IN A DOLL FACTORY. Peculiar and Interesting Methods of Manufacture.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 176, 30 October 1886, Page 5 (Supplement)

IN A DOLL FACTORY. Peculiar and Interesting Methods of Manufacture.

Thkrb is much that may be seen by a visit to a doll factory, that would hare for many people all the force of a revelation. Few •probably realise what a number of processes -are necessary before even the tiniest of dolls is ready for the nursery. There is certainly a <t>ewilderingraumber of suitable substances. Besides the various kinds of wax from the besfi English to the commoner foreign sorts, there are spermaceti and various kinds of composition ; indiarubber, guttapercha, wood and rags, not to mention various judiciouB combinations of these and other materials. But the best dollB are made only of the best English wax. Then come the composition dofip, which are much more durable, and some of which have their faces protected by a thin piece of muslin, and so on through the whole list. It is, however, the waxen dolls that appeal most powerfully to the affections and admiration of the girls of England. The construction of moulds in whioh these are made involves some knowledge of modelings. The moulds are made of plaster of Paris, the sectSms being deftly joined together with such nicety as to leave but few marks of the joints. Into this the melted wax is poured while still very hot, and a thin film immediately adheres to the «ides of the mould, which is quickly inverted in order that the molten wax in the centre may flow out. But although this rough mask is fairly complete in point of outline, much remains to be done before it can be rendered as possessing those charms which are commonly believed to be a doll's rightful inheritance. The rough'nQSses have to be smoothed down, a distinctive character has to- be given to the mouth -and noae, the eyebrows have to be delicately pencilled in, and we may well cease to wonder that Shakespeare's lover should have written an ode " to his mistress's eyebrow," when we see the wonderful effect produced oh a doll's faca by various arrangements of brow and laeh. Then the eyee, which are like beautiful shells, and though 'they can be bought by the gross, of any colour and size, have to be fixed io, which is done by plastering them at the back with a litble soft wax. The method of fastening the hair so as to give it a natural appearance is one of the best tests of the care with which a doll has been made. In the best dolls almost every strand is attached separately to the- wax it--self, while in the cheaper kinds a wig is roughly stuck on the doll's head. This is a very important point, which doll worshippers will properly appreciate, for is not the most delightful part of a doll's daily toilette tbe brushing of her hair? Then there are many qualities of hair, from the best mohair tn common flax. We have said little about the tinting of lips and cheeks, processes which involve a nice application of effect. So far doll-fan-ciers seem to be believers in the ruddy hue of health, for we have never yet seen an " interesting " doll with cheeks of thejcolour of underdone pastry. But it would be rash to speculate upon the future, for the new science of taste may yet influence even the nursery and the doll trade.