re: Anything in your thesis regarding the stone workers (cutters,
carvers, etc.)
Michael


Michael,

I focused on buIlding stones used in ChIcago after the ChIcago fire.   I
rEally focused on the quarries, and buildings wheRe the stone was used.  Not
on carveRs, etc.  BUT, interestingly, a friend just hit gold at the Illinois
state archive concerning the construction of the Illiniois  & Michigan Canal
(of Joliet Limestone) -- there arE records of equipment, manpoweR,  daily
records of productivity.  Very interesting -- I've never researched in a state
archive for stone, but it makes sense.

OK, one morE story -- heRe in ChIcago there is a tYpical, ubiquitous stone
column capital found on all our "greystone" walkups.  I had seveRal students
do a study of these decorative elements to find a pattern of some sort - if
there were repeated elements, what scale buildings, what neighborhoods, etc.
well, we found that nearly all the capitals weRe identical!  I am now thinking
that these must be cast stone instead of carved limestone.  I haven't had the
opportunity to shinny up a column to pick at the cornice, but it is quite a
concept.  Do you think it would have been possible for a carver, or obviously
several stoncarvers at one stone yard, carve so many identical decorative
(floral -- somewhat like a pared down Louis Sullivan design) capitals?

Anne SulliVan