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  • Maintenance of Interior Marble (pdf), by D. W. Kessler, Research Associate, Compliments of Carthage Marble Corporation Carthage, Missouri, Published by National Association of Marble Dealers, (no date of publication in the booklet – possibly early 1900s) 
    “Maintenance of Interior Marble” (front cover) by Carthage Marble Corp., Carthage, Missouri

    “Maintenance of Interior Marble” (front cover) by Carthage Marble Corp., Carthage, Missouri
  • Marble Color Plates: Imported and Domestic Catalog, Vermont Marble Company, Proctor, Vermont, no date of publication, probably mid-1900s.
    Vermont Marble Co. Marble Color Plates Imported and Domestic catalog title pg., no pub. date

    Title Page of Catalog

    Vermont Marble Co. Marble Color Plates Imported and Domestic catalog list, no pub date

    Alphabetical List of Color Plates of Marbles

  • “The Marble Mountains” (in Vermont), by Edwin B. Child, Scribener’s Magazine, May, 1905. This article is of the writer's visit to various marble quarries in Vermont and includes many drawings of that time of the quarry and the men working in the quarry.
  • “Marble on the Edge,” by Gary McWilliams of Stone Arts of Alaska. This article is an Alaska/boat/stone/art story.  It is about Gary McWilliams’ journey of discovery of Jupiter marble in Southeast Alaska.
  • The Marble-Workers’ Manual. Designed for the Use of Marble-Workers, Builders, and Owners of Houses. Containing practical information respecting marbles in general; their cutting, working, and polishing; veneering of marble; painting upon and coloring of marble; mosaics; composition and use of artificial marble, stuccos, cements, receipts, secrets, etc., etc. (1856) Translated from the French, By M. L. Booth, with an Appendix Concerning American Marbles. Sheldon, Blakeman & Co., New-York, 1856. (The entire book is presented including picture of workmen's tools.) (This book is now available on Google Book Search in the Full View Books section. You can view the book as it was originally printed on the web site, and you can download the book in PDF format to your computer.)
  • Marble and Marble Working: A Handbook for Architects, Sculptors, Marble Quarry Owners and Workers, and All Engaged in the Building and Decorative Industries, by W. G. Renwick, Author of The Marble Industry, The Working of Marble for Decorative Purposes, etc. New York: D. Van Nostrand Company; London: Crosby Lockwood and Son, 1909. (This book is now available on Google Book Search in the Full View Books section. You can view the book as it was originally printed on the web site, and you can download the book in PDF format to your computer.)
  • Marble Sample Box by the Vermont Marble Company (PDF) (The below images of the marble samples, the box (below), and accompanying literature are available for viewing in PDF.) The box was produced by the Vermont Marble Company of Proctor, Vermont. The Vermont Marble Company was one of the largest and oldest suppliers of cemetery stones across the United States.
    Lid of box of marble samples of the Vermont Marble Co., Proctor, VT
    Box of marble samples by the Vermont Marble Co., Proctor, VT
  • McGilvray Granite Quarry, Knowles, Madera County, California - Photographic Tour of Quarry September 10, 2010.
    Quarry Face of McGilvray Quarry Granite Grout Piles near quarry Ruins of residence at the quarry
  • Memorial Stone (PDF), by Oliver Bowles, Bureau of Mines Information Circular 7720, Department of the Interior, June 1955, 6 pp. (The excerpt below is from the “Introduction.”)

    “From the most remote periods of civilization stone has been used to perpetuate the memory of individuals or to immortalize their noble achievements. Ancient memorials ranged from simple piles of stone (cairns), or single markers, to great obelisks and pyramids or magnificent mausoleums. The Taj Mahal at Agra, India, built of white marble by Shah Jehan in memory of the Empress Mumtez Mahal, is one of the most beautiful and costly memorials ever built. It was erected between 1632 and 1650 at an estimated cost of $50,000,000 or more and is today an object of unusual interest for travelers. Other magnificent memorials both ancient and modern are to be found in many lands....”

  • “Memorializing the Civil War Dead:  Modernity and Corruption under the Grant Administration” (pdf), by Bruce S. Elliott, in Markers XXVI, Association for Gravestone Studies, 2011, pp. 15-55.  (Reprinted with permission of the Association for Gravestone Studies.) 

