This is an amazing photo full of historical information. Not only does it show Wanda and Dale Sorenson playing by the side of the house around 1918, but it shows so well the original decorative plaster coating on the house. It was a thin lime plaster applied to the outermost layer of earthen plaster. It was stamped or scored and colored to look like red brick. See how soft and worn it is?
Remember this investigation I made into the wall by the back door to the bedroom?
This sample shows us the inside of the stucco. It tells us a lot about the original coating. Here you see that the present day cement stucco was applied with a lot of pressure to chicken wire nailed to the earthen walls.
The red pigment here is the original red of the decorative "brick" plaster. It came off and adhered to the cement coat during application. Here you see the off-white lime plaster that the red pigment was applied to.
A side view of the removed stucco with protruding 2" nails.
This is an example of the earthen plaster. Multiple coats were applied directly to the adobe bricks to protect them. See the random stones and bits of straw? They would have used the earth excavated from the cellar and foundation to build with.
This piece of earthen plaster came from the corner of the blue room. It's 2" thick in some places. And also you see a piece of fired brick, like terracotta, that was also in the wall.
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