Like needles in a haystack. Titanium deposits in sand, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Photo by Niel Overey.

Conceived beneath the skies of the ancient world, the Titans were the incestual god-lineage of Zeus: gigantic creatures who bore names like Oceanus, Themis, Hyperion. The metals then known to man were those purest of elements, and it was some two millenia before titanium would be discovered and used.

With an unmatched strength-to-weight ratio, low thermal conductivity and a tendency to be impervious to corrosion, titanium is indeed a metal of mythical proportions, even to the point of being mythically difficult to work with.

Titanium is what we use when we want to physically bond and repair the human body, it is what the hulls and appendages of our deep sea vessels are made of, it is the metal of engines that rocket our ships with ripping heat into space. For many reasons it is considered nearly invincible, much like the hulkish gods it was named for.

First culled forth from the black sands of the Helford River back in 1791 — a veritable heyday for the discovery of elements — titanium was brought to light by one man and named by another. Reverend, mineralogist and chemist William Gregor knew there was something special about the black magnetic sand he managed to isolate from the wet earth of the Menachan Valley in Cornwall, England. With a magnet and hydrochloric acid he was able to produce an impure oxide of the new element, though it would never be known by the name he wanted it to have, mechanite.

Titanium mine shrouded in smoke.

Four years later a Berlin chemist, Matthew Albert Klaproth, independently isolated titanium oxide from chunks of dark Hungarian rutile. His was the name that stuck, and rightly so. The Titans he conjured with this new name were tough, but they were also condemned by their own father to be held captive in the earth’s crust.

Titanium is the 9th most plentiful of all known elements. In terms of structural metals, it’s the 4th most abundant (following only aluminum, iron and magnesium). It is usually found in ileminite-rich mineral sands (from the Ilmen mountains in Russia) or laced in the rutile of the beach sands of Australia, India, Mexico. Workable deposits can also be readily located in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Ukraine, Norway, Malaysia.

Titanium is highly resistant to corrosion — superior to metals like bronze, brass, copper nickel, both stainless and carbon steel. It’s strength-to-weight ratio is unmatched, having all the strength of steel but less than half its weight. These are amazing properties and indeed, titanium is often called a super metal. But its prevalence in the earth’s crust begs the question: why are products made from titanium so few and far between?

The same properties that make titanium super strong, super light, and super corrosion-resistant also happen to make it nearly impossible to work with.

FOOTBALL FIELDS AND JET PROPULSION

Titanium would not be isolated to 99.9% purity for well over 100 years after it was discovered. Of all places, the element was finally rendered pure on a football field. It makes sense when we consider that the football field was at the Renssalear Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and located conveniently close to the labs.

The hero was a professor of electrical engineering and instead of a football, his game involved a metal bomb. It would become known as the Hunter Process — a dangerous, explosive method by which titanium chloride is mixed with metallic sodium in an air-tight metal chamber and heated to extremely high temperatures. It’s not entirely practical because it doesn’t yield large quantities of the metal, but it is still used today when titanium of ultra high purity is desired.

William Justin Kroll, the man who would unlock titanium from the earth.

It wasn’t until William Justin Kroll developed the Kroll Process in 1948 that titanium would finally be completely unlocked from the earth and useable by man. In an elaborate chemical process full of painstaking breakthroughs, Kroll used the key players of titanium tetrachloride and magnesium. The Kroll Process is still widely used today, and it is what sent the metal into the engines of aircrafts with breakneck speed.

FEARLESS WARRIORS, POOR LAB PARTNERS

Isolating pure titanium is difficult but it is only one part of the grueling process that is conforming this metal to one’s will. It then needs to be bent, welded, machined, or molded, all of which are extremely difficult due to the great tensile strength of the metal.

The low thermal conductivity, high tensile strength and resistance to forces as corrosive as sea water make titanium one complicated workhorse of a metal.

Titanium rod.

Machining it is particularly difficult. The metal is almost stubborn, too strong to conform to another’s will. The low thermal conductivity often results in machines wearing down because the heat they’re using is dissipated by the low density metal. Titanium is so hard it’s likely to spring back and away from the blade that’s supposed to be cutting it, and cutting tools often need to be replaced. Large quantities of chemical fluid are needed to cool it down from its 1600 degree melting point and turnings, fines and chips are instantaneous fire starters. While being worked with, it has a great tendency to fret and gall.

Working with titanium requires devotion to science and process. Respect for the lustrous, authoritarian metal doesn’t hurt either — to say nothing of admiration and patience.

THE BODIES WE EXPLORE

Lucky for us all, the stubborn nature of the ore meets its match in the determination of engineers and scientists, and today titanium is used on nearly every front where its properties are needed, from leisure activities to space exploration.

We even use it to rebuild ourselves, to hinge together what breaks down over time in our bones and cartilage, small and large. Titanium screws together bones. From the load-bearing joint of the hip to the hardworking, ever-pumping valves of the heart, titanium is trusted to hold up to the chloride brines and organic acids that comprise the pH of the human body. It seems Adamantium — that indestructible, fictional element used by Dr. Cornelius to fortify the skeleton of Marvel’s Wolverine — may have found it’s inspiration in this amazingly biocompatible metal.

