Handmade Bricks

[rjs123]

Do you know something about old bricks? When were they made this way. It is hand made but has the trough on top. I have found bricks like this at 2 different sites here in Virginia. The one site may go back to the late 1700s the other the original house was built in 1840s. These bricks may be later but Im not sure.

 

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[babyblue]

I personally don't know much about old bricks but did a little research a few minutes ago. I learned the recessed area on the panel of the brick is called a 'frog.'

Info from Wiki: The term "frog" for the indentation on one bed of the brick is a word that often excites curiosity as to its origin. The most likely explanation is that brickmakers also call the block that is placed in the mould to form the indentation a frog. Modern brickmakers usually use plastic frogs but in the past they were made of wood. When these are wet and have clay on them they resemble the amphibious kind of frog and this is where they got their name. Over time this term also came to refer to the indentation left by them. This indentation on the bottom of the brick not only provided a place for the brand, it also saved material and provided a "key" for the mortar, insuring a better bond during bricklaying. (source-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brick).

I found this site while researching but didn't spend long reading it. You might find some helpful info there. http://brickcollecting.com/collection.htm
From this site, it appears some companies put their brand name on the 'frog.'

A more knowledgeable member here might surface soon but I just did a quick search and thought this might be helpful for you. Good luck gathering your details.

 

[babyblue]

Found one more tidbit.....that might help with dating. Info below taken from this link http://www.bushywood.com/bricks.htm:

For centuries bricks were moulded by hand in wooden moulds. These were four sided and rectangular in shape with no base or lid. Moulds were placed either directly on the ground or on a roughly made brickmakers table. Bricks made on the ground are generally pre 19th cent.
They were known as 'place' bricks and often contain grass impressions. From the 19th cent rectangular block of wood, smaller than the mould dimensions, would be screwed on the table which created the brick's 'frog'. Sometimes letters were carved in the frog to identify the brickyard owner.

DATING BRICKS
Bricks which form all or part of a building may have their date fixed by the history of the building. Loose bricks with a maker's mark in the frog can often be dated if the brickmaker is identified. Bricks without these guides are difficult to date with any precision. With a few exceptions, raw materials and firing temperatures have remained the much same for hundreds of years. What pointers there are merely typify a particular period, rather than confirm it.

Brick Dimensions
Brick size is often used as a guide to the general period in which they were made. In the course of time bricks have evolved through different dimensions, the most crucial dimension being thickness. Time has seen a gradual increase in the thickness of bricks but trends may have existed in some regions longer than others or even coexisted within the same district.
On the Isle of Wight the earliest known bricks, of the 16th century, are generally around 1 3/4in (4.45cm) thick. There were increases in size towards the end of the 18th century to 2 1/4in ( 5.7cm), although there is little Island evidence of changes as a direct result of the 1784 brick tax. Thereafter gradual size increases throughout the 19th century met, and sometimes exceeded, the modern standard thickness of 2 5/8in (6.3cm). These are only general guidelines and there may be plenty of buildings which demonstrate exceptions, particularly if the bricks were imported.

 

[rjs123]

Thanks for the info. I just heard from a friend of mine who has a degree in Historic Preservation and he says it could be as early as 1800 and as late as 1945. Thats not what I was hoping to hear.