MADAME TUSSAUD'S.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16350, 12 February 1921, Page 3

MADAME TUSSAUD'S.

A WAXWORKS HALL QF FAME, ROMANCE OF FAMOUS EXHIBIT- “ There one*© was a Madame called Tubs a ud, Who loved. the grand folk in 1 Who’s Who.’ so That she made them in wax. Both their fronts and their hacks, And asked no permission to do so.” Thus does London “ Punch ” lightly summarise the life anti work of the far-famed Mdme. Tussaud. For brein t.• and conciseness, this does very well. Vet John T. Tussaud, greatgrandson of the founder of the noted waxworks exhibit, has written a. complete volume on the subject, *' The Romance of Madame Tussaud's.”

THE WORLD IN WAX. In this show palace for the world, j in wax are likolife models representing j all the great and the near-great from the days of the French Revolution up to the moment of hustling to pressHere there are whole royal families, historic scenes, murderers, library personages, statesmen, notorious criminals —in other words, the front-page headline names that endured long enough for the sculptor to shape his j figure. ! Visitors from far corners of the globe have come to view the exhibition. Kings have met themselves luce to face in wax there and been flattered or horrified as the case might be. The Duke of Wellington was discovered once in one of the extiibitiojO. halls gazing down with interest on the j effigy of the great Napoleon lyin<; in ! state on the same camp bedstead he | used at St Helena. Wellington made , some immortal comment which Mr Tussaud unfortunately fails to record.

KNOCK OFF THE KAISER S HEAD. Darina tho war a sightseeing colonial soldier, fresh from the trenches, came tlo the figure of Kaiser Rill. Ljvuig. dead or dono in coloured wax, to tho soldier Kaiser Bill was Kaiser Bill. Without waiting for orders from any superior officer, ho promptly borrowed JI sword from the scabbard of the Austrian Emperor, who was standing near hr. and knocked the Kaiser’s wax head off -with a single mighty blow. Am! afterward' felt that he had performed wither a neat feat . . „ , , Madame Tussaud’s >s full of such anecdote. The present Hr Tussaud has possibly lived too intimately with his wax figures to realise the full possibilities of romance, but lie lias done well enough. He has packed bis book u it’ll entertaining reminiscences of Ins own day and those handed down from Ins ancestors.

FIGURES IN THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. Chief interest in the exhibit centres about the collection of portraits modelled during the French Revolution. As Hilaire Belloc points out in his introduction to the book: “Even though tho famous collection had dealt with nothing more than tho main figures of the Revolution and of the, great- wars til,it followed it. it would have been a possession of permanent and lasting niptorical value- I am not. sure if it bad «o remained, stripper? short at the etfigies of those now long dead, it would not. now receive n greater rrspert. Most nf these Revolutionary figures were modelled bv Mdme Tussaud. who had acquired the art in the studio of her uncle, Christopher Curt,us. lor a limn she lived in the court of Louis XYT at. Versailles as the protege or Mdme Elizabeth and Iwoarne intimate with the important. persons of the Royalist parts. Later, when the Revolution threatened, Curtius recalled her to his studio.

During the days of teo*or. when the streets of Paris wore Titn%xig red with the Meed or Revolutionist* and Royalists alike, Mdme Tussaud was in constant demand to make models of heads that were brought to her straight from the guillotine. Often she was forced bv the terrorists t.o take the impressions of the heads of her intimate and loved friends. Thus she was enmnelled to re-nted,,.-o the lineaments of Louis NTT.. Marie Antoinette. Princess de I .antbalk-, Robespierre and many others. MARAT AND CHARLOTTE CORDAT. When .lean Paul Marat was murdered in his hath by Charlotte Corrlny. Mdme Tussaud was immediately railed upon to take a east, of Marat's head. They mine for mo.” Mdme Tus. [ sand's own words are recorded, “to re ! lo Mai-ut.’s home at cure, and take will, i me what appliances T needed, to make !an impression of his features. The ; , .lave, 0,1- iiM.n taf the Tie,id make me j feel di'Sliera.lely ill. hut they stood over me and fnieed me. to prrform-s- v - i task.I Marat's model is still to he seen in j the exhibition Ivina in the hath in which ! he was stabbed bv the young Norman girl. Mr Tussaud writes that “ Sur- ! prise has sometimes hern, expressed hr. t visitor* lb at. the l>rJ.b in ivlrieb Mm rut was to death *bo-.ib! be- «o small and of suck, a curious shape.” j STARTING OF THE EXHIBITION. | AVi tb tlie Peace of Amiens in ISO2, 1 Mdme Tussaud took her uncle** exhibition and her own models across the Channel and began a tour of EnglandMeeting with satisfactory financial sue ce.ss v.dierover she travelled, the idea occurred to her of commanding riereiinial attention by keeping tlio exhibit ion constantly up to date through adding ; portraits cf peonle whose names were jon everybody's lips- This principle has I been faithfully observed ever Hue*, j ii bile tbc exhibition has taken up a Permanent residence in London and been handed domi from one generation i of Tussands 1o the next. I At the present day in England the • measure of a man's personal success i 3 j not infrequently estimated hr wbedier or not bis figure is represented at Mdme Tussaud’s. Rut to be there for tii' moment is not to be sure of im mentality. AVhen George R. Sires was questioned as to liis sensations at finding himself a waxen celebrity, lie replied: “I feel very frightened indeed, and more than that, exceedingly sorry that T ever promised to become a waxwork, for T have been told since that if the public grows weary of your pre-ence. or the Tusiauds got offended with you, they melt yon down and build un a more popular fellow out of lour dripping. Nasty idea.