A biocompatible metal.

The low modulus — or stretch — of titanium, when paired with its superior corrosion resistance and strength-to-weight ratio also make it the first choice when it comes to exploring the unthinkable depths of the sea, where nameless creatures amble and deadly pressure reigns. The high-tech submersible, Alvin, is being newly built with a hull of three inch-thick titanium that will allow the vessel to reach depths of 4 miles deep, making all but 1% of the ocean floor accessible to oceanographers.

In the realms of flight and space exploration, titanium allows for maximum payload capability. With its low conductivity of heat and  high melting point, it is the ideal way to allow moving parts like jet engine blades and gas turbines to function at the highest level of efficiency.

Though the costly development of this super metal might be delayed because of this Great Recession, we will be seeing titanium in more and more elements of daily life, from bicycles to outdoor supplies, to anything that needs to face the elements and hold its form without rusting or breaking apart. From Frank Gehry’s Bilbao Guggenheim Museum in Basque Country, Spain, to the ocean floor, to wedding bands and bicycles and tools for the backyard, this mythic metal is found in reaches far away, close, and dark — whether we talk about the exploration of space or the beating of the human heart.

Shimmering sheets of titanium plating the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Designed by Frank Gehry.

You may also like

• Corrugated Cardboard I was recently on a search, looking by the bins...
• The Power Of Gold Let’s sidestep all the financial and psychological aspects of gold...
• The Clock of the Long Now In this ever-advancing modern era, where the mantra of the...

A young Danny Hillis hard at work at his connections machine console.

During the 1980s and 90s, Hillis developed and debuted the first “parallel” supercomputer, which efficiently processes hundreds to millions of pieces of information simultaneously, much in the same way the human mind works. This supercomputer, dubbed the Connection Machine, dramatically augmented the way that databases and computing systems work. Prior to Hillis’s invention, industries, markets and governments relied on “sequential” computers that slowly synthesized only one item at a time. It was truly an innovation for the ages; an invention that our very modern existence is hinged upon. The Connection Machine grew to such fame that it even made a cameo in Steve Speilberg’s Jurassic Park (1993) and today, most all supercomputers are based on Hillis’s initial design.

Danny Hillis, older and slower.

But the constant demand for bigger, faster systems prompted Hillis to pause and think about the long-term consequences of the frenetic pace of the new epoch. In 1993, Hillis wrote a contemplative, thought-provoking email to friends that was eventually parlayed into a 1995 article for Wired magazine. Hillis proposed that action be taken to slow down time for the sake of the fast-approaching future. Rallying his varied cast of friends, including musician Peter Gabriel, writer Stewart Brand and composer Brian Eno (the chimes of the Clock of the Long Now inspired the album January 07003 Bell Studies CD) among others, Hillis conceived of the idea to build a monument-sized clock that would last an epic 10,000 years.

Prototype in miniature of what will be the Clock of the Long Now.

What sounded like a work of science fiction or at least a pipe dream became a certain reality with the founding of the Long Now Foundation, and the crucial financial backing of Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com; Mitchel Kapor, founder of Lotus software; Jay Walker, founder of Priceline.com, and his family; and Bill Joy, one of the founders of Sun Microsystems.

It may seem contradictory that some of the biggest contributors to our current, technologically-aided, fast-paced way of life are seeking to slow things down, but as Long Now Foundation Executive Director Alexander Rose explains:

“I would say that it is precisely this close relationship to accelerating aspects of our culture that sensitized our founding board and core funders to what we all miss if we don’t pay attention to the slower and deeper opportunities. The Clock project in particular is a response that Danny [Hillis] had to people constantly asking him to build ever-faster computers. It made him wonder what we were missing in the slow space.”

In 1999, Hillis and his associates completed the first prototype of the Clock of the Long Now, a small-scale version currently on-view at the London Science Museum. The final monumental Clock will primarily be made of stainless steel, titanium and Monel, a mixed-metal alloy that was patented in 1906 and typically found in aerospace and submarine applications due to its high resistance to corrosion.

Pieces and early prototypes of the Clock of the Long Now on exhibit at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, California.

The ball bearings of the clock will be fabricated out of silicon nitride, a type of manufactured hard ceramic mass-marketed since the 1950s for moving car and space shuttle parts. In nature, silicon nitride is only found in miniscule amounts in fallen meteorites. It is extremely wear-resistant and does not require lubrication, making it ideal for the 10,000 year lifespan of the Clock of the Long Now.

The year 02,000. Only 1/5 of the way to the year 10,000.

As is fitting with the rationale for fostering future responsibility, the clock’s torsional pendulum will require periodic power through human winding. The accuracy of the clock will adjust with alignment to the sun.