    This article describes the need to mass produce the Civil War headstones rather than by individual stone carvers. Contracts for the headstones and bases were given out to several different quarries and companies in Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Tennessee. The need for large numbers of markers also increased the use of the sandblasting process to speed up carving the names on the stones. Both mass production the sandblasting process caused great changes in the work of the stone carvers, which led to demands by the stone workers’ unions, such as the eight-hour work day.

  • Mineral Resources of the Appalachian Region – A compilation of information on the mineral resources, mineral industry, and geology of the Appalachian Region, Geological Survey Professional Paper 580, U. S. Geological Survey and the U. S. Bureau of Mines, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1968.
  • Mineral Resources of the United States in the U. S. Geological Survey annual reports and mineral resources books from 1883 through 1931.
    Included for these years are the sections on the “Stone” (including granite, marble, limestone, and slate), “Cement,” and portions of the “Abrasive Materials” of the Mineral Resources sections of the U. S. Geological Survey books from 1883 through 1931.  (For 1932 and later years, see “Mineral Yearbooks of the U. S. Bureau of Mines (1932 through 1993) - Metals, Nonmetals, and Fuels - Domestic & International” below.) Title Page
  • Mineral Yearbooks of the U. S. Bureau of Mines (1932 through 1993) - Metals, Nonmetals, and Fuels - Domestic & International
  • Modern Memorial Art Catalog, Some Examples Cut in Stony Creek, Milford Pink and Victoria White Granites (PDF), The Dodds Granite Company, Main Office:  Milford, Massachusetts, Quarries & Plants:  Milford, Massachusetts; Stony Creek, Connecticut; Keene, New Hampshire, New York City Office.
    "Modern Memorial Art" monumental catalog, Dodds Granite Co., MA, Conn., NY, NY
  • Montgomery Ward & Co. Monuments, Tombstones and Markers Catalog, 1929 (in PDF) (pp. 4-21 presents available monuments, choices of stone available, and prices; pp. 22 “Fraternal or Military Emblems”; pp. 23 “Information About Lettering”; pp. 24 “Verses Suitable for Inscriptions”; pp. 25 “Sturdy Iron Furniture and Fencing”; pp. 26 “Suggestions for Setting Monuments” (with diagrams); inside back cover: ordering information including freight charges shipped from Rutland, Vermont; Elmwood, Illinois; and Portland, Oregon.)
    Montgomery Ward & Co. Monuments, Tombstones and Markers Catalog, 1929 (in PDF) Montgomery Ward & Co. "Monuments, Tombstones and Markers Catalog," 1929
  • The Monument and Cemetery Review: The Exponent of Art in the Monument Field, October, 1926 (PDF). (The image below contains the “Contents” section of the October 1926 issue. Click on the link in magazine title in the preceding sentence to view the entire issue in PDF. Peggy B. Perazz.)
    The Monument and Cemetery Review, October 1926

    The Monument and Cemetery Review, October 1926

  • The Monumental New Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly Monumental Art Journal, Chicago, Illinois.
  • “Motor Truck in the Monument Business: What Retail Monument Dealers Think of the Efficiency of Motor Transportation for Memorial Work,” article in Granite Marble & Bronze, Vol. XXXI, No. 1, January 1921, pp32-33d.
  • Napa Junction / American Canyon, Napa County, California - Standard Portland Cement Co. / Basalt Rock Co. Ruins Photographic Tour. We visited these ruins and photographed them with permission in late May 2011. This property is slated to become the new American Canyon Town Center. (These ruins are located on private property so you should obtain permission before entering the property.)
    Standard Portland Cement Company, general view of plant from southeast. Photo of Standard Portland Cement Company / Corporation Ruins Basalt Rock Co. Rotunda Building
  • New England Granite Quarry Channeling a New England Granite Quarry (postcard photograph 11719; “Phostint” Card; made only by Detroit Publishing Co.; unmailed, ca 1908)
  • The New England Granite Works Catalog (PDF) Established in 1845, Chartered 1877  (no date of publication shown)  489 Fifth Avenue, New York City, New York; General Office, Westerly, Rhode Island; Quarries and Works:  Westerly, Rhode Island, and Concord, New Hampshire.
    "New England Granite Works" monument catalog, New York; Westerly, RI; Concord, NH
  • “Our Building Stone Supply” (pdf)  (Quarrying in the eastern United States circa 1887), from the Scientific American:  A weekly journal of practical information, art, science, mechanics, chemistry, and manufactures, New York, Vol. LVI.  No. 2 (new series), January 8, 1887.
    Interior view of marble quarry, West Rutland, Vermont Portland Sandstone Quarries – Splitting out the stone with wedges (Connecticut)

