Wow! Soapstone! That is a beauty!!
I would have bought a soapstone stove I was looking at down here, but they didn't have one that would burn coal. Besides the classic look, (and more so, in contrast to that beautiful marble in the background), I'll wager that soapstone really holds the heat and helps moderate the temperature-swings when the fire burns down.
Same with that marble. The perfect fireback!
That there looks like a gen-you-wine chunk of Pennsylvania anthracite on the left! One major Black Diamond! A thing of beauty itself! Musta been a good ol' boy sent you that.
Fueled the Industrial Revolution in this country.
Geologists say there's enough anthracite STILL under Pennsylvania to fuel the eastern seaboard for another 200 years.
Nice picture!