The team is now at work on the second prototype, implementing advanced-wear testing to simulate the conditions the parts will face over 10,000 years to ensure the movements and ball-bearings last into the future as projected. Plots of land have been purchased for the installation of two colossal clocks: the previously mentioned site in eastern Nevada and the 2005 acquisition of land in Van Horn, Texas.

The weights and balances of the Long Now. Pieces that could very well outlast humanity.

In addition to the consideration put into choosing the materials, the crux of the strategy for preserving the Clock for 10,000 years is to build most of the structure underground. Hillis cites a couple of long-lasting forerunners as prime examples: “The only way to survive over the long run is to be made of materials large and worthless, like Stonehenge and the Pyramids, or to become lost.”

You may also like

• George Nelson Flip Clock What is the crowning glory of your civilization… the symbol...
• Futures of Yore Ever wonder about the material dreams and desires of our...
• Olivetti Typewriter When Camillo Olivetti, the founder of a growing Italian typewriter...

Crest of the Worshipful Company of Pewterers in London, Livery Company, founded 1348

Despite generations of heirloom silver sets, eating is when pewter most shines. Non-reactive, tarnish-free, and taste-less, it was used by the ancient Egyptians, prized by the Romans, and may have given Caesar cause to invade Britain, a land rich in the metals essential to its production. King Edward is said to have had over 300 dishes of the stuff — not a single one made of silver.

Ironically, tin (the main constituent of pewter) is considered “poor,” a term referring to the metals that sit in the corner of the periodic table that are soft and quick to melt. It is also considered by some to be “the poor man’s silver.” In truth, Tin is what gives pewter many of its beneficial attributes, making it a great alternative to silverware or earthenware. For this reason, pewter has also been called “the rich man’s ceramic.”

Louis Bernard working with Pewter, image via lempreintecoop.com

Though this most valuable metal alloy has been used since ancient times, it took craftsmen centuries to get it right. Toughening up tin without compromising its food-worthiness required a pinch of this and a little of that. (I imagine cloaked men milling around a boiling cauldron of tin, pouring contents from unmarked packages until just right.) “This” and “that” happened to be copper, antimony, bismuth, and — in the days before people knew better — lead. A high tin content meant a light alloy with a brighter finish but less strength. Considering it was more pleasant to sip ale out of a light shiny tankard than a dull one as heavy as pig-iron, craftsman continued searching for the perfect balance of strength and luster. The line for safe, high quality pewter was finally drawn at the 92% tin mark.

CRAFTING QUALITY

Those who could get their pewter to shine without having it crumple eventually formed craft guilds, strict organizations that acted as both educational institutions and regulatory agencies. Nuremburg, London, Limoges and Montpellier became important centers of pewter making as guilds in these cities carefully guarded their secrets. They trained apprentices and journeymen, allowing only the best to acquire the title of “master craftsman.” The rise to master, however, was tightly controlled — no one earned the title without the right letters, stamps and experience. The finished product was closely scrutinized, and only those that adhered to strict guild requirements received their own touchmarks, those embossed stamps which distinguished one craftsman’s work from another.

Pewter Touchmark, image via antique-shop.com

Just as apprenticeship was the equivalent to a college education, a touchmark was a craftsman’s brand. It also created a sense of accountability; if a piece wasn’t up to snuff, the buyer knew exactly where and who to complain to. Touchmarks also became marks of distinction. The crowned X, for example, indicated a high level of craftsmanship, while the date and initials of the reigning monarch proved it had passed inspection.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the demand for quality pewter increased dramatically, and guilds reached their height of production. Bright-eyed apprentices trained from four to six years, carving molds, pouring molten metals, and learning decorative techniques, while journeymen spread knowledge imparted by their village masters. For several generations guilds continued to supply taverns and homes alike with fine tableware. Consumers drank heartily from pewter mugs, poured thick gravy from pewter ladles over food served on pewter platters, and sipped soup from pewter bowls.

18th Century pewter lidded quart measure, with fleur-de-lys hinge and scrolled thumbpiece, image via georgekidner.co.uk

Inevitably, the industry was undermined by the very forces that regulated it. Innovation was stifled by the guild itself; the comfort of being in the bosom of a protected industry engendered laziness. Many craft guilds — including pewterers — lost the respect of the public as concern for quality fell dramatically. So irritating was this royalty-appointed system that revolutionaries the likes of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith and Karl Marx immortalized their names debunking it.

Soon many protected craft trades, including the pewter trade, gave way to modern industrialized mechanization, electroplating, and the transition to porcelain and steel tableware. Faster production processes ultimately pushed the pewter industry into a specialty items category.

Pewter Tea Pot, image via capesdunn.com

Today, it’s much easier to find a ceramic bowl than a pewter one in your local store, but the metal maintains a strong following among collectors.  In more recent years, the gentleman’s flask has regained appreciation, and a lovely pewter plate is still a classy gift. Pewter pieces — once the durable and practical workhorse of the dinner table — may now just be tucked away for special occasions, but it’s still as strong, shiny and “taste-less” as ever.

