The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1907-02-07
soever cares to learn It.

soeVer cares TO learn It.
The whole factory outfit consits 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 simple
plank, the vertebral column, which
gives a stay to the head body legs
and all. and to the end of which are
nailed one or two short boards repre-
senting the feet.
Then bag of sacxing, 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 consist
OF several big and some small sticks.
All these things are attached 10
the outside of the bag. The rough
body thus produced is covered with q
thin coat of plaster to the extent of
the chest and abdomen, or wherever
else any part OF the body is intended
to show.
On the top of this plaster a coating
OF glue is put and a fluffy tissue past
ed on. which is again covered with
glue. The body at this stage is Of a
yellowish color and in touch and ap-
pearance resembles almost exactly O
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 in de
and covered with piece or two of
the same material, with a small slit
in the middle. which gives marcel
ously good representation of the sun
ken, dried out eyes of the real num-
my.
A few hairs are pasted on ton of
the head. the teeth are made out OF
small bits Of horn. and the head and
neckneck, with the exception of the
face, are wrapped with several layers
OF thin ragged cotton. held toge. her
by bands. The whole body is treated
likewise. leaving such spots as il ia
desirable to show the skin and bones
underneath.
Then the form, which has been
partly painted before the outer cover
ing was put on, is dyed once more. to-
gether with all the rags and bandages,
and when perfectly dry presents the
exact appearance of the real old Egyp-
tian 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 this removes it en-
tirely.
The writer has seen hundreds of
mummies, but even on closest inspec-
tion he was not able to discover any,
thing 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
bone exposed; the wrappings and all.
are such as exactly to resemble the
genuine article. Standing in the very
WORKSHOP, seeing them made, and
hearing the makers explanations If
is hard to realize that those weird
figures should be limitations.
II the artist tells you that he has
been working in his line of business
for twenty-nine years, that he learre \
his trade in regular factory long
ago. and that he is able to turn OFT
several mummies a day, you will ner-
haps agree that even your keen eve
may have been deceived, especially ~
you will calculate what this one man
alone has done in his line.