Plaster and Wax Mould Part : Front of cow~uncertain
Part of mould is of the front of a possible cow,face facing right. Mould points are recessed.
Original plaster and wax mould from History Colorado New Deal/WPA projects. This mould was found at 1200 Broadway in the Design and production studio when staff were preparing for the move out. Note in box states "These are original moulds used for dioramas--WPA c. 1939" (note now in file). Papers found in boxes dated from 1974-1977; this indicated that the moulds were wrapped and stored at that time, likely after a refresh of the dioramas (see file 81.132 for articles about the diorama restoration). Funded as New Deal projects, diorama construction began at the State Historical Society/History Colorado in 1933. Work on the dioramas ended in 1941. Documentation (see accession files for 81.132) notes that the first dioramas used lead moulds. In 1937 (with the Indian series) human and animal figures previously cast in lead, were cast from wax (a combination of beeswax, rosin to harden the wax and Canada balsam to enable artists to easily cut and reshape the figures).