At this month’s meeting we were treated to an ‘Evening with Lucy Swales’, who used her comic talent to deliver a talk about the history behind the Mme Tussauds Wax Works and a detailed – and at times hilarious – overview of how the was heads are created.

Today Madame Tussauds is owned by Merlin Entertainment, which has extended the brand to 21 locations world-wide. Wax figures are designed and produced in London, where Lucy has been working in various departments for over two decades. At the end of her talk she shared her impressive portfolio of wax figures that she has worked on over the years.

Lucy’s presentation was skilful and fun and kept us interested to the last minute. It even had the local cat listening in outside the open window!

Thank you for a great evening Lucy!

And for those of you who may want to read up on the subject:

The story started in the 18^th century when Dr Philips Curtius made wax models for anatomical study in medical teaching. Read more about the ‘Father of the Wax Works’ here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_Curtius

Madame Tussaud was born Marie Grosholz, the daughter of Dr Curtius’ housekeeper, became a pupil of Dr Curtius and eventually inherited his vast collection of wax models. More on her colourful life here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_Tussauds

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