We received an inquiry from Karl Kaufmann:
"I'm a mason here in CT. Know all the "regulars" but this one turned up in an old homeowner build brick pier that was hit by a car."
Here's a reply from our resident "guru" Fred R.:
Hi Karl,
This still a bit of a mystery brick. It was made along the Hudson R. just above Hudson (NY) 's North Bay. There were several brick companies located here and several working here at the same time. The other marked brands were Bartlett, and Atlas. Others operating nearby would include Arkison, Fitzgerald and Calarusso. Now all these five, that I mentioned, did make a marked brick.
A search of Hudson's city directories provides the names of operators and their approximate years of operation. Now, here is the problem. So far, I anyway, have not found mention of a Hudson ,or town of Greenport brick manufacturer, that would match the DK initials. There was a company named Uniform Sand and Clay that was listed with brick manufacturers .
... also Brisber and Greenport Brick Corp. Brisber and Greenport.... subsequently tied themselves to the ATLAS mark.
There is some speculation that DK may be the the mark of Uniform Brick and Clay .... BUT - that is speculation at this point, predicated upon the physical location of its scrap and the time (1905), DK became listed in the Directory. DK was last listed in 1906. Atlas Building and Material Works became listed in 1910 thus giving rise to the idea that Atlas ... took the place of Uniform Brick and Clay .
DK may turn out to be the mark of a distributor or mason supply yard in New York City.. ...
If a reader of this blog has some insight on this matter, feel free to share ....
Thank you for visiting - Fred
"I'm a mason here in CT. Know all the "regulars" but this one turned up in an old homeowner build brick pier that was hit by a car."
Here's a reply from our resident "guru" Fred R.:
Hi Karl,
This still a bit of a mystery brick. It was made along the Hudson R. just above Hudson (NY) 's North Bay. There were several brick companies located here and several working here at the same time. The other marked brands were Bartlett, and Atlas. Others operating nearby would include Arkison, Fitzgerald and Calarusso. Now all these five, that I mentioned, did make a marked brick.
A search of Hudson's city directories provides the names of operators and their approximate years of operation. Now, here is the problem. So far, I anyway, have not found mention of a Hudson ,or town of Greenport brick manufacturer, that would match the DK initials. There was a company named Uniform Sand and Clay that was listed with brick manufacturers .
... also Brisber and Greenport Brick Corp. Brisber and Greenport.... subsequently tied themselves to the ATLAS mark.
There is some speculation that DK may be the the mark of Uniform Brick and Clay .... BUT - that is speculation at this point, predicated upon the physical location of its scrap and the time (1905), DK became listed in the Directory. DK was last listed in 1906. Atlas Building and Material Works became listed in 1910 thus giving rise to the idea that Atlas ... took the place of Uniform Brick and Clay .
DK may turn out to be the mark of a distributor or mason supply yard in New York City.. ...
If a reader of this blog has some insight on this matter, feel free to share ....
Thank you for visiting - Fred
Just laid a recycled brick patio in Gladstone NJ. Two of the bricks have the * D K * print. Placed then in line with the steps to the old porch of the 175 year old house. Owner happen to have D K initials. Awesome..
ReplyDeleteLove to find more history on them
I found a Evens & Howard St Louis brick while diving a sucken steamship off Ft Myers, Fl in 1984. Don't know how to post picture.
ReplyDeleteI found two of these *DK* bricks in the bubble pile of the former Church of Our Lady of Loreto on Sackman Street in Brooklyn. The Church dated back to 1908, so hopefully this might help to pinpoint where/who the bricks came from
ReplyDeleteHello Gary,
ReplyDeleteThanks for that bit of info. The date of the church seems to fit the age of the brick. or the time we believe the brick was being manufactured in Hudson / Town of Greenport. As for what * D K * represents, remains a mystery.
Thanks again - fred