On the Economy of Machinery and ManufacturesBabbage, Charles
ReligionComparative
On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures
Babbage, Charles
Machinery; Manufactures
111. Casting in wax. This mode of copying, aided by proper
colouring, offers the most successful imitations of many objects
of natural history, and gives an air of reality to them which
might deceive even the most instructed. Numerous figures of
remarkable persons, having the face and hands formed in wax, have
been exhibited at various times; and the resemblances have, in
some instances been most striking. But whoever would see the art
of copying in wax carried to the highest perfection, should
examine the beautiful collection of fruit at the house of the
Horticultural Society; the model of the magnificent flower of the
new genus Rafflesia--the waxen models of the internal parts of
the human body which adorn the anatomical gallery of the Jardin
des Plantes at Paris, and the Museum at Florence--or the
collection of morbid anatomy at the University of Bologna. The
art of imitation by wax does not usually afford the multitude of
copies which flow from many similar operations. This number is
checked by the subsequent stages of the process, which, ceasing
to have the character of copying by a tool or pattern, become
consequently more expensive. In each individual production, form
alone is given by casting; the colouring must be the work of the
pencil, guided by the skill of the artist.
Of copying by moulding
112. This method of producing multitudes of individuals
having an exact resemblance to each other in external shape, is
adopted very widely in the arts. The substances employed are,
either naturally or by artificial preparation, in a soft or
plastic state; they are then compressed by mechanical force,
sometimes assisted by heat, into a mould of the required form.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account