German Stein with pewter lid, "A full stein is always my friend", image via garykirsnerauctions.com

FURTHER READING

The Worshipful Company of Pewterers

You may also like

• Stainless Steel Stainless steel is a material that’s easy to fall in...
• Titanium Conceived beneath the skies of the ancient world, the Titans...
• Du Pont Canvas Utility Bag Sometimes, we as consumers don’t necessarily have access to everything...

Crocodile on Deck of a Steamer in Africa, Courtesy of Gordon Mumford (Click on Image to Enlarge)

Grabbing hungrily at the essence of exotic hides, rabid consumption has instead cheapened the unusual material, transforming it from a mark of quality and class to one of superficiality and vulgarity.

Revered for centuries as a luxury item, the utility of exotic skins has been obscured by its role as signifier of wealth. While exotic skins may have been part of the trousseaux of ancient Egyptian royalty, strong, water resistant salmon leather was used by the Nanai of Siberia for at least three of the things necessary for survival in the frigid north—clothing, tents, and boats.

Eel skin, prized for its thin and delicate feel, is far from flimsy. The tensile strength of eel is one hundred and fifty times greater than a cow leather of the same thickness. Crocodiles can lounge languidly on river banks and at the top of food chains in part because of the strength of their armor, a quality retained in the preserved hide. And in Medieval Japan, the handles of samurai swords were bound with the skin of stingrays. When preserved, the hide develops a coarse pattern of raised beads, perfect for keeping a tight grip on your sword, even when drenched in blood.

Vintage Crocodile Trunk, Courtesy of 1stdibs

Closer to home, exotic skins were traditionally used for the items that were expected to endure time and use. The best steamer trunks, built to be knocked around in passenger ships and locomotives, were made of crocodile. The worn edges of a crocodile Hermes Kelly bag is testament to a time when an expensive object was meant to return dividends in longevity.

Hermès Vintage Kelly Handbag, Courtesy of Portero

The use of exotic skins, however, is more than just a matter of taking it back from the tawdry. A hundred years ago, consumers, producers and poachers operated with the mistaken notion that anything in nature existed in endless abundance, when in fact they were driving animals of land and sea to the verge of extinction.

Two Woman Posing with Stuffed Alligator in Florida, Circa 1910s, Courtesy of Florida Memory

Conservation and wildlife management have slowed humanity’s species death count, but consumers will have to take responsibility for our insatiable appetites, and perhaps bear the lessons of exotic skins in mind: buy few and far between, buy for quality and longevity, and be wary of the slippery slope between the beautiful and the grotesque.

During the Alligator Hunting Season in Florida, Courtest of Life Magazine

FURTHER READING:

K. Fuchs, M. Fuchs, and L. Deidrich. Fascination Leather: Common and Exotic Skins Under the Microscope. Editions Chimaira. April 2010.

You may also like

• Leather Tanning Leather can be strong or supple; it can drape languidly...
• Du Pont Canvas Utility Bag Sometimes, we as consumers don’t necessarily have access to everything...
• Shoe Shine Rather than give you another fanatical instruction guide on how...

Lumber Worker in White Pines, Circa 1958, Courtesy of Sierra Nevada Logging Museum

Southern Longleaf Pine or “Southern Steel” covered a wide crescent from South Virginia to East Texas. Those more commercially minded individuals immediately recognized the significance of this untapped natural resource; used for shipbuilding, construction, and fuel, the trees of the American forests offered a seemingly limitless natural wealth for the taking.

Lumberjacks, Courtesy of Bacon Babble

This natural wealth, it turned out, wasn’t so limitless. As the population of the young country grew, so did the need for more land, fuel, and building materials. Huge swaths of forest were cleared for building and farm use. Logging operations and paper mills popped up across the country, from the Atlantic Southeast to the Pacific Northwest. Longleaf pine, in fact, dwindled to 3% of its original forest area. By the end of the Civil War, agricultural and logging operations had cleared about 30 percent of the original stands as the country devoured more and more raw timber.

Steam Tracktor, Circa 1880, Courtesy of Sierra Nevada Logging Museum

Part of the problem lay in the creation of new legislation that lacked proper oversight. Although efforts such as the Timber and Stone Act of 1878 were meant to facilitate settlement by pioneers and their families, provided the public with 160 acre plots of land along the coast of Northern California, the logging industry took advantage of loopholes and accumulated huge tracts of timberland. One such business, the California Redwood Company, acquired tens of thousands of acres of public lands in 1882, which originally had been allotted to families for only $2.50 an acre. By the 1890s, these “cheap” redwood forests were no longer in the public domain.  The country’s forests and its old-growth wood had been taken for granted.

"A California Sequoia Gigantea Log", 1901, Courtesy of Cathedral Grove

Many worried that America would experience a “national famine of wood” by the 20th century and began demanding that the federal government begin strict conservation measures. At the end of the 19th century it began answering these calls; President Benjamin Harrison signed the Forest Reserve Act of 1891, the first such act that would inspire a series of conservation efforts by government to begin drawing boundaries around the old forests.

