Presenting a collection of St. Louis bricks, sidewalk markers, and the Fleur-de-lis as architectural detail on and in city buildings, brick collecting, urban exploration, and my life by Christian Herman. Reporting from Tower Grove South in St. Louis, MO
6/22/14
Made by Hand
These bricks were formed and fired by hand then loaded onto carts pulled by horses. This house was made by hand, the bricks rubbed by hand to create the wedges used below. The beautiful mortar is going soft.
Clarification request: Are you sure the wedges were made by rubbing? When I'm cutting a brick- I use a hammer or saw of some sort. I don't really think rubbing a hard brick would wear it into a wedge after it came out of a kiln.
Yes, I'm sure. You may want to consider these bricks were made over 100 years ago and the craftsmen handling them did not have a 'saw of some sort' to cut brick. I've watched works rub brick.
7 comments:
Looks like a straight-up slaked lime and mortar mix.
Ooops...lime and sand...
What, you can't see the pebbles?
Clarification request: Are you sure the wedges were made by rubbing? When I'm cutting a brick- I use a hammer or saw of some sort. I don't really think rubbing a hard brick would wear it into a wedge after it came out of a kiln.
Yes, I'm sure. You may want to consider these bricks were made over 100 years ago and the craftsmen handling them did not have a 'saw of some sort' to cut brick. I've watched works rub brick.
Like rub with your hands?
Yes, rubbed together by hand. I watched workers do just that when I was a kid. Perhaps they were tools but I didn't see any on site.
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