Milford chronicle., 1913-03-07
Figures Made Nowadays That
Are Really True to Life.
A SCULPTOR AND HIS MODEL.
When the Artist Cannot Get Sitting
From His Subject He Works From a
Photograph or a Deseription-Ths
Way the Efigiss Are Made.


!, tiers that stood more or less unsteady
! upon their legs. with their eyes verJ
T. wide open and their nostrils very
n much inflated and all staring with ex
n Taordinary earnestness at nothing
1t But AIRS. farley was sure they were
2 $50 Ike life that if waxworks only
spoke and moved about you'd hardly
know the difference
Il won't so so far as to say" ven
/. tured that esdmable showwOman.
! that I've seen waxworks quite like
life. but I've certainly seen some life
!, that was exactly like waxworks.'
If Mrs. farley were with us today
she could ind plenty of wax figures
that are altogether quite like life." for
the art Of counterfeiting humanity has
made great advances since the days of
Mrs. farley.
Today waxUOrks are used for a va
-iefy OF purposes. The United States
army. navy ana medical departments
make extensive use Of them. Wax
figures form part Of the outfit of
many recruiting stations. The quarter
masters department uses them 70
show army costumes The hospital
service employs them 10 depict surgi-
cal operations. Museums use wax tg-
Ures- Shopkeepers use them for dis
7 playing garments Various waxwOrks
exhibitions are still popular And In
I every exposition nowadays hundreds
of wax figures are used TO portray life
in distant times and cllmes
I Like any other commodity, wax fig
ures can be had ready made" or con
structed TO 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 Dapier
mache-are cast in stock mOlds. just
as ready made coats are cut after stock /
patterns. They sell ny the dozen and 1
cost only SO or 81 apiece.
The made to order wax figure is cast
ia a specially made mold. accurately
fashioned after the given model and
as carefully finished as a piece of stat
aarg, which indeed it is. The very
lowest cost for such a wax figure is
SO. and from chat sum the price runs
as high as 500 Ii all depends upon
the amount Of time and labor expend-
ed bT the artist.
The sculptor in wax begins a new
dguHe by making a sketch Of his sub
5ect. When he cannot get a sitting
from ais subject he makes use of
photograph or a written description
Skillful photographers can give de
scriptioRs Of people they have photo
graRiled thst are amazing for accuracy
of detail From this sketch clay
model is made. When this has hard
enea 1t is covered with plaster to form
a mold. lInbedded ia the plaster are
strings. which. being pulled out just
before the plaster is fully dry, cut the
hardening mold in half so that when
irm st can be lifted OF in sections.
Into rhis mold is poured in due time
the wax. which it takes half day to
2reHafe This wax nUst be melted
and worked over and c0iored 10 match
ne complexion Of the subject Finally &
{ is poured into the mold and allowed S
~ harden d
The cast is first trimmed up" an e
ana irregularities being s
inoorhed OF Then the eyes are in p
serted These are glass eyes that a
match exactly the shade OF the sub {
ect's eyes S
Lastly the hair is put OIL Strangely Il
nouEh. this is a most difficult opera a
ion. for the hair OF a wax image is
lot, as one might think. merely wig
aid on. To be sure. it is "a wig. and it
matches exactly the subipct's hair bur u
must be made TO grow That is. it b
must seem to spring from the scalp and q
row at various angles just as real hair IL
oes. So it must he put in ana uut on n
he scalp. The hair is inserted win Il
eedles. Bumbers nf whi,h are mhsd N
ed In q w0odpu handle so that the nair OF
nds s=3n be forced lnrO tile wax sew Il
ri at time. at
The most difficult task OF All is tO 10
lake whiskers ook natural To make U
be beard grow naturally with the cor 10
act grain" every one at the thntlSunds M
I dairs. each unt-quHrtpr OF an inch OF
lne. mas to he inserted separately ~
lbor that occupies many hours.
NINE luSsuud was the originator OF a.
De waxworks exhibition She was - -
0rn in Switzerland in 1860 and when = =,
x years old was sent to Paris to be -
laced under the care OF her uncle. NJ !.
urius. artist to Louis XVI. Under -
i'm she studied drawing and modelling -,
} l772 she opened the first wax works =
the paiais Royal. Figures OF royalty -
,mprise the principal exhibits of the =
axwOrks OF Europe In this country
le waxworks are more diversified
as One who catches the public eve. be-
2 murderer or president. is deemed a
ting suhje't for display As interest ~
one character dwindles another tig
e must take its place. 50 that there -.
constant changing OF exhibits Il -,
interesting 10 note that in the lend ~
& American waxwoTks more than
J00 different figures were exhibited
fupufv- fif-r. vtstr.s U.trr.ar.