Thank you very much for the suggestion. As it turns out I work in the NY SHPO and I led the tour that Peter Rockwell (sculptor son of Norman Rockwell) gave that day. I guided through the building, he talked about the stone carving. One of the master carvers, Louis Hinton, wrote a memoir at the end of his life discussing his work at the capitol. In particular he bemoaned the lack of skill and craftsmen ship evident in the stone work being done at the time (1920s). He complained about the introduction of pneumatic-owered chisels, but I also wonder whether he, as an Englishman, felt the Italian stonecarvers working at that period weren't as good as he and his compatriots. Three years ago I wrote a chapter on the Albany stone carvers for the "Guide to Albany Architecture" published by Mt. Ida Press. I am always on the lookout for more documented info on stonecarvers since so much of there work was annonymous. did you know that there were so many stone carvers working in Albany in the early 1800s that Latrobe sent to Albany to hire journeyman for work on the U.S. Capitol? I have a ledger from the principle stonecarver in Albany 1802-1820, a Scotsman named Peter McNab (most of the stonecarvers on the White House were also Scottish). One of his cutters left Albany as a journeyman, and returned 8 years later as a master carver in his own right. I haven't determined yet whether he was one of themen who went to Washington for that work or not. Anyway, its a passion of mine, and I appreciate any suggestions and lead, even the ones I know about, because you might just come up with one I don't know about. Michael 'stoned again' -----Original Message----- From: Marilyn Harper <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: Friday, December 11, 1998 8:34 AM Subject: Building Stone Research > Michael-- > > Some time ago, a fairly large book was published on the New York State > capitol in Albany, at the time of its restoration. There is an article in > it on the stone carvers, written by a stone carver. I think it was fairly > focused on the techniques and details of the carvings, but there may have > been other info that might be useful. Also, I have a feeling that it was > based on fairly detailed records that gave names, etc., for the workmen. > > New York State Historic Preservation Office might have citation or know > where a copy might be found, if you want to see the book. > > Marilyn Harper > National Register of Historic Places > (which is in no way responsible for the content of this message)