Increased efforts, combined with a decrease in the need for farmland, finally began to slow the consumption of old-growth wooded areas. Organizations like the Sierra Club and the National Geographic Society put considerable pressure on government to create a system of national parks aimed at slowing the degradation of old-growth forests. (By 1920, forest acreage stopped declining, and it has remained relatively stable ever since). Since then, efforts to plant new trees have replaced harvesting old-growth. Modern reforestation efforts include several varieties of pine (a wood used mostly for construction and papermaking). But where would industry turn to when many still demanded durable, high quality material that wouldn’t cause further deforestation?

Santa Fe R.R. Tie Plant, 1943, Courtest of Shorpy

FURTHER READING:

Larry Eifert. Field Guide to Old-Growth Forests: Exploring Ancient Forest Ecosystems from California to the Pacific Northwest, Sasquatch Books, 2000.

You may also like

• Teak Wood Scandinavian Modern furniture is often associated with teak, the ultra-durable...
• Natural Cork Ah, the small squeak of the stopper against glass as...
• Paper Making Paper has been a key factor in communication and learning...

Elephants Piling Teak, Burma, Courtesy of the University of Glasgow

With the technological innovations of synthetic quick-drying glue and bent plywood, Scandinavian designers created beautifully simple pieces that revolutionized furniture design. Unlike their German modernist counterparts in the Bauhaus movement, Scandinavian designers never warmed to widespread use of metal, perhaps because it lacked “hygge” or “fika” the Scandinavian concept loosely translated as ‘coziness’.

Teak Bookshelf, Designed by Finn Juhl, 1950, Courtesy of frankandoliver

NOT JUST MID-CENTURY DANISH

Americans commonly refer to Scandinavian modern as ‘mid-century Danish’. In fact the origins of this design aesthetic are wider than the tiny peninsula nation and have their roots much early in the 20th century. The Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, who began designing in the 1920s is often called the “Father of Scandinavian Modern”. The confabulation of the two terms can be attributed to the fact that Danish designers were the most prolific and the most reliant on teak. Denmark was also the chief European importer of teak in the 1950s.

Grete Jalk (1920-), Courtesy of Danish Furniture Designs

The many Danish designers who used teak include Grete Jalk, one of the movement’s only female designers and Kay Bojesen, who made teak bowls, teak toys and teak children’s furniture.  Finn Juhl, often attributed with bringing Scandinavian style to the masses in America, is famous for his teak furniture.

Teak Elephant, Circa 1951, Designed by Kay Bojesen, Courtesy of Modcats

Scandinavian designers witnessed a tremendous response to their work at the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair – so much so that American furniture manufacturers fell over themselves recreating these designs. The post-war American public was ravenous for modern home furnishings. American manufacturers were keen to emphasize their designs “authenticity” and often worked with Scandinavian designers.

Sam Maloof with his Family, 1953, Courtesy of The Furniture Of Sam Maloof

The American designer Sam Maloof was also fond of using teak. Although he was often branded a modernist, he considered himself a woodworker first and foremost. When he was approached by industrial designer, Henry Dreyfuss, who wanted to manufacture a line of his furniture, Maloof refused.  He made every piece by hand, with the help of three assistants.

Teak Armchair, Designed by Finn Juhl, 1945, Courtesy of frankandoliver

TEAK’S ORIGINS

A genus of tropical hardwood tree, teak is native to south and southeast Asia, particularly in Burma, Thailand and Indonesia. Like many natural materials, the current teak supply is tangled in environmental issues and political upheaval. If purchasing new teak, be sure to understand the complex issues surrounding its harvest, particularly Burma, where human rights groups have accused the military junta of forced labor, and other violations, leading Burmese dissidents to start a ‘Teak is Torture’ campaign.

Teak Trunk, Courtesy of Tectomec

As there is only a very limited supply of sustainably harvested teak, there is even more reason to seek out these vintage pieces – furniture with classic style made from an incredibly durable material. Teak will not warp in cold or heat, is resistant to rot and impervious to infestation – it can remain outdoors for up to 10 years with no damage. Teak turns an ash grey color when exposed to the elements but with a little bit of wood oil its lustrous hue returns immediately.

Finn Juhl (1912-1989)

FURTHER READING:

David Ryan. ‘Essay: Scandinavian Moderne 1900 – 1960′, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1998.

What to Look for at Danish Modern Furniture Stores

Sam Maloof.  Sam Maloof: Woodworker, Kodansha International, 1989.

You may also like

• Reclaimed Wood, Part I When early American colonists begun penetrating the thick interior of...
• Arne Jacobsen Arne Jacobsen was a designer of everything. A trained architect,...
• Enamelware Enamel has been around for decorative and functional use for...

