Sketchbook of the Philadelphia & Boston Face Brick Co.

TRADE MARK COPYRIGHT OF THE
PHILADELPHIA & BOSTON FACE BRICK CO.
165 MILK ST-BOSTON-MASS.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year
1904, by the
Phila. & Boston Face Brick Co.
in the office of the Librarian of Congress
at Washington.
FROM time immemorial the domestic hearth has been the theme of optimists and poets, who have lavished on it the most endearing words, and have associated it with their most delightful thoughts. The fireplace has always been, and always will be, the happiest rallying-place of the family. It has been aptly called the sun in the house, and its ruddy glow, its sociable warmth, and cheering qualities have not been lost sight of in the development of æsthetic art as applied to home decoration during recent years, and the chimney-piece has been made, with most excellent results, the central part of the decorative scheme. To all home-builders there comes the thought, We must have at least one or two open fireplaces. How natural the thought, and what great pleasures in even the anticipation.
As to the choice of materials for the Fireplace Mantel, nothing has ever been used that meets all requirements so completely as our Ornamental Unglazed Brick. The essential idea of a fireplace is Brick from beginning to end, and the practice of using a brick facing with a wooden mantel around it (a practice which is now passing by) has only been a sort of makeshift, employed because Ornamental Brick of new and artistic patterns were not obtainable, our Company being the first to make them. There is always so much woodwork in a room, anyway, so why overcrowd the eye with a mantelful more? The glazed tiles which were formerly used in mantels were found to have such a cold, hard, and glassy look that they have been relegated to bathrooms, elevator shafts, sanitary uses, etc., to such an extent that few people now care to consider their use about the fireside.
Our Brick Mantels are the best kind to have. The bricks are patterned after the most artistic Greek and Renaissance designs, and the appearance of them when set in mantels is that of carved work. The joints between the courses of brick serve to break up any tendency to a heavy or monumental effect, and the general appearance of our mantels is exceedingly soft, rich, and harmonious. They have a pleasing effect which the eye never tires of. They have the stamp of character, and their simplicity and modest elegance lend a particular charm to the surroundings.