The correct picturing of the manifold lesions of the skin is a matter of interest to those engaged in the study of dermatology. It is important, first, to secure a permanent record of a rare dermal lesion. Only by plastic or pictorial representation can the evanescent forms of skin disease be fixed and held; for a verbal description, no matter how exhaustive or how carefully made, is necessarily insufficient as regards form and distribution, and more especially as regards color; and second, the multiplication of such reproductions is of importance to us for the purposes of journal and book illustration.
For record or demonstration, models or casts in plaster, wax, or paper, are undoubtedly most satisfactory; for shape, location, color, all the factors necessary for diagnosis, with the exception of those perceptible to the touch, can be reproduced with an exactitude and a verisimilitude that leaves nothing to be desired.