Talking Brick

[swizzle]

I was lucky enough to get to play a few house down from a historic site today. Unfortunately this was my best find. No buckles, bullets, cannonballs or soldiers. Just a talking brick. Anyone here collect these? Its from the Eastern Paving Brick Company in the Catskills. This brick should date between 1895 & 1901. Its a cool looking brick but nothing I'm super excited about. Anyone want to trade a bottle for it? Swiz

 

[swizzle]

Here's a side shot to show how crudely made it is. Swiz

 

[blobbottlebob]

Hey Swizzle,
Those bricks are kind of neat. I find them underwater from time to time and I generally bring them back when they are stamped. I imagine that there have got to be collectors of rare ones but it might be tough to find one with bottles. I was thinking of using them as pavers to frame in a garden (but haven't done so yet).

 

[Plumbata]

Nice brick! I know nothing about it but it seems like a good old one. Believe it or not there are some avid brick collectors out there, but I know of only 2 personally, one who is quite serious is a 30+ year bottle collector which is the main focus, and the other is an eccentric antique-shop owner on Chincoteague Island who also deals in bottles and wants to be interred in a mausoleum built out of his brick collection []. The hobbies must go hand-in-hand!

I will save the cool ones I find out and about, and have accumulated quite a few "good" ones. I have some with a singular debossed star from a pre-civil war era brick factory out in the country near Henry, Illinois, plus several bricks debossed with big fat letters reading "Heckard & Sons Canton, ILL" which I have actually seen sell for around 20 bucks a pop. I have access to a bunch more too, and may have to obtain them if I feel like it.

The most insane bricks out there are the "Culver Blocks" with 1901 patents. They were used to build the Indianapolis motor speedway nascar track , and although most of them were used elsewhere, people sell those things for 20-500 bucks each claiming them to be actual bricks from the track! Here in Champaign, IL I could get a truckload of those pieces of crap, sell them as the original bricks used in the speedway, and make a fortune. Just search eBay and you will see the scam they are running, it is so silly (but very tempting!).

Not 300 yards from me is an entire wall built out of those old paving bricks which is being demolished, and some roads here were made of them too which are getting torn up. Some asshole is selling them at 52.85 each in a large dutch auction (was selling them for 65 earlier) and recently sold 4 to 1 person! I might have to go do the same, just at the righteous deal of 20 bucks a pop...

I think P.T. Barnum would be selling them too if he were still around. []

 

[toddrandolph]

I collect bricks. Ohio is brick country. There are over 1,000 different paving bricks from Ohio. I've got about 200 different ones. I've never bought one, they are easy to find, much easier than bottles. I know the Metropolitan Block from Canton was shipped all over and is the most common paver...you guys outside of Ohio probably find these too. There are endless variations, regular size paver, oversize, beveled edge hill blocks, etc. The Nelsonville star sidewalk bricks are cool with their embossed patterns. I've made a couple walkways and have them displayed around the yard...if anyone is interested I can post some photos. I don't think any of them are particularly rare because they were made in such great quantity. Walk any streambed in an urban area or anyplace where there has been fill and demolition debris, and you will find pavers. I think Speedway Block from Alliance was so named because they were used on the Indianapolis race track, if I remember the story right.

CVPB = Cleveland Vitrified Paving Brick

 

[toddrandolph]

pic

 

[toddrandolph]

a few more

 

[toddrandolph]

and more

 

[toddrandolph]

O.B.A. Prison Made

 

[toddrandolph]

sidewalk brick