marble polisher

[steviedee33]

Hi, i have a 13 yr old female marble polisher in edinburgh in 1881, i'm unsure what she would have exactly done, hallway cleaning or head stone work , anyone fill me in .......thanks

[bwarnerok]

Hi, i have a 13 yr old female marble polisher in edinburgh in 1881, i'm unsure what she would have exactly done, hallway cleaning or head stone work , anyone fill me in .......thanks

If you look at a geological map of Edinburgh, you will see that just to the NW are about every type of rock there is. In the 1800's there were numerous quarries in operation and logically I would think that they would not want to move the raw rock any further than they had to for "finishing" and that there would be quite a few rock dealers in the area.

Instead of a 13 yr old polishing floors, I would imagine that she would be polishing the rocks for their next use, be it selling for headstones, fireplace mantles, or floors, or cabinet tops, figurines, statues, etc.

There is an article in 1880 from the new York Times where the marble polishers (also referred to as "acid polishers") were going to go on strike. Their primary job in NYC at that time was polishing fireplace mantels after the marble cutters had cut and carved them.

Today, the following is explained to people interested in sculpting in marble.
"Rasps, files, rubbing stones, and sandpaper are used to smooth surfaces. Fine sandpaper or a paste of tin oxide applied with a soft cloth is used to produce lustrous finish on the surface of the marble."
(note: "glass paper" a forerunner of sand paper, was invented in England about 1817)

While I don't know the history of tin oxide, it is very possible that acids were used in 1881, including vinegar. Even today, people with marble countertops are warned of spilling vinegar on the surface as it will "eat into" the marble.

Probably more information than you wanted.

Betsy

[steviedee33]

Thank you for that ,i didn't know about the quarries up in edinburgh , thanks for the detailed reply , much helpful .