To the ventriloquist who first conceived the idea of using a mouth-moving figure should be erected a monument, not only for the entertain­ment and amusement his ingenuity has afforded to countless thousands, past and present, but for the employment he has given to numerous figure makers and to hundreds of entertainers who would never otherwise have been able to style themselves ventriloquists. But, alas! he is not known to fame and so must forever remain un-honored and unsung.

In its primitive state the head was simply fitted to an upright pole, the base of which was fixed to a flange screwed into the stage or a stand suf­ficiently heavy to permit of the screwing being dispensed with. A head like that once carried its owner around the world and finally found an ignoble resting place—such is the inconsistency and inconstancy of man—in the rubbish of a workshop.

Recognizing that it is not well for man to live alone, some one invented the Old Lady to bear the Old Man company, which not only made the "single" man's head a married man's head, but per­mitted that wrangling over domes­tic matters that is popularly supposed to add spice and variety to the monotony of existence.

Finding that the stands were rather cumber­some, someenterprising ventriloquist originated flat heads, which could be hung under the coat on the ends of a strap running around the neck. When the performer wished to disclose them he simply threw back his coat and, holding his arms akimbo, rested his hands on his hips and worked the mouths with his thumbs by means of a string ; but these soon went out of favor on ac­count of their unnaturalness, although their port­ability and the surprise created by their sudden appearance were distinct advantages.

Then came small heads held upward by the hand, which was covered by a frill, and from these to knee puppets the transition was an easy one. With these the cumbersome stands, the obvious working of the strings and the absurdity of a talking head without a body, which had been serious drawbacks to all the earlier styles, were done away with. Such dolls can be easily carried in an extension case or a portmanteau, and the ventriloquist, when requested to enter­tain, can bring them into a room, seat him­self quietly, and have the figures chatting on his knees before his entrance is noticed. The position is a natural one, and with his hand in the interior of the body the mouth is made to work and the head to turn, by simply grasp­ing the round stick projecting from the nock, turning it to cause the head to look either to the right or the left, and pulling the ring down to work the lower jaw. When the en­tertainment is over the puppets can be removed without trouble and loss of time, and without upsetting the room and at the same time the equanimity of the host or hostess.

 Stand Figures Back                                           Figure on Stand
        of Table

For vaudeville theatres and most public per­formances the knee doll is now generally arranged on small seats or stands, with larger full length figures standing or sitting,und worked from be­hind by wires or other contrivances, including compressed air. With the latter the figures may be placed at any distance from the operator, who controls the mouth movement by compressing a rubber bulb. The air thus compressed passes through a small rubber pipe to a cylinder and piston connected with the lever operating the mouth. A small-size bicycle pump fitted with a piston and containing a hole in the bottom for the entrance of the rubber tube answers the purpose very well.

The little girl referred to in a previous chapter usually adds much to the effectiveness of a per­formance, and is made to do duty in a variety of ways. An English ventriloquist, Robert Ganthony, to whom I am indebted for many valuable hints concerning the subject, has a little girl figure which stands at the piano and sings to his accompaniment, the mouth being moved by the ventriloquist's foot. It also plays the violin, the sound being a vocal imitation, while the bow arm is worked by means of a second

First Method                Second Method

pedal. Whether the girl stands, sits on the knee or on a stool, sings, plays or recites, depends of course upon the inclination and talent of the performer. Ventriloquial Negroes have a variety of ac­complishments,
ranging from dancing to smok­ing. Some even play the banjo, which is made to hook on the shoulders and is readily detach­able. In this case the arm is worked by means of a wire running from the hand on the inside of the sleeve and through the clothing at the back, where it is held by the exhibitor (Fig. 3).
 
But the principal use .of the Negro figure is to utter an idiotic laugh whenever an interruption is wanted, an awkward pause takes place, or the proceedings generally want some little enlivenment. If laughter is to be his sole office, the top half of the head should hinge on the lower, and be so balanced that a tug at the string behind causes him to throw his head back in a fit of unre­strained merriment, which of course the ventrilo­quist supplies. Upon slackening the string the face assumes its normal
expression (Fig. 4).

The bent wire in the arm can be used with any figure, provided the puppet is on a level with the performer, so that its manipulation is concealed. While standing by the side of the Negro with his arm back of the figure, the manipulator may cause the lat­ter to touch his (the performer's) chin with its hand and at the same time give utterance to this sage re­mark, "Nice massa needs er shave, deed he do," or any other equally wise  observation  that   the   action suggests.