Gustave Young Engraved Navy Percussion Revolver with Mother of Pearl Handle, 1851

The luminescent inner lining of seashells, mother of pearl looks as delicate as an ebbing spot of sunlight on the surface of the ocean. But fragile it is not. Mother of pearl is strong without being brittle and according to physics professor Pupa Gilbert, “You can go over it with a truck and not break it.” Nacre, the substance secreted by mollusks to create both pearls and mother of pearl, is mostly humble calcium carbonate — the stuff of eggshells and antacid tablets. Mother of pearl’s incredible resilience comes from thin layers of an organic lubricating substance, a molecular mortar to the bricks of calcium that redistributes force and makes nacre much, much stronger than the sum of its parts. As a natural material, mother of pearl has an eternal quality that modern science strives towards, and consumer plastics cannot even begin to replicate.

Photo by Tom Meijer

Mother of pearl, imported to Victorian England from the Pacific and Indian oceans in great mahogany crates, would be unpacked, inspected for quality, and auctioned to the over two thousand factories and artisans who would polish, cut and bevel the shells into the fineries that distinguished the Victorian gentleman or woman. Mother of pearl, cut as peonies were inlayed into tea tables, formed into gentlemen’s knives, or carved into elaborate filigree for brooches, as well as the aforementioned posy holders — miniature vases fitted with fragrant bouquets that ladies of Victoria’s era carried as practical yet decorative charms to ward off the smells of a time before widespread bathing.

THE WILD, PEARLY WEST

During this same period, mother of pearl was beloved by the gentlemen outlaws of the wild American frontier. Wyatt Earp, the legendary lawman of the West, would likely have maintained that glorious mustache with a straight razor set into a mother of pearl handle. And when he reached into his holster, it would be the cool iridescent shell that would greet his palm. Highwayman Bob Dalton was said to have special-ordered a set of pistols with mother of pearl grips for a spectacular double bank heist in his hometown of Coffeyville, Kansas in 1892. Despite being handsomely appointed, the robbery ended in disaster when vigilante townspeople killed Dalton and his entire gang.

Wyatt Earp (1848 - 1929), courtesy of the Craigs Fout Collection

Mother of pearl’s less nefarious incarnation as buttons is the classic tale of beauty and quality falling victim to ever-cheaper industrial production. In the mid-nineteenth century, from the moment the box of shells arrived at the factory floor to the moment when a finely engraved, skillfully shanked button was tacked onto a piece of bright blue card, the precious item would have passed through no less then eight specialized pairs of hands (albeit some of them uncomfortably young and small).

Buttons by Lady Washington Pearls and B. Schwanda & Sons

In the late 1800s, American mother of pearl buttons accounted for nearly half of the total world output of button manufacture, sourced from China, Australia, Ceylon, and the South Seas, as well as abalone from California and freshwater shells from the Mississippi. They were carved into elegant buttons that were beautiful and cherished, reflecting a respect for things that came before two-thirds of the world’s buttons were produced in a single city in China, and one’s plastic cuff buttons cracked in half before a fine shirt wore out.

Two British Pearly Kings in Traditional Suits, courtesy of Pearly King of Peckham

By the 1960s, B. Schwanda & Sons of New York, one of the leading pearl-button firms in America, was caught squarely in the crosshairs of the cheap, plastic future. The directors of the company remained loyal to the beauty and quality of pearl buttons, and refused to succumb to the economic pressures driving other button makers to turn to plastic. As a result, the company went bankrupt and liquidated in 1969, and we marched another step forward to the fate of our own making.

FURTHER READING:

Lue Diver Barndollar. What Really Happened on October 5, 1892: An Attempt at an Accurate Account of the Dalton Gang and Coffeyville, Coffeyville Historical Society, 2001.

You may also like

• Mother Of Pearl Pocket Knife In a time when it was unthinkable for a man...
• Museum of Obsolete Objects   Here at Kaufmann Mercantile we can really get behind...
• Horn Spoon One of nature’s very useful materials, horn (Ox, Buffalo, Stag,...

32.15 Ounces of .9999 Fine Gold (24k), Today's Value: $ 35,898

So exactly what is it about gold, outside of its relative monetization, that holds such sway over us? It’s simple really. Gold is magic in its most tactile state.

Gold Panning, 1918

Useless as a metal for most practical purposes, gold has always been more endemic to creative pursuits and abstract principles. After being minted and used as coins by the Lydians in 635 BC, it eventually proved to be the touchstone that helped define our current model of fiat currency. It still hedges any hiccups our burgeoning new economy may suffer, but this is nothing compared to the effect it has had on the collective imagination of mankind.

Lyidan 'Gold Stater', One of the World's First Coin's, Courtesy of Money Museum

In hermetic mysticism, as well as the basic Italian tarot, gold coins represent the best things this earthly plane has to offer (distinct from the planes of intellect, compassion and intuition). In the Bible it was Jehovah’s material of choice for his first tabernacle: “Though shalt overlay it with pure gold,” He instructs Moses on Mount Sinai, “within and without shalt though overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.” Even Columbus’ trip to the Americas was primarily a gold prospect in order to buy back the Holy Sepulchre from the Muslims. Allah seems to like a little bling-bling himself.