    Interior view of marble quarry, West Rutland, Vermont

    Portland Sandstone Quarries – Splitting out the stone with wedges (Connecticut)
    Quarries of Flynt Granite Co., Monson, Massachusetts Granite Quarries, Hallowell, Maine

    Quarries of Flynt Granite Co., Monson, Massachusetts

    Granite Quarries, Hallowell, Maine
  • Pakistan - the Ziarat Marble Quarry, Pakistan - “Pakistan Marble Helps Taliban Stay in Business,” by Pir Zubair Shah and Jane Perlez, New York Times online edition, International/Asia Pacific, July 14, 2008.

    “The takeover of the Ziarat quarry has enabled the Taliban to turn themselves into a self-sustaining fighting force.”

    According to this article, in April of 2008 the Taliban settled a feud between two local tribes and took over control of the Ziarat marble quarry located on a “mountain of white marble” between the city of Peshawar and the Afghan border. The marble, considered a national asset, is used mainly for “expensive floors and Walls in Pakistan, and in limited quantities abroad” and is considered comparable to the Italian Carrara marble. Prior to the Taliban takeover, the quarry had been inactive for about four years. The marble is quarried using dynamite, which shatters much of the stone; and old trucks are used to transport the marble to nearby towns for manufacturing. The Taliban charges a fee and a tax upon each truck of marble.

    Photo caption: “Each truck of marble that rolls out of the Ziarat quarry in Pakistan means a payment to the Taliban, which holds power in the area.” (A map of the area is also included.)

  • Penryn, Placer County, California, Granite Quarry Trip - The Griffith Quarry in Penryn (1997 & 2000)
  • Penryn, Placer County, Griffth Penryn Quarry Photographic Tour (October 2010)
  • “The Penrhyn Slate Quarry,” (pdf) (at Dolawen in Caernarvonshire, Wales, England), in Saturday Magazine, No. 12, September 8th, 1832, pp. 93. 

    Other articles included in this magazine are:  * “Crosby Hall,”  * “Memoir of Doctor Samuel Johnson,”  * “Who Is Alone?” (a poem),  * “Vegetable Titan (Rafflesia Arnoldi, or Krûbul),”  * “The Puma (Felis Concolar),”  * “A Visit To A Salt Mine” (at Ischl), * “All For The Best,”  * “Abbreviations and Signs,”  * “Boscobel Cottage” (“near the town of Madeley, on the confines of Worcestershire and Shropshire.”)

    “Penrhyn Slate Quarry” at Dolawen, in Caernarvonshire, England, 1832 Penrhyn Slate Quarry at Dolawen, in Caernarvonshire, England, 1832

    “Penrhyn Slate Quarry” at Dolawen, in Caernarvonshire, England, 1832

    Penrhyn Slate Quarry
  • “A Practical Quarrywoman,” (Cora L. Hess Faulkner of Oneida, New York) from Stone, an Illustrated Magazine, February 1898, Vol. XVI, No. 3, pp. 249-250.
  • Products of Tompkins-Kiel Marble Company Stone Catalog, Distributors of Marble – Stone, New York, circa 1890’s through 1915, 90 pp.
    Front cover of the Products of Tompkins-Kiel Marble Company Stone Catalog, ca. 1915

    Front cover of the Products of Tompkins-Kiel Marble Company Stone Catalog, circa 1915

