Soft red brick

From Lynch (2009): “From initial observation, the red color seems to indicate that the clay came from the Mississippi River. The brick does not have a brickmaker’s stamp, and the age is unknown. This sample is a fire brick, has sharp-pressed edges, and is struck from header to header across the bedding face. The strike marks on the brick indicate that it was struck with a wire. The lack of sand in the surface indicates that oil was used as a molding lubricant. Given these characteristics, the brick appears to have been extruded through a stiff-mud machine.”