Untitled record

Application filed November 20, 1885. Serial No. 183,-130. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

. Be it known that I, James C. Anderson, a citizen of the United States, residing at Highland Park, in the county of Lake and State of 5 Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Mann factlire of Ornamental Brick from Clays of Different Colors, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying ic drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of brick, the object of which is to produce ornamental or variegated brick from clays of di fferent qualities, or clays which, 15 when burned, will present shadings, stratums, figures, and designs of various kinds in different colors.

My invention consists in taking clays of different kinds, reducing the same to a powdered 2C condition in a dry state, said clays being mixed or placed in the mold in alternate layers, and then pressing the same into one solid mass or block, which, when burned, will produce a brick of various colors, having a clouded ap25 pearance, or a brick having the colors in clear and well-defined outline.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a brick in which the clay of different colors is placed in regular strata or 30 layers. Fig. 2 is a side view of a brick in which the clay is arranged in waving or serpentine lines. Fig. ,3 is a sectional view of a brick having a face of finer material than the main body of the brick.

5 A indicates the brick, in which the different layers or courses of clay B C are formed from clay which, when burned, will be of different colors, and as many different colors or courses may be used as desired.

In carrying out my invention I take clay of two or more kinds which, when burned, have different colors, and reduce such clay or clays to a finely-powdered condition while in a dry state, and to produce a brick with stripes, 45 veins, or bands, either straight or serpentine, I place the clay in the molds in alternate layers and subject it to great pressure, so as to extract all the air therefrom and produce a brick having a close texture, which is burned 5c in seggars or in a kilu iu the usual manner.

To produce bricks having a clouded appearance, the different clays are mixed together in a dry state and pressed and burned.

In the manufacture of brick it is often de sirable to produce brick of a color other than 55 those obtained from the natural colors of the clay—as, for example, the combination of black, blue, green, and other colors—and to accomplish this I mix the metallic oxides used for coloring with the clay in the proper propor- 60 tions and combinations in a dry state, so that the coloring-matter will be intimately mixed with the clay.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a brick having a face, D, of finer material than the main body 65 of the brick. This face piece may be composed of a finer quality of clay than that of the main body E, or of a combination of clays; or it may be made of a material which will vitrify when exposed to the heat of the kiln. 70 Bricks of this kind are produced in the following manner: The dry and finely-powdered material which is to form the face of the brick is put into the mold first, and then the clay which is to form the main body of the brick 75 is put in ou top of it. Pressure is now applied, and the two substances are pressed into compact and solid form. It will of course be understood that in making brick in this manner the brick are pressed on their edge, the 80 face edge or side being downward in the mold. The clays are put into the mold to produce the bricks as described, but no pressure is applied until the mold is fully filled, for should the pressure be applied upon each layer of 85 the clay no true bond would afterward take place between them, and the bricks so formed would be laminated, and would separate at each of the layers or strata.