  • Quarries - “Famous Quarries of the World” (October 1854) Putnam’s Monthly Magazine of American Literature, Science and Art, Vol. 4, Issue 22, October 1854, pgs. 404-408. (Article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
  • Quarryhill Botanical Garden Photo Tour, Glen Ellen, Sonoma County, California.  The Quarryhill Botanical Garden was constructed on steep hillsides amongst several abandoned quarries, and it is open to the public.
    Quarryhill Botanical Garden Photograph
  • Quarry-Related Articles from the Manufacturer and Builder and others. Articles range date from the 1830s through the 1890s.
  • Raymond Granite Quarry in Raymond, Madera County, California - Photographic Tour of Quarry.
    Entrance to Raymond Museum Raymond Lower Quarry Raymond Upper Quarry
  • Roberts Marble Company Monuments of Georgia – Marble & Granite Monument Catalog (PDF), Roberts Marble Co. Monument Catalog, Ball Ground, Georgia, Since 1898
    Roberts Marble Co. Monuments of Georgia Monument Catalog

    Roberts Marble Co. Monuments of Georgia Monument Catalog

  • Rocklin Granite Quarry in Rocklin, Placer County, California - Photographic Tour of Quarry.
  • Rocks of Famous Monuments, presented by Guillermo Rocha, P.G. / Brooklyn College Geology Department.
  • Santa Cruz Portland Cement Plant & Quarry Photographic Tour, Davenport, Santa Cruz County, California (operated by Cemex until early 2010). The photographs below and included in the photographic tour of the Santa Cruz Portland Cement Plant were taken and contributed by Anthony Meadow, who is a member of the Samuel Knight Chapter of the Society for Industrial Archeology – Peggy B. Perazzo
    Santa Cruz Portland Cement Plant (Cemex), Davenport, Santa Cruz County, CA Santa Cruz Portland Cement Plant (Cemex), Davenport, Santa Cruz County, CA Santa Cruz Portland Cement Plant (Cemex), Davenport, Santa Cruz County, CA

     

    Santa Cruz Portland Cement Plant & Quarry (Cemex), Davenport, Santa Cruz County, CA

     
  • Scotland – “The Rubislaw Granite Quarry, Aberdeenshire, from a sketch by S. Read,” in The Illustrated London News, April 20, 1862, pp. 410.
    “The Rubislaw Granite Quarry, Aberdeenshire, (Scotland) from a sketch by S. Read,” in The Illustrated London News, April 20, 1862
  • Secrets of the Parthenon, presented by NOVA and available on DVD. Sections on “Links & Books” and a “Teacher’s Guide” are included in addition to the following subjects:
  • Sixteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey. Part IV. - Mineral Resources of the United States, 1894, Nonmetallic Products - “Stone” by William C. Day. (The report on stone for 1894 treated in some detail of the nature, composition, and properties of the different kinds of commercially important stone; also of uses to which they are put, the modes of occurrence in nature, methods of quarrying, dressing, and finishing for their various uses, etc.)
  • “Some Women Marble Cutters” (circa 1880s) The article in the image is from The Monumental News Magazine, the date of the original publication is unknown, although it was published some years after 1885, pp. 120 (?). This article was included as one of the past articles of the magazine in the December, 1939 issue of The Monumental News Magazine. (Photo captions: Lucy J. Daniel, of Executor, Mo.; Alice E. Rigg, of Canada; & Pearl Sams, of Great Bend, Kansas.)

    “Some Women Marble Cutters” (circa 1880s)

  • Sources of Memorial Ornamentation (PDF), by Henry Powell Hopkins, A.M., B.Arch., A.I.A., Vermont Marble Company, Proctor, Vermont, printed by the Barta Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1924, 44 pp. (From the Forward: “This brief outline of ornamentation as related to memorial design has been written under the encouragement of Capt. E.R. Morse of the Vermont Marble Company and in the belief that there is need for a simple and practical presentation on the subject. It is mainly for the memorial craftsman and his salesmen that this work is produced and it is the writer’s desire to make some contribution…to a better knowledge of memorial ornamentation in the retail selling field. Correct ornament invariably has an historic derivation which can be traced and which gains meaning if its origin and the structural or artistic reasons for its use are understood.”)
    Front cover of "Sources of Memorial Ornamentation," Vermont Marble Co., Proctor, Vt pp. 3 of the Forward of Front cover of "Sources of Memorial Ornamentation," Vermont Marble Co., Proctor, Vt pp. 4 of the Forward of Front cover of "Sources of Memorial Ornamentation," Vermont Marble Co., Proctor, Vt

