This is a newly-invented instrument, by the aid of which a person may
have a plaster cast of his face taken without submitting to the usual
unpleasant process.
It consists of an assemblage of very fine moveable wires, confined
closely together within a broad hoop or band, after the manner of the
bristles in a telescope hearth-brush, but not closed at the back, in
order to allow to the wires a free passage. The wires slide in a metal
plate, perforated all over with holes, very fine and close together.
The apparatus is surrounded by an outer case which is filled with warm
water, in order to prevent any unpleasant sensation on the contact of
the instrument with the skin.
[Illustration]
When it is desired to take a likeness, the instrument is applied to the
face with a gentle and gradual pressure, the wires easily yield and
slide back, conformably to the prominences of the countenance; they are
then fixed tightly in their position, and thus form a mould which will
yield a perfect and faithful cast of the face, in which even the most
minute line will appear with the strictest accuracy.