Literary notes about mahogany (AI summary)
In literature, mahogany is evoked not just as a finished wood but as a vivid, deep reddish-brown hue that enriches character and scene. Authors employ mahogany as a descriptor to evoke warmth and intensity, as when a character is depicted with a "mahogany-hued" quality that immediately sets him apart [1]. Such descriptions extend to the human face—sunburnt, rich, and deep in tone [2, 3]—and even to more unexpected subjects like a duck portrayed as "Spanish mahogany," which infuses an exotic color note into the narrative [4]. This color usage often suggests not only physical characteristics—a withered skin the color of mahogany [5] or an object of rich, dark allure [6]—but also serves as a metaphor for depth and endurance in the emotional landscape of the work [7].
- “He said,” Tuckerman answered, “‘Find the mahogany-hued man with the long, skinny legs and look in his breast pocket.’” “Exactly,” said Ben slowly.
— from Peter Cotterell's Treasure by Rupert Sargent Holland - His hair, which is of dark chestnut and inclined to curl, was combed back from a medium forehead, and his face was sun-burnt into a rich mahogany hue.
— from Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 11, No. 25, April, 1873 by Various - It was very hot, and the climb made his mahogany-coloured face darker than before.
— from Bahama Bill, Mate of the Wrecking Sloop Sea-Horse by T. Jenkins (Thornton Jenkins) Hains - But Alice was fiery red and the duck a Spanish mahogany.
— from Bliss, and other stories by Katherine Mansfield - He was a little shriveled wisp of a man, with a withered skin the color of mahogany.
— from Great Sea Stories - A dark reddish-brown form, known to collectors as the "mahogany form," seems to be somewhat rare.
— from The Moths of the British Isles, First Series Comprising the Families Sphingidæ to Noctuidæ by Richard South - He wore a beard, and his face was burnt to the colour of mahogany, which had a strange effect in contrast to the bluest of Saxon eyes.
— from From One Generation to Another by Henry Seton Merriman