Fabergé Egg 'Romanov Tercentenary', 1913

As the metal of the muses, nothing sings more in the hands of a gifted artist. More than any other medium, its physical properties seem to dictate the content of the work produced. Soft, lustrous and gleaming, the character of goldwork always seems to lean toward the glorious. Indeed the House of Fabergé was primarily a house of goldsmiths. Even scampish young British artists forgo their usual fecal forms and vivisected invective when they get their hands on a chunk. In 2008, the British artist Marc Quinn veered away from his usual grotesque fare when given the opportunity to work with £1.5 million worth of solid gold, opting instead to make the most beautiful thing possible: Kate Moss with her legs pinned behind her head.

Kate Moss in Gold: 'Siren', by Marc Quinn

Gold is a noble metal – it does not react with most elements. That means it is usually found in its native form and nearly lasts forever. 4,500-year-old Egyptian dental work is said to be good enough for today’s mouths. There is no colloquial accounting for the style and quality of pure gold as could be applied to salt, cheese or rap music. 24k gold is 24k gold. Its only real measure of luxury outside of the ebb and flow of demand is what is done with it.

California Gold Rush Handbill, 1849

FURTHER READING:

Peter L. Bernstein. The Power of Gold: History of an Obsession, John Riley & Sons, Inc. 2000.

You may also like

• Alexander Calder By the end of his nearly century-spanning career, Alexander Calder...
• Stainless Steel Stainless steel is a material that’s easy to fall in...
• Titanium Conceived beneath the skies of the ancient world, the Titans...

Frozen Fried Shrimp Dinner with Tangy Cocktail Sauce for Extra "Home Style" Touch

Soda cans, furniture, cookware, structural building supports – the number of products made with the ubiquitous material is endless. Incredibly light, non-rusting, fully recyclable, cheap, and in seemingly limitless supply, it is the metallic element of choice for an extraordinary number of everyday goods. It cannot be denied that aluminum is a miraculous metal whose industrial and commercial applications have revolutionized the modern world. Yet it is most common in products we use in our everyday personal life, and its positive aspects, especially in regards to its contact with the foods we consume, is more questionable.

Aluminum is found in buffered aspirin, most antiperspirants (as aluminum chlorhydrate), antacids, and in shampoo (as aluminum lauryl sulfate or magnesium aluminum silicate). The “miracle” metal is also found in many foods: cake mixes, self-rising flour, prepared doughs, nondairy creamers, pickles, some baking powders, and many processed cheeses. We seem to be either rubbing it on our bodies or ingesting it or pouring it on something on a daily basis, and have been doing so for years, and concern is steadily on the rise.

Secret Anti-Perspirant Advertising, 1969

HISTORY OF ALUMINUM

Aluminum is the third most abundant element of the Earth’s crust, behind that oxygen and silicone, but foremost among all metals, adding up to 7.3% by mass of the earth’s crust. Industrial aluminum is a rather “young” metal (it has only been produced for commercial purposes for a century and a half), but have been using it in its natural form for much longer. 7,000 years ago, Persians made their strongest pottery out of clay containing aluminum oxide. Three millennia later, ancient Egyptians were using  aluminum compounds in medicines, dyes, and cosmetics. The Romans used various aluminum compounds as astringents; they called these alum, or the Latin alumen, giving the metal the origin of its modern name.

Bauxite: Aluminum Ore

Aluminum does not occur naturally in its elemental state. In 1821 Pierre Berthier discovered a clay-like material that contained 52 percent aluminum oxide outside the small village of Les Baux in the south of France. In reference to the place of this most significant of discoveries, he gave the material the name bauxite. He did not realize it at the time, but he had discovered the aluminum ore.

The first commercial process of extracting aluminum was created in 1854 by Henri Sainte-Claire Deville of France, and by 1855 he was able to create enough aluminum for display at the Paris Exposition of that year. Billed as “silver from clay,” aluminum bars were shown alongside France’s crown jewels. The juxtaposition was fitting: rubies, emeralds and sapphires consist mainly of crystalline aluminum oxide. At that time, pure aluminum was valued at $115 per pound — more expensive than gold. Napoleon III proudly displayed aluminum cutlery at his state banquets, commissioned aluminum equipment for his military and even had an aluminum and gold baby rattle made for his son.

B-24 Assembly Hall, 1943 / Courtesy of Shorpy

In 1886, after years of experimentation by many scientists and industrialists, Charles Martin Hall of the United States and Paul L.T. Héroult of France — both 22 years old — independently discovered a way to produce aluminum cheaply. Hall developed a method for “reducing” aluminum oxide, called alumina, to pure aluminum by electrolysis. In the electrolytic cell, alumina is dissolved in molten cryolite. A strong electric current passes through the solution and removes the oxygen, leaving deposits of nearly pure aluminum on the bottom of the bath. This method — called the Hall–Héroult process — is still used today.

Club Aluminum Advertising, 1946

Two years later, Hall founded the Pittsburgh Reduction Company (which would in 1907, be renamed Aluminum Company of America, and become the largest producer of aluminum in America). Before the end of 1888, Hall had produced the first commercial aluminum. As Hall improved his process, the price of aluminum ingots dropped from $4.86 per pound in 1888 to 78 cents per pound in 1893.

