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ROBBYBOBBY64

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In response to your question. Yes! I'm from South Jersey, and the brick I showed you is from our local Brick Mfr. Plant that closed down in the 40s. Today, most of it has recently been turned into Dr's offices, but the other half is an overgrown wooded lot, still full of bricks from the plant. Funny that you said you are interested in the "defects," as there are tons of half-melted bricks laying around in mounds after they dozed the buildings. There are even what I call "experimental" prototypes, or odd-shaped ones of all kinds laying around. There are also tons of other artifacts laying around buried under mounds or just laying around. Bottles too! I'm only interested in actual historical relics of the plant, bottles, or the bricks that still bear the plant's name and are in "whole" condition (rare). But, should you want to see some examples of what is there, let me know. I'll snap a few pics of them and we can go from there. I just saw some that looked like they were meteorites, or volcanic rock!
I think some would love some pictures. Even if you don't collect them. I agree with you. I just like the rejects. Some do have the company name if you look closely. Here is a little pile of different colored brick defects I found. Red, orange, white, black and blue. To get the different colors the brick was dusted with coal, iron, and various materials.
ROBBYBOBBY64.
 

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ROBBYBOBBY64

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In response to your question. Yes! I'm from South Jersey, and the brick I showed you is from our local Brick Mfr. Plant that closed down in the 40s. Today, most of it has recently been turned into Dr's offices, but the other half is an overgrown wooded lot, still full of bricks from the plant. Funny that you said you are interested in the "defects," as there are tons of half-melted bricks laying around in mounds after they dozed the buildings. There are even what I call "experimental" prototypes, or odd-shaped ones of all kinds laying around. There are also tons of other artifacts laying around buried under mounds or just laying around. Bottles too! I'm only interested in actual historical relics of the plant, bottles, or the bricks that still bear the plant's name and are in "whole" condition (rare). But, should you want to see some examples of what is there, let me know. I'll snap a few pics of them and we can go from there. I just saw some that looked like they were meteorites, or volcanic rock!
Impurities in the clay cause these problems. Very low percentage of the brick survived to be usable. That explains the excessive amount dumped. I would think they could be reused/used as fill.
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ROBBYBOBBY64

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I just read a story about brick quotas. Each brick maker at this factory was required to make 2000 brick a day. Was that good brick?? Now remember 60% of all brick was defective due to impurities in the clay. That's alot of work.
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GEEMAN

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I don't know why but I have always had a soft spot for old bricks. I found this one along the river while fishing one day last summer. With a name like that I just had to bring it home. LOL
 

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ROBBYBOBBY64

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I don't know why but I have always had a soft spot for old bricks. I found this one along the river while fishing one day last summer. With a name like that I just had to bring it home. LOL
Firebrick i believe.
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GEEMAN

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Could be. Someone had used them to make a small set of steps near an old pier/dock on a long gone home site on the river. I worked 26 years on a blacktop crew and have a bunch of street pavers I picked up over the years. They make nice flower bed borders for the boss. LOL
 

willong

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Firebrick i believe.
ROBBYBOBBY64.
Ah, the old myth about salamanders being able to survive fire--I like your thought process on that one!

I know about the myth. Yet, the firebrick association did not jump to mind automatically; your comment elicited it.

Rob, though it's unrelated to the fire myth, you might get a kick out of something my Opa used to say: "Wie fressen besser als der Hund vom Salamander" if we were enjoying an elaborate or particularly tasty meal.

The firm Salamander is a well-established (since 1917) shoe manufacturer situated in Kornwestheim, Germany.

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Kornwestheim is the town where my mother, her sister, two young nieces and my Oma sought refuge after fleeing their home in Beuthen*, Upper Silesia, (now Bytom, Poland) as the Soviet forces advanced into that region during WW2; it would become my hometown for the first two years of my life.

Kornwestheim was my refugee relatives' destination because Hans, my mother's brother-in-law who would become my uncle, was part of a German anti-aircraft gun crew stationed in the town. Their 88mm gun was installed on top of the Rathaus (town hall) clock tower.
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My own memory of Kornwestheim is limited to a visit in my early teens. As I recall, in addition to their factory, Salamander had a huge, walled estate in the town not far from where my relatives resided. As evidently wealthy as the Salamanders were, my Opa naturally assumed that their dog ate well!

* Opa eventually reunited with the rest of the family. The Soviets had abducted my grandfather, who was merely a 55 year-old civilian accountant at the time, and transported him deep into Russia as a slave laborer. Somehow, after extended captivity, he and a fellow prisoner managed to escape and make their way back to Germany. I wish I knew the details of that adventure! The only anecdote I can remember hearing is that, at least once, they had to cross a river by paddling on floating ice! I do know that my Opa's legs hampered his mobility significantly in later life, a crippling condition that he blamed on his captivity.
 

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Pretty cool stuff. We renovated a bakery in Goderich Ontario that was built in 1834. All the brick timber was hand make. The bricks we found some had initials on them.Some had dates.
That is so cool. I would have loved to help out.
 

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Wow! Willong, --A great family history originating in a tougher, but beautiful part of the world. One thought. --An 88 on top of that clock tower building? A very effective AA gun, especially when bunched. More credit to them for getting that big boy up there! (They probably took it up in pieces.) --Grandpa and his pal were both incredible and extremely lucky to escape the gulag. God Bless the Greatest Generation. If you haven't already, write down his story for the local library, + Smithsonian. Maybe Hollywood could make a movie out of it! Thanks for sharing so that the young, especially, will never forget.
 
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