Az lNstAAAAT AAiN
lips with rouge y girl. n professional
hairdresser. now takes the head in
hand, curls the hair and dresses IL
fashionably and applies coat OF
French powder 20 the face The head
is now finished.
Hands and feet are made. as a rule.
OF papier machc, cnameled and painted
n flesh color. SO that they look like the
best wax. Hands, feet. bodies. legs
and arms are made in hollow molds."
The dealer led the way 10 the back
/ Of the shop.
Here" he said, ARE some men max
ing forms of papicr mache now. Watch
them"
The wOrLmen had moldS OF various
sizes and shapes before them-one ths
mold OF hand, another that OF foot
a third that OF a whole figure from the
neck down To the ankles.
These mOlds were in halves. The pa
pier nache that was to fiji them locke,
in its dry state like blOtting paper
Wet it resembled gray pulp With this
gray pulp the wOrkmen lined the
molds' interiors well, seeing to il tina
every Granny and nook got its thicl
lining When the molds were filed
some were I'm numerous pieces-thel
We're Joined together. covered witt
their jackets and put away to dry.
The artists cannot protect, canno
copyright. their work in any way
Hence they are constantly being preye,
upon by imitators and thieves. \ deal
er, for instance, viii order an Origina
head of a woman from Il noted max q
Of show figures. He will turn out
masterpiece. The dealer Will make
mold of il ana sell duplicates of in,
head broadcast
There were in the past only three o
four makers of show forms in Amerl
ca. Now there are over 200. The aver
age workman at this business make
from $50 TO SO a week The artist o
great ability makes from $40 to Sc
Show forms of the best sort are wort
500 and more apiece. They are rente
by their owners to shopkeepers NOR
often than they are sold outright, tn
advantage OF this method being tina
the shopkeeper through il is able t
change his show forms often.-Phila
delphia Press.