The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-09-26
MUMNHEs MADE TO ORDER.
A Man Has Been in the Business 20
Years-How the Fakes Are Made.

Cal. Mr.. Fisher-this is the able
craftsman's name-exposes his whole
process, from the beginning to the
end, without making the least secrecy
about it.
He works in = shop on the main
street of the city. In the show win
dow are sample mummies; also a
sign which reads: Come in and see
mummy made"
He charges ten cents admission
and does a good business. A writer
for the Pa:ific Monthly inspected the
mummy plant and has described the
industry. He explains that Mr.. Fish
er's present frankness is due to the
fact that he is going to retire from
the mummy trade.
after having hidden" his art for
more than a quarter of century,"
says the visitor, "he has chosen to
give a practical lesson in it to who
ever cares to learn it."
The whole factory outfit consists
of great rough table and one or two
smaller ones, upon which several
mummies are lying in different stages
! Of development.
/ The first step taken in the manu-
facture is the preparation of sim
| pie plank, the vertebral column,
which gives a stay to head, body,
legs and all, and to the end of which
are nailed one - 'wo short boards
representing the fe
Then bag Of sacking, correspond
ing in form to the shape of the body.
is placed around the plank and
stuffed with excelsior. The ribs are
reproduced by means of bamboo
straps. The arms and fingers con-
sist of several big and some small
! sticks. 90.
All these things are attached to
the outside Of the bag. The rough
body thus produced is covered with
thin coat of plaster to the extent of
the chest and abdomen, or wherever
else aLy part of the body is intended
to show.
On top of this plaster a coating Of
glue is put and fluffy tissue pasted
on, which is again covered with glue.
The body at this stage is of yellow
ish color and in touch and appear
ance resembles almost exactly a
fresh human carcass.
The head is next placed in position
and covered with glue and tissue in
the same way as the body. The eye
holes are painted dark brown inside
and covered with piece or two of
the same material, with small slit
in the middle, which gives a marvel
ously good representation of the
sunken, dried out eyes Of the real
mummy.
A few hairs are pasted on top Of
the head, the teeth are made out of
small bits of horn, and the head and
neck, with the exception Of the face,
are wrapped with se"eral layers OF
thin, ragged cotton, held together by
bands. The whole body is treated
likewise, leaving such spots as it is
desirable to show the skin and bones
underneath.
Then the ior-l, which has been
! partly painted before IT, outer COW
ering was put on. is dyed once more,
together with all the rags and band
ages, and when perfectly dry presents
the exact appearance of the real old
Egyptian mummy.
:. Finally. the: body is strewn all over
with gray dust or powder, which
partly fills all the holes. If there
was the slightest ground for scepti-
cism left before thu removes it en-
tirely
The writer has seen hundreds of
mummies, but even on closest in
spection he was not able to discover
anything in the artificial product that
was not exactly in accordance with
all he ever observed in the original
mummies.
The very shape OF the head, the
| expression of the hollow eyes, the
| shrivelled lips, the bits Of skin and
I bone exposed; the wrappings and all,
are such as exactly to resemble the
genuine article. Standing in the
very workshop, se2ing them made,
and hearing the makers explana-
tions, it is hard to realize that those
weird figures should be limitations.
If the artist tells you that he has
been working in his line of business
for twenty-nine years, that he has
learned his trade in regular factory
| long ago, and that he is able to turn
out several mummies day, you will
perhaps agree that. even your keen
eye may have been deceived, especial
ly if you will calculate what this one
man alone has done in his line
Many more genuine" articles
issue from the same deft hands, but
they are of comparatively minor in
| terest; mermaids, "Alligator Boys"
and similar remarkable and fabulous
creatures are manufactured here, as
we'll as Indian war relics and curios
| that will astound thousands here
after. But, as the clever sculptor re-
marks, the world will be deceived,
| and a man would rather pay fifty
cents to see one Of these products
in a show or museum than pay ten
cents to see it made.