Dancing Negroes do not properly belong to a ventriloquial entertainment, but they may be used to create a few moments' diversion from the regular thing and at the same time give the per­former a little rest from vocal effort. They can be worked from a distance by a cord or from behind a screen by pedals attached to the heels of the figure. A still better plan is to work the feet by wires running through the trousers legs from the heel and coming out under the coat-tails, which conceal the hands as they pull the wires. The feet are such as marionettes have, the joint and weighted toe giving the double rap of the clog dancer.

By means of a rubber tube, large enough to hold a cigarette or cigar, fitting into the mouth and running through the back of the neck to a rubber-bulb, the representative of Dark Town society may be made to puff away like a veteran smoker. This feat may be made more effective by working the mouth with a treadle and allow­ing the figure to place the cigar, held between his fingers, in his mouth himself and take it at will. Of course the wife which lifts the arm will have to be manipulated in such a manner as to insure the cigar's entering the end of the hidden tube; the mouth being shut down upon it helps to re­tain it as the hand, which may be a tightly stuffed black cotton glove, is allowed to drop, although by forcing the fingers around the cigar and opening the mouth the weed can be removed. The wire to the arm gives complete control of all movements, but practice is necessary to insure precision of action.

Larger figures than the so-called knee dolls are fixed to seats if sitting, or to stands if standing, and with these the head and neck movements are capable of greater variety than is possible with the smaller figures where the performer's hands are employed in supporting them as well as in manipulating their mouths. With station­ary figures of this kind the ventriloquist is also free to move about.

The mouth is operated through a movable neck (Fig. 5) from inside the body, which allows the head to stretch a foot or two and peer about in any direc­tion. The heads of the Old Man and the Old Lady can be turned instantly in the direc­tion of any sound that occurs, or in their domestic differences their faces can be made to turn squarely toward each other (see Fig. 6). A back view of this style of figure shows how easily an endless variety of movements are obtained, as it will be observed that the actions are not limited by mechanism that gives only certain effects.

The hollow body allows the hand, which from the inside works the mouth and moves the head and neck, so much freedom of action that it not only enables it to imitate every movement of the human head and neck, but supplements these by others of a grotesque character that no human being ever could achieve.

Fig.7

Figure 7 shows the back view of such a body without the clothing, which of course overlaps and conceals the opening without preventing the insertion of the neck and head in A or the per­former's hand in B. The spike C is fixed on the bottom of the figure and is hidden by the dra­pery. This spike fits loosely into a hole made in the stand or chair upon which the figure is seated, and, being loose, the body can be made to sway about by a push with the wrist when the hand is manipulating the mouth.

The neck is dropped into the body through the opening A; when the small spike of the neck-stick touches bottom the head is in position and will remain so, as shown in the figure. The right hand of the performer in the interior of the pup­pet (which in this case would be on his right) clutches the neck-stick and the thumb is inserted in the wire ring at the left, which by a down­ward movement pulls the mouth open by means of a picture wire or gut string as in the smaller knee dolls, a spring causing the jaw to close as the wire is related. It will be understood without further illustration that if the neck-stick be held in the hand, any upward movement raises the head, a movement to the left causes it to turn to the right and vice versa. By tilting the stick toward you the head is made to look down, and by pushing it from you the head looks up. The mouth-moving head and neck is detachable, and, when packed, fits inside the body, where, wrapped in a cover, it travels without risk of in­jury. In order to make them compact for this purpose, the backs of bodies, heads, etc., are made flat, as also are the buttons on the coat.
There are two ways to make the arms look muscular. One is by means of rings sewn inside the sleeves, as is done with marionette figures. The other is to have underneath the outer cloth­ing an inner suit of silesia, with arm and leg shapes stuffed with excelsior. For the smaller figures the hands are made of wood with enough of a wrist to permit the end of the stuffed arm shape being drawn around it and tightly secured. The stockings are brought up over the leg shapes and fastened with thread, and the shoes (which are ordinary baby shoes) are drawn over the bot- toms of these and also sewn. Large figures, however, sometimes have hands made simply of gloves painted in flesh color and stuffed with cot­ton or excelsior, the short wrists of these being fastened either over the arm-shape or to the in­side of the outer coat sleeves. The clothing is drawn over the shape and fastened by means of tacks or small nails to the box or if the inner shape includes a stuffed bust which also covers the front and sides of the box, the clothing may be sewn directly to that. This is much the better way, as tacks are likely to wear loose and also tear the covering. The Old Woman needs neither lower limbs nor feet, if she is to sit, a wire hoop being fastened to the bottom of the dress to give the necessary fullness. When covered with a bright cover, the box the figures travel in is often used as a seat for them.

