Library of Congress Interior
Detailed Description
The Library of Congress' Jefferson Building has many pieces of interior art. Featured are two types of gilding--gold and aluminum. The aluminum foil work was once seen as the pride of the Library, as aluminum was exceedingly difficult to produce, making it worth more than gold. The discovery of the Hall-Heroult process of smelting aluminum made the metal very common and drastically reduced its value.
Sources/Usage
Public Domain.