    Front cover of "Sources of Memorial Ornamentation," Vermont Marble Co.

    pp. 3 of the Forward of Front cover of "Sources of Memorial Ornamentation,"
    Vermont Marble Co.

    pp. 4 of the Forward of Front cover of "Sources of Memorial Ornamentation,"
    Vermont Marble Co.
  • “Southern Marble” (June 1887 The Manufacturer and Builder, Vol. 19, Issue 6, June 1887, pgs. 130-131. (Article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
  • State Mineral Production Summaries: Major Minerals, Metals, and Energy Fuels, presented by Mineral Information Institute.
  • Stone (December 1895 magazine) This magazine includes many articles, advertisements, equipment, instruction, and many photographs and sketches of quarries, men working, etc.
  • Stone Magazine - List of Articles Beginning with the 1895 issue. (Stone - An Illustrated Monthly Magazine Devoted to Stone, Marble, Granite, Slate, Cement, Contracting and Building)
  • The Stone Industries in the United States & Foreign Countries up through 1939 (overview) in The Stone Industries: Dimension Stone, Crushed Stone, Geology, Technology, Distribution, Utilization, by Oliver Bowles (Supervising Engineer, Building Materials Section, United States Bureau of Mines), New York: 2nd ed., New York: McGraw-Hill, 1939.  (You can view a copy of this book on Internet Archive web site, and you can download a copy of the book to your computer at the link above.)
  • Stories in Stone, by David B. Williams, in PDF format. You can learn more about David B. Williams’ interest in stone on his web site: David B. Williams: Natural History Writing from Urban to Wild. (His new book is now available: Stories in Stone: Travels Through Urban Geology. He also has a blog relating to geology that you might want to visit: Stories in Stone: The interfingering between people and rock.)
  • The Story of a Monument, presented by Dakota Granite, South Dakota. The story of a monument begins with the story of Dakota Mahogany granite.
  • Structural Materials in Parts of Oregon and Washingtion, 1909 by N. H. Darton.
  • Studies in Granite: The Noblest of Building Stone, No. 2 of the Granite Series, 1923-1924-1925, National Building Granite Quarris Assn., Inc., Boston, Mass.
    "Studies in Granite," 1923-1925
    "Studies in Granite," 1923-1925
  • Sullivan Machinery Company - “The Great Beginnings of a Great New Hampshire Industry,” by George B. Upham in The Granite Monthly magazine, Vol. 53, No. 4, April 1921. [PDF]
    “The Sullivan Machinery Company now has offices in Boston, New York, Pittsburgh, Knoxville, St. Louis, Cleveland, Duluth, Dallas, Joplin, Denver, Spokane, El Paso, Salt Lake, Toronto, Vancouver, Mexico City, Santiago in Chile, and Lima in Peru. In the old world it maintains headquarters at London and Paris and before the war had a flourishing branch in Petrograd. A branch has been maintained for many years in Sydney, Australia, and the company’s representatives are selling Sullivan mining machinery in Japan, India, the Federated Malay States, and South Africa.

    “Sullivan machinery for excavating rock in mines, tunnels and quarries, for compressing air, for prospecting for minerals, and for mining coal is found in every part of the world where these industries are carried on. This article tells of the small, yet interesting beginnings of this New Hampshire Industry.”

    (The names used for this company include: “D. A. Clay & Co.,” “Claremont Machine Works,” “J. P. Upham & Co.,” and lastly, the “Sullivan Machinery Company.”)

