 At first there were technical difficulties and failures due to underfiring, as well as fierce resistance from stone cutters fearing loss of their livelihood.By the 1870s terra cotta was fast becoming the material of choice, as it was far easier to make, allowed for unlimited designs and could be made rapidly and inexpensively.Large sculptures and decorative schemes were divided into a multitude of blocks so that they could be reassembled by masons with mortar and metal cramps in place on the steel frames of the new architecture.