A convenient and effective "set-up" for enter­tainments in parlors, churches, small halls and lodge-rooms, where there, is not much stage room, may be made up of the larger Irish and Negro knee figures, and Old Man and Old Woman heads. The two latter have no body, the neck being simply nailed or screwed to a flat board, oval in shape, the length of this oval giv­ing the shape of the shoulders. In the middle of this, on the under side, a hole is made large enough to allow the insertion of an iron rod about two feet long, the opposite end of which fits into the tripod of an ordinary music-stand. To the shoulder-piece is attached a small coat, buttoned in front so that no vest is necessary. A white shirt bosom is fastened underneath the V-shaped opening of the coat, and the neck is dressed with a collar and large flowing necktie. The Old Woman is rigged in much the same way, with a waist instead of a coat, and a stiffly-starched frill around the neck. The sleeves in both cases are given shape with wire rings and there are no hands, these figures being placed behind a table at such height that the lower ends of the sleeves are not visible from the front.

The mouth-moving mechanism is a little differ­ent in these heads from that already described. The floor of the lower jaw projects a little be-3'ond the pivoting wire and is operated not by a string or wire, but by a wooden lever running through a slot in the back of the head, from which it projects an inch or two. This lever is itself pivoted in such a way that, on pressing it down from behind, it tilts up against the project­ing inner end of the jaw, which of course throws its outer end, or lip, down, thus causing the mouth to open. A spiral spring from above causes it to shut again when the pressure on the lever is relaxed, or a spring made of a bent piece of thin steel may be fastened underneath the movable floor to push it up into place again. The former method is generally preferred on ac­count of the fact that the spiral spring may be easily adjusted from above by simply removing the wig from the head, while it is almost im­possible to get at the lower spring if by chance it should become misplaced.
The table, back of which these figures are placed, should be draped so low in front that the stands cannot be seen. After the performance is over, the heads are taken off the stands and the latter are folded together and strapped on the outside of the carrying-case.

If the bodies of the knee figures are made to consist simply of a top and bottom board to which is firmly tacked a piece of silesia to form the cloth sides and front, with removable wooden sides, they may be made readily collapsible.

The side pieces of wood should of course be just long enough to fully stretch the top and bottom boards when inserted at the back; and on the under side of the top board and the upper side of the bottom, near their outer edges, should be glued small cleats to prevent the removable side-boards slipping inward when they are in place. Of course the silesia prevents the boards from pressing outward and also forms the front of the box, and to this the clothing is sewn. When the sides are drawn out the shoulders of the figure readily shut down on the bottom piece, thus enabling the body to be packed in very small compass. To still further facilitate this, the clothing is made thin and unlined, and the arms and legs are stuffed with cotton so as to readily double up. With such an outfit the per­former is independent of express companies and baggage-cars, as all the figures may be carried in two extension cases, and where he does not make his ventriloquism a means of livelihood it answers very well. Where he employs other figures and is sufficiently advanced to get important engage­ments in vaudeville houses, a more novel fit-up should be used.

One popular figure worker has his Old Lady arranged behind a table at the back of the stage, while the Old Man sits in a chair near by, and the Irish and Negro figures are given a settee just back of the footlights.    Another has his Old Man standing and his Old Woman sitting, while still another arranges his figures, which are all of full length, in a row on a covered divan or sofa behind which he stands.

With all his modern improvements the Old Man is fearfully and wonderfully made, like unto no living creature of the heavens above, the earth beneath or the waters under the earth. His nose pulls out and is illuminated by electricity from the interior, as is his scarf-pin, and the pulling process is accompanied by a terrible squinting of the eyes. On occasion his hair raises in fright or amazement, not like "quills upon a fretful porcu­pine," but like a hirsute trap-door. His eyes wink at so much per wink per eye. His head turns completely around and when remonstrated with at such an unnatural proceeding, it makes the circuit again in the opposite direction while he casually remarks that "one good turn deserves another." His arm lifts and plucking his hat from his head with jointed fingers he waves it jauntily about. Not only does he smoke a pipe, but places it in his mouth himself, and lighting a match on the side of his own face holds it to the tobacco and puffs away contentedly, occasionally adding realism to the action, if not refinement, by expectorating a fine stream of water over the stage. When anything occurs in the audience to attract his attention his neck stretches to a frightful length, while he blithely gives utterance to the warning, "Danger," with a rising inflec­tion on the "ger" which proves intensely amusing. He also crosses his legs and uses his hand­kerchief; and, in fact, with all his accomplish­ments he must be as difficult to work as a loco­motive.
A development of recent years is the walking figure, whose legs and feet move quite naturally as it marches about the stage, its arm linked in that of the performer. At least, that is the way it appears, but in reality the performer's arm is concealed under the dress of the automaton, while the arm which appears to be his is a false one. Sometimes the ventriloquial pedestrian ap­pears as a soldier on crutches which he uses very naturally, and again it may be a stout lady of color who, with one hand, lifts her skirt daintily as she walks and talks with her exhibitor. Of course the fingers are attached to the skirt so that any lifting of the arm by a concealed wire will lift the garment also, but it is all very inter­esting and very natural and adds much to the ef-feet of a, performance. These figures are costly, however, and usually must be made to order.

