Bidspirit auction | Columbia Fire Brick Co. (Strasburg,

Columbia Fire Brick Co. (Strasburg, Tuscarawas County, Ohio) Terra Cotta / Fire Brick Paperweight - Columbia Fire Brick Co. (Strasburg, Tuscarawas County, Ohio) Terra Cotta / Fire Brick Paperweight Rectangular form, unglazed yellow-orange fire brick stamped ”STRASBURG” to top surface, fabric-lined bottom bearing a paper label which reads ”SOUVENIR / Strasburg Centennial / 1828 - 1928 / Courtesy / The Columbia Fire Brick Co.”. Circa 1928. Dimensions: 3” x 1 1/2” x 3/4”. Condition: Undamaged, with as-made roughness to molded edges and some minor staining to paper label. Provenance: The Stradling Study Collection. Catalogue Note: Strasburg, Ohio was founded in 1828. By the time of its Centennial, there were at least three sizable brick-making factories in the town, including the Columbia Fire Brick Co. This Strasburg brick paperweight's story is amusingly laid out in the June 26th, 1928 edition of ”The Daily Times” (New Philadelphia, OH): As part of the town's multi-day Centennial celebration, arrangements were made to entice visitors to the ”Museum of relics and Antiques” located on North Main Street. The Centennial committee hoped to collect the names and addresses of every visitor through bribery: ”Through the courtesy of The Columbia Fire Brick Company and its manager, Charles Retzler, a unique little souvenir of Strasburg and the Centennial is to be given each person who registers. This souvenir will be a little brick paper weight with a remembrance slip of the Centennial. It is very kind of the Columbia plant to make these brick[s] and it necessitated their bringing to Strasburg a special machine to make them and have a special die made to stamp them. They can be used for paper weights and will not be too heavy to put in your pocket when you go to the museum to see the exhibits. Be sure to get yours and put it [a]way to remember the Centennial.” One wonders why the company went to all that trouble, but regardless, it is fortunate that their effort led to this fascinating footnote in the long pottery-making history of Tuscarawas County. Auctioneer's Note: We are thrilled to bring the Stradling Study Collection to market in partnership with Connor Rush of SFR Antiques, whose help and scholarship enabled the completion of this session's catalogue. A bibliography for the sale can be found here: ( https://bit.ly/3RYodeh ). For questions about lots 1 through 111 in this sale, or for help accessing the bibliography, please reach out to connor@nyeandcompany.com. Condition: Condition reports are not provided in catalog descriptions. The absence of a condition report does not guarantee that the lot is in good condition or free from damage and wear. We encourage you to request a condition report and/or additional photos prior to bidding on any lot. We also recommend asking for a shipping quote before bidding. CASH, CASHIER CHECK, MONEY ORDER, AND WIRE TRANSFER ARE THE ONLY METHODS OF PAYMENT ACCEPTED FOR JEWELRY.