The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-02-26

In his printing shop on Spruce street,
". s Davis, eX-medium, formerly adver-
tsed among spiritualists rs one OF the best
in the business gave a demonstration
yesterday of up 70 date spiritual phenomena
which would make the hair Of believer
rise. He did it to point his remarks about
the oredibility Of Mrs. May Pepper, whom
the mysterious Fraud Society Of
Brooklyn is after and to illustrate how Dr.
Isaac Funk's spirit portraits were made
Now that the matter has come out in
the press from other sources said Mr..
Davis. Il am at liberty to tell what know
about DR. Funk's spirit paintings
lie has five of them. They we're made
for him early IN December by the Bangs
sisters in Chicago. They hang in his study
where | saw them shortly after he brought
them back One representa- his grand
mother.
L recognized them ms the old familiar
fake-pastel over an enlarged photograph
on sensitzed canvas DR. Funk asked
me what thought of the Bangs sisters.
told him.
Dear me he said. why is it so many
mediums are women of bad reputation
Because no one else will go into such
business, SAID |.
This is the way the Bangs sisters and
mediums of their class usually work the
upint portrait fake:
1T takes three to do 1.-TWO mediums
In the sitting and an expert photographer
in the room below. Near where medium
No. / sits there is Il little slit in the floor
Just largo enough to slip photograph
through.
The sitter enters No. takes the pho
tograph of the dead person and presses
It to her brow It is usually wrapped up
TO insure against frauds
Just then the table near which No
ats begins to rap Like this '
A series Of most realistic raps sounded
through the printing shop.
I'm doing that with my thumb nail
said Mr.. Davis, but you can't see me do
G.
"Of course the sitter turns TO No. ?.
She says that she has the spirit in COM
nnnication. and begS the sitter to put his
hands on the table to establish "A current.
She lays one hand over both his. and with
the other she begins TO smooth his hair
and face TO establish current. In that
position she's got him jiu-jitsued. II
he starts to turn her arm is In front of his
eyes. Like as not, if she's young, plump
and good looking he doesn't try To turn.
Meantime the other medium has dropped
the photograph down the slit The assist
ant unwraps it, makes negative, rewraps
1t. and hands it back through the slit.
All this doesn't take more than minute
and a half
Then there's a lot OF carvoyance and
fapdoodle and messages. Finally the
table raps again. The spirit is there-the
model of the painting.
-'John'-or maybe Isaao-says the spirit
through medium No. ?, can't get into
communication now. Come again on Fri
day. shall have power on Friday. Maybe
l shall never have it again, the channels
are weak.
Does he come on friday Does the
eun riser II he's alive, he comes.
Tho assistant has been busy He has made
an enlargement OF that photograph on
scnsitized canvas and painted it over in
pastel--same process as the enlarged
crayon portrait of the country home
and has prepared blank canvas, mounted
just like the portrait, even to the way the
lacks ara placed
"The sitter comes back Medium No.
2 Is at the table. The spirit calls. He re-
veals that conditions are beautiful. The
blank canvas Is wrapped up in about
dozen layers OF tissue paper-to insure
against fraud-and act up in the window.
The table taps again. The sitter gets
beautiful communication from infouna-
tlon wormed out Of him at the last sitting.
Medium No. = jiu-jitsues him again, and
No / draws the completed portrait from
under her skirt and makes a quick change.
The completed portrait is now in the win
dow wrapped in tissue paper like the
other, and the picture shows dimly against
the light.
Look! It's coming They say.
There are some more revelations and
some more Ju-jts And while it is go
ing on No. / has stripped of 1. sheet of
tissue paper, so that when the sitter looks
again the portrait shows still more plainly.
This happens half a dozen times, the por-
trait getting more distinct every time
At the end of twenty minutes they tear on
tho remaining paper.
There is perfect portrait OF the de-
ceased. Wonderful!
What If the sitter brings his own can
vasl They only need to put him of for
another sitting. They have an exactly
similar canvas AID frame made IN the
meantime. What II he scratches his sigma
ture on it for identification? They only
have to get it Out of his hands long enough
10 make a tracing.
Il think that Dr. Funk must be joking
when he says that he Paid less than 500
for his collection. A medium who would
lot rich publisher get away with five
paintings for such a sum as that would
Disgrace the perfesh.
Touching on Mrs. Pepper, Mr.. Davis
begged leave to make a demonstration Of
his own psychic powers
For the benefit Of those who have never
witnessed Mrs. Peppers marvellous Sun
day night services, it may be stated thai she
confines herself to scaled letter reading.
At the beginning Of the services some 200
letters are usually sent up to the pulpit
by the audience through the ushers. After
tho hymn Mrs. Pepper reads about dozen
Of these selecting them from the pile by
spirit guidance, and gives answers showing
how intimately the spirits understand
~ ~.