  • Sullivan Machinery Company (undated booklet in PDF format) From the booklet: “Sullivan Machinery company links with the past through a merger in 1946 when Sullivan was acquired by Joy Manufacturing Company…The mutually beneficial merger remained in force until early in 1984 when Joy Manufacturing Company chose to relinquish its markets and products for heavy construction and metallic mining in favor of concentrating the company’s efforts in the prime markets of non-metallic mining and other energy related industries….”
    Sullivan Machinery Company: The First 95 Years & Sullivan Machinery Company: The Second Century, by the Sullivan Machinery Company (published after 1984) Sullivan Machinery Company: The First 95 Years & Sullivan Machinery Company: The Second Century, by the Sullivan Machinery Company (published after 1984)
  • Through the Ages Magazine - List of Articles Beginning with the 1923 issue. “A Monthly Magazine devoted to the uses of Marble – its universal adaptability, beauty, permanency and economy”
  • Tolenas Springs Onyx/“Marble”/Travertine Quarry & Mineral Springs (The photographs below and in the “Tolenas Springs Quarry and Mineral Springs” photographic tour section of our web site were taken and contributed by Richard Degraffenreid.)
    Tolenas Springs Onyx/"Marble"/Travertine quarry & Mineral Springs area near Fairfield, Solano County, CA Rock at the Tolenas Springs quarry & mineral springs area, near Fairfield, Solano County, CA Rock at the Tolenas Springs quarry & mineral springs area, near Fairfield, Solano County, CA

    Tolenas Springs onyx/“marble”/travertine quarry & mineral springs area

    Close-up of a rock at the Tolenas Springs onyx/“marble”/travertine quarry area

    Another rock at the Tolenas Springs quarry area
  • “Tombstones, and the Men who created them,” by Mary-ellen Jones, article from Diablo Descendants Newsletter, Contra Costa County Genealogical Society, Vol. 11, No. 11, November 1996, pp. 89, 91. (Use browser back button to return to this document.)
  • Universal Monument Company Monumental Catalogs & Price list, Atlanta Georgia (1920s) (For stone samples, business correspondence form, et al. on this company, go to the “Universal Monument Company – Manufacturers of High Grade Monuments” section of our web site.)
  • Vermont – over 100 photographs of the J. K. Pirie Granite Quarry from the early- to mid-1950s. The photographs in this series were taken by Fred F. Pirie, owner of the Pirie granite quarry, during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. (The quarry was located in Williamstown, Vermont; and the business office was located in Barre, Vermont.)  These photographs were contributed by and are used with the permission of Paul Wood of the Vermont Granite Museum and Andreas Kuehnpast.
    Pirie Granite Quarry, Williamstown, Vermont; Offices in Barre, VT Overhead crane at Pirie Quarry # 1 Yard, Williamstown, VT Fully-loaded flatcar parked near its future competitor – a late-1920s/early-1930s truck, Williamstown, VT

    Pirie Granite Quarry, Williamstown, Vermont; Offices in Barre, Vermont

    Overhead crane at Pirie Quarry # 1 Yard

    A fully-loaded flatcar parked near its future competitor – a late-1920s/early-1930s truck
  • W. A. Hambleton Granite Monuments & Statuary Catalog – At Wholesale, Book No. 10 (PDF), American & Foreign, Mansfield, Ohio; Barre, Vermont; Aberdeen, Scotland
    W. A. Hambleton Granite Monuments & Statuary At Wholesale Catalog, Book No. 10, Mansfield, OH
  • Washington Monument Memorial Stones (Album/Slide Show), presented on the Washington Monument web site by National Park Service.
    • Washington Monument - Experience the Monument - the Memorial Stones

      The Washington Monument web site has been redesigned. Below is an description that was available on the National Park Service web site in January 2008 that describes the Memorial Stones in the Washington Monument at the following web address. This web address is no longer available.
      <http://www.nps.gov/wamo/experience/memstones/State%20Stones/memstone.htm>

      “A unique feature of the Washington Monument is the 193 memorial stones that adorn the interior of the monument. Starting in July 1848 the Washington National Monument Society invited states, cities and patriotic societies to contribute Memorial Stones. The Society listed some requirements to be followed. They asked that the stone be durable, a product of the state’s soil, and meet the following dimensions; four feet long, two feet high and 18 inches thick. These stones pay tribute to the character and achievements of George Washington. These traits are not only admired by Americans but by people the world over as seen by the number of stones donated by foreign countries. Below is a list of stones donated by state. In the near future all the stones will be online.

      “While viewing the stones please keep in mind that the Washington Monument has undergone extensive renovation over the last three years. A key component of the project has been the restoration of the memorial stones. Over the years the stones have been damaged by moisture and vandalism. The pictures that follow show the condition of the stones before their restoration. In the upcoming months new images will be added highlighting the restored stones.”

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