Marble is the cheapest wallpaper

Adolf Loos

Marble will not yellow. But this is not the only reason why its quality could be stated to be more durable than  any other wall-covering. Is it not that the notion of “permanent value” of a certain material implies its resistance to fashion? And, is it not so that marble-not at all immune to misuse-is less prone to fashion changes than a clothing material which could be as cheaply manufactured as a wall-paper?

In other words: marble is cheaper because it is more valuable?

The St. Cross Pharmacy in the small town of Peuerbach in Upper Austria, almost completely covered in Unterberg marble is exactly pre-destined for such speculations on material and clothing. The word “wall-papering” could be here used only in a metaphorical sense as the marble in this case is not glued but, with the exception of the floor, exclusively screwed.