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Show How Flatter Casts Are Made. "Where do all ihese plaster figures come from?" I heard some one inqnire the other day. They are made right here in Springfield. Spring-field. In an old, one story building on West Worthington street is a room where these are produced in large numbers. The Italian who does the work is an intelligent young man with a fair knowledge of common com-mon English words which he can string Into short sentences. Visitors are not welcome wel-come during the morning nours when he is casting, but in the afternoon he opens the door, and sits by it at his work of cleaning and patching. The molds are made in two or three pieces, according to the size and shape of the cast. Thes sections sec-tions ere clamped together and the plastei is poured into them and allowed to become hard. In removing the casts occasionally a nose is broken from a Virgin Mary, or an arm of Joseph is cracked. Sometimes tbe beard of a saint is knocked around under his ear, and the spear of a gnardsmnn is missing. Does the molder throw these into the waste? Oh, no. He simply puts on a nose, adds a spear, builds up a new beard and mends the arm with freshly mixed plaster, using a small smoothing trowel and his thumb for tools. When the cast has drietf he smooths up the surface with the trowel, and scrapes off the finn left by the flask joints. Then he gilds them in gold and bronze, and the second day they are ready to be peddled about the streets. Springfield (Mass.) Homestead. |