Industrialists were at first reluctant to use unfamiliar aluminum, but business grew as manufacturers grasped the benefits of this light yet strong metal. In the mid-1930s, industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss predicted that “aluminum will play a large and significant part” in the “greatest period of redesign the world has known.” By the late 1930s, a pound of aluminum cost just 20 cents, and its uses numbered more than 2,000.

As is often the case (and almost always for the winning side), war was very good for business. During World War II, demand doubled as the cheap, durable material spawned a new generation of aircraft, automobiles, cooking utensils, foil, electric wire and cable. There has been no going back since. Aluminum is ubiquitous in our modern world. Other metals, such as copper, lead, and tin have been mined and used by humans for millennia, but nothing compares to the exploitation of aluminum. More aluminum is produced today than all other non-ferrous metals put together.

The Aluminum Association Advertising, 1967 (Click on Image for Details)

ALUMINUM HEALTH CONCERNS

The bulk of the health discussion centers around whether there is a link between the absorption of aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease. The idea was first introduced in the early 1960s, when neurologist Igor Klatzo at the National Institutes of Health led a study of the workings of the immune system in the brain. When Klatzo injected various solutions into the brains of rabbits to observe immune response, the animals went into severe convulsions. Investigating further, Klatzo learned that it was not active ingredients in the solutions that caused this response, but aluminum added to the solution to aid in their action. Klatzo also observed that brain cells appeared to have suffered a kind of microscopic degeneration in the form of ‘plaques’ and ‘tangles’ which were also characteristic of Alzheimer’s patients.

Neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer (1864 - 1915)

A few years later, researchers at the University of Toronto set out to look for aluminum in the brains of Alzheimer’s subjects. Using autopsy samples, they measured aluminum levels in various parts of the brain and compared levels in Alzheimer’s patients with those in patients who died of unrelated health conditions. The Alzheimer’s patients had aluminum levels two to three times higher.

Aluminum Clad Fire Fighter, Kaiser Aluminum Advertising, 1950s

A number of studies were conducted shortly after, each one discounting the last, some claiming no correlation, others an obvious one. Critics of the supposed link say that association does not prove causation. The buildup, they argue, may be a consequence of Alzheimer’s, which may cause changes in the brain that cause the metal to accumulate in brain tissue. While the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that exposure to high levels of aluminum may result in respiratory problems, it does not state that exposure to very small levels is harmful. The current view of the Alzheimer’s Association is that “the findings (… ) do not convincingly demonstrate a causal relationship between aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease, and that no useful medical or public health recommendations can be made, at least at present.”

Pepsi Advertising, 1980s

Another issue directly connected to the aluminum health debate is BPA. BPA is found in the epoxy lining used in aluminum cans and bottles to prevent the leaching of potentially harmful properties from the metal into the food or drink within. that aluminum even NEEDS something to prevent it from coming into contact with your food or drink makes the container doubly dangerous, since BPA has long been known to have even worse health implications than what it’s put in place to protect you from! Bisphenol A is a chemical which can mimic human estrogen and which is linked to breast cancer and early puberty in women.

According to a study conducted by the Environmental Working Group, a wide variety of canned food was bought and tested. In more than half the items they found “200 times the government’s traditional safe level of exposure for industrial chemicals.” Still, there are no standards for BPA; it is allowed to be put in anything, and billions of pounds are produced each year. According to EWG: “Of all foods tested, chicken soup, infant formula, and ravioli had BPA levels of highest concern. Just one to three servings of foods with these concentrations could expose a woman or child to BPA at levels that caused serious adverse effects in animal tests.”

Reynolds Aluminum Advertising

CONTROVERSY AND ITS EFFECTS

Many cookware manufacturers have heeded the call of careful consumers, offering them pots and pans made of anodized aluminum. Anodizing involves thickening the naturally-oxidized surface of the metal by passing a direct current through it as it sits in an electrolytic solution (usually sulfuric acid). Afterward, the surface is sealed to fill in pores that form during the process and to prevent degradation. The result is a coating that is highly-resistant to corrosion, much harder, and can accept dyes readily. The leaching of aluminum residue is considerably lowered with this process. Socially responsible food manufacturers are also switching to canned goods with non-BPA linings due to growing public concerns over the obvious health issues.

Most studies seem to agree that low-level exposure to aluminum from food, air, and water, is not harmful. However there are clearly enough legitimate questions concerning its use in a number of important everyday applications to continue the debate and make us think twice before buying aluminum products. Whatever the case, it seems likely that this very valuable material will continue to be used until solid evidence shows us that without a doubt, it may not be best to chase your Rolaids with a can of tomato juice.

You may also like

• Aluminum Cup I’m getting the feeling that for many household products, aluminum...
• Aluminum Ice Cube Tray I was excited when I found this 1950s aluminum ice...
• Push-Pins I once suffered a ‘serious’ injury from a dysfunctional thumbtack....