The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1895-03-27
MEXICAN ONYX.
1t Is Really "a Species of Marble and Its
Price Is Constantly Falling.

Some officers of the United STATES
army in the war with Mexico noticed ia
a chaper of that country Il rarely beau
tifui window made of thin translucent
pieces of richly coIored stone. One of
the officers brought home some pieces
of the stone and left it with ieweler of
this city TO be dressed and shaped, but
being ordered to the frontier he went
away without receiving the finished
material back from the jeweler. This
was the first of the stone seen in this
country, and it attracted no great atten-
ton. About thirty years later consid-
cradle quantities of the material were
exhibited as Mexican onyx at the Cen
tennial exposition at Philadelphia.
The Mexican onyx Of that day was
greatly admired, but the price was so
high, about ten times what it now is,
that the material was looked upon as a
semi-precious stone. Ever since 1876
the material has become cheaper and
cheaper, until now it is used in large
quantities, though only in expensive
structures. One of the earliest bui d.
ings to contain large quantity OF Mex
lean onyx was a luxurious London hotel
bui not many years ago. Its staircase
of Mexican onyx cost $25, 900. Many
new buildings in this city have been or
namented 10y the lavish use of Mexican
onyx. A great business building down
town has a stairway of this stone, and
several of the new Fifth avenue hotels
have onyx wainscoting and stairways.
A private house in Chicago has $25, 900
worth of Mexican onyx iRr the hail.
Mineralogists have known all along
that Mexican onyx is not true onyx,
but species OF marble. II is specially
an aragonite made up of calcium. oxide
of iron and magnesium. To the last
two it owes its peculiar beauty of color.
Several of the Mexican states send ONYX
to us, but the largest deposits are found
near Tecali, in the state of Pueblo. 1t
was used by the ancient Mexicans for
masks, Idols and other small objects,
and some of the modern Mexicans, find
ing these works of their ancestors ad-
mIred by travellers, turn out like objects
from the stone and sell them at good
prices. William Cooper of Esperanza
found about seven years ago in a vol
cano of Mexico a deposit that is now
called mosaic agate. 1t is a peculiarly
beautiful sort of Mexican onyx. in which
the formation has been broken up un-
der pressure. There are California
onyx and an Arizona onyx. each being
marble of amber hues. and aragonite
is also found in Iowa.
Mexican onyx is easily worked, and
has been used not only for building
purposes, but for ornamental househo d
articles, lamp standards. table tops,
mantels and other articles large and
small. Some OF the earlier articles OF
the sort have considerably decreased in
value since the price of the onyx came
down and it has been so lavishlv usetl
in building. 1t is, of course, not suited
for statuary because its variegated col
ors would give the sui, ,iect a motley ap-
pearance that would not be beautiful,
sut absurd. The material is too valua-
BILE to be used much in places where il
would be exposed to the weather. Its
use has become SO extended in this city
that it is now argely imported hy few
marble dealers. IL hardly gives in the
crude state the promise of its finished
beauty, and scraps and fragments o1
the crude stone are now wasted that
would have been eagerly preserved
were its price what it was nineteen
years ago 1t may be doubted whether
any church of the United States ha:
been decorated as the little Mexican
chapel of nearly fifty years ago.
An extensive dealer in Mexican onyx
and other marbles says that the stone i:
less used than it was ten years ago, Sc
he thinks. because other and cheaper
stones, notably African marble, are
more beautiful. There have been with
in few years several notable speculat
i've importations of Mexican onyx. Ii
some OF these cases the importers, find
ing the SAFE Unexpectedly SOW, were
unab to pay the duties. and the guam
tity in port broke the price. Mexican
onyx sells in the rough at Sc to $50 i
cubic foot. Large pieces fetch mors
than their proportional price. The
saving into slabs adds about 50 cubic
foot to the price, and the further cut
ting, fitting, and polishing greatly in
creases the value of the stone. There
is often loss of 40 per cent of materia
in preparing it for wainscoting, SO tina
the finished product fetches as hi gh al
| Sc Il foot. When one inch thick spe
cially Leautiful specimens fetch ever
more, and it is possible to run up tht
cost of building decorated with spe
cially chosen onyx to a fabulous sum.