Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-10-29

ures can be had ready made" or con-
structed Ito order" The ready made
kind are used principally in shop win
dows. The wax heads. arms and hands
of these-the bodies are made OF papier
mache-are cast in stock molds. just
as ready made coats are cut after stock
patterns. They sell by the dozen and
cost only So or 81 apiece.
The made TO order WAX figure is cast
In a specially made mold. accurately
fashioned after the given model aud
as carefully finished as a piece of stat
uary, which indeed 1t is. The very
lowest cost for such a wax figure is
$25. and from that sum the price runs
as high as $500. 1t all depends upon
the amount of time and labor expend-
ed by the artist
The sculptor In wax begins a new
! figure by making sketch of his sub
ject. When he cannot get a sitting
from his subject he makes use of II
/ photograph or written description
SkiIlful photographers can give de
scriptions OF people they have photo
graphed that are amazing for accuracy
of detail. From this sketch clay
model is made. When this has hard
ened it is covered with plaster to form
q mold Embedded in the plaster are
strings. which. being pulled out just
before the plaster is fully dry, cut the
hardening mold in half, so that when
firm it can he lifted of in sections.
Into this mod is poured in due tine
the wax. which it takes half "a day tc
prepare. This wax must be melted
and worked over and colored to match
the complexion of the subject. Finally
1t is poured into the mold and allowed
to harden
The cast is first trimmed up," all
roughness and Irregularities being
smoothed off Then the eyes are in
serted. These are glass eyes that
match exaCtIv the shade of the sub
ject's eyes.
Lastly the hair is put on. Strangely
enough. this is a most difficult opera
ton. for the hair of n wax image Is
not. as one might think. merely a wig
laid on. To he sure, it is a wig, and II
matches exactly the subjects hair, but
it must he made to grow" That is. 1t
must seem to spring from the scalp and
grow at various angles just as real hair
does. So 1t must he put in and Dot on
the scalp The hair is inserted with
needles. numbers of which are lmbed
ded In a wooden handle so that the hair
ends can be forced into the wax sey-
eraI at time
The most difficult task of all is to
make whisker> look natural. To make
the beard grow naturally with the cor
rect grain" every one Of the thousands
Of hairs. each one-quarter OF an inch
long. has to be inserted Senarately-a
labor that occupies many hours.
Mime. Tussaud was the originator of
the waxworks exhibition. She was
born in Switzerland in 1890 and when
six years old was sent to Paris to he
placed under the care of her uncle. NJ.
GURUS. artist to Louis XVI. Under
him she studied drawing and modelling
In 1772 she opened the first waxworks
In the Palais Royal. Figures of royalty
comprise the principal exhibits OF the
waxworks of Europe. In this country
the waxworks are more diversified.
Any one who catches the public eye, be
be murderer or president, is deemed a
fitting subject for display. AS interest
In one character dwindes another fig
ure must take its place. so that there
is constant changing of exhibits. IL
Is interesting TO note that in the lead.
ing American waxwOrks more than
1000 different figures were exhibited
In twenty-five years.-Harpers.