Joseph Towne

Joseph Towne (25 November 1806 – 25 June 1879) was a British moulageur, sculptor, and stereoscopist. He is best known for the creation of anatomical models made of wax, many of which still survive today and are on display in the Guy's Hospital medical school museum.

Joseph Towne was born in Royston, Hertfordshire, where his father was a preacher at the local chapel, the youngest of five surviving children. He was apprenticed to a local artist, spending two years as an assistant sculptor.

When he was seventeen, Joseph Towne began work on a major project, the construction of a wax skeleton, even though he had never seen a real one. Working from books, he wanted to be accurate. He had been informed that there was a Society of Arts competition in London, so he decided to go to London where he visited doctors who examined it, but could not tell him whether it was correct. Advised to ask Astley Cooper, in April 1825, Towne met the surgeon, who wrote out a note for him:

I have seen the wax skeleton made by Mr. Joseph Towne, and I approve

Signed Astley Cooper

His skeleton took second place. In the following year, a wax sculpture of a head dissection made for John Hilton won the first prize. Cooper at Guy's Hospital seems to have intended to create a collection of wax medical models, because in 1825 he took Towne onto the staff.

Towne worked for the anatomist Dr. Hilton and for Addison. Addison taught materia medica, and had need for wax moulages of diseases. Smallpox is contagious, so the students would be shown wax models rather than the real thing. Towne made eight moulages of variola, the smallpox - six days before eruption, five days, four days, three days, two days, the day before, the day of eruption and two days after. He also made three moulages of vaccinia, the cowpox.

Towne had an assistant and an Italian model known as Francis - who was most probably Francesco. In the manner of a dental assistant, Towne's helper would mix up portions of plaster-of-paris for Towne to apply to the limb of Francis. Later, he would fit end-caps as needed and fill the mold with wax. Finally, the wax molding would be painted with colored wax.

...
Wikipedia