Having progressed thus far, the student will no doubt begin to consider seriously the desira­bility of burdening himself with a family—a ven-triloquial family—with the idea of either pur­chasing outright what he needs or of making such figures for himself.

 

At the outset, however, I would state em­phatically that unless you are a natural mechanic and also something of an adept at wood carving you would better wait until you can either pur­chase the figures required or can pay for having the heads made by a professional wood carver. Such work usually costs from three to four dollars per head, according to the size, and two or three dollars more must be added for the painting, hair, etc. Then the body must be made and dressed—but this you can easily do yourself at little cost.

The small knee figures can be obtained, head, body and all, from dealers in magical goods for from about seven to ten dollars, and larger ones from the latter amount to thirty or thirty-five dollars, according to the size and movements re­quired; so very little is saved by having the heads made to order, and the result is not usually so satisfactory, unless a carver can be found to whom this work is familiar.

 

Of course if you are handy enough with tools to make your own heads, the saving is worthwhile, and I will now give you a few hints as to how the work may be done.

 

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