SRHGH1 is a soft red brick that came from the Hermann-Grimma house in the French Quarter of New Orleans. 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, although the age of the house dates the brick to the 1830s. This sample is a regular brick, has sharp 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 wooden striker, which is consistent with the period. The lack of sand in the surface indicates that water was used as a molding lubricant. Given these characteristics, the brick appears to have been hand-made using the soft mud method.