A laudable attempt has been made by profes­sional ventriloquists during recent years to get away from the conventional by giving their fig­ures novel surroundings and characteristics. One set-up, for instance, represents a country grocery store, with the puppets seated on barrels and boxes in front of the counter, from behind which, in the guise of the storekeeper in shirt sleeves, "high-water" trousers, boots and battered straw hat, the ventriloquist discusses with them famil­iarly about the gossip of the village. Another performer gives his figures an airing at a mimic seashore resort, where they are presently joined by an automaton nurse maid, who trundles her infant charge in a perambulator on the beach without any visible assistance except a small rub­ber hose which drags at her heels. One also has a soldiers' camp, with a walking figure as a one-legged colonel, while as the camp mascot Jerry interrupts the conversation from behind a loose flap in the side of a tent.
There are countless other ways in which your figures may be arranged. You might have the representation of a police court, and as the judge work from behind your desk a miscellaneous as­sortment of characters, including policemen, wit­nesses, culprits and hangers-on; or you could act as the teacher of a district school with your fig­ures as scholars. You might even make yourself the interlocutor of a small minstrel troupe by blacking your face, and using a pair of false arms that would allow your real ones to work the strings for the rest of the company.

Before leaving this part of the subject, we will consider briefly some of the animal automata which are occasionally used by the ventriloquial entertainer. Of these the cat is the most com­mon, and may be made to spit, yowl and claw in the most lifelike manner, the spitting and yowl­ing of course being supplied by the performer. A French ventriloquist who appeared in America a few years ago, carried with him a large papier-mache cow which opened its mouth and moo'd quite naturally.

A dummy parrot suggests nothing unreal when used for ventriloquy, and as much entertainment can be obtained from it as from a real one, which is saying a great deal.

If you can give a good imitation of a barking dog you might have the figure of such an animal interrupt the dialogue instead of having the Negro do this.

To make this section complete, I append below a price-list of mechanical figures, exactly as re­ceived from a prominent Boston dealer in mag­ical apparatus and novelties:

1.  With mechanical  moving mouth,  $12  a pair, or $6.50 each.

2.  The pair with moving mouth and mechanical moving arm attached to separate levers, thus giving the performer full control over the figures, $20 or $10.50 each.

3.  Figures same as No. 2, but with moving mouth and turning head only, all worked from back of body, same price as quoted in No. 2.

4.  The same as No. 2, but superior to those above, as the head turns to right and left, $21 a pair, or $12 each.

5.  The pair same as No. 2, but superior to either of the  above figures, have moving eyes attached to separate levers, the levers concealed at back of head, giving performer full control over eyes, mouth and arm, $26 a pair, $14 each.
6. A superior mechanical figure like No. 4, with a real lifelike appearance, turning the head, moving mouth, eyes and arm, $16 each.

      These figures can be fitted with winking eyes, $1.50 extra.

      All mechanical figures have glass eyes.
7.  Extra   large   life-size   ventriloquil   head, mounted on pedestal, $7.

8.  Not as large as No. 7, $6.

9.  Ventriloquil head, not on pedestal, $3, $4 and $5 each.

10. Mechanical head same as No. 8, but fitted with contrivance enabling it in addition to talking, to smoke a pipe and blow a cloud of smoke from mouth, $10.

A "pair" means Irish and negro knee figures. A little girl can be substituted for either at the same price in each instance. Walking figures cost from $20 to $30 each. All these figures have wooden heads with movable lower jaw made of chamois, and are well dressed. The figures furnished by some dealers have papier-mâché heads, which are not so good because of the like­lihood of their sometime being crushed in the haste of packing and catching trains. Wooden heads are sufficiently light and portable for all purposes, and with ordinary care and occasional repainting will last for years.