*****See entry dated 20/03/2021 for the latest update ****
Etna bricks found in 3 different locations in Russia.
These ETNA stamps are of dubious origins.
This ETNA 2 brick was found in St Petersburg, Russia by Vladimir Smirnov.
It was found near to the TROTTE 10 brick.
The ETNA does not look like the ETNA bricks manufactured in West Lothian. Both Vladimir and I believe this is a forged ETNA brick.
It is possible it is a product of the Etna Brick Works, Buckley, Wales but I do not think so.
The TROTTE is very similar in all aspects, colour, shape, composition, size, brickmark etc and that too could be a forgery … Possibly imitating the TROTTER brickmaker from Stourbridge
Vladimir Smirnov has found or is aware of many forged bricks which were manufactured in Volyn Province (Ukraine) in 1910-20 with imitations of the RAMSAY mark (English) in various versions like RAMSAU, RAMSAV, RAMSAI, RAMSEV
Below – The Following Etna brick was found by Ilya Malcow from Moscow. It was uncovered in 2017 during the repair of the road on Khavskaya Street. The brick may date from c. 1910. It is very possible that this too is a fraudulent use of the ETNA stamp if it is purporting to have been manufactured at the Etna Works in Scotland.
Below – Another ETNA 1 brick found again by Ilya Malcow. The lettering is embossed. It was found in the City of Elektrogorsk, 75 km to the East of Moscow, Russia. At the discovery site of this brick, engineer Klasson built the very first electric power station in Russia in c. 1910.
20/03/2021 – Update – Information from Vladimir Smirnov is that these ‘Etna’ stamped bricks found in Russia may not be counterfeit bricks. Please see the new information below. For the sake of interest, I have left the original information above.
VS – JSC “Magnezit” with the board of directors located in St. Petersburg since 1901 owned the plant for the production of “refractory magnesite bricks” in the town of Satka, Ufa Province. In the mid-1910s they received an order for the production of such bricks for the plant in Saratov of the JSC called “New Ethna “(former metallurgical plant of B.Gantke). Thus, it is possible that this stamp was put “on the order” for this enterprise, which was in fact an extremely rare case of stamping bricks in Russia by the name of the client rather than the manufacturer.
Julkia Rizzi states this Thistle brick was photographed as part of a coal-burning fireplace in a house in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. Stein, Castlecary Fireclay Works, Castlecary, Stirlingshire. Stein, Manuel Firebrick and Refractory Works, Whitecross, Stirlingshire. Stein & Co, Anchor Brickworks, Denny, Stirlingshire. Milnquarter Fireclay & Gannister Works, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire . .
Found by Sævar Gardarsson in an old house in Reykjavik, Iceland that was built in 1920. Prestongrange Brick and Tile Works, Prestonpans, East Lothian. . . .
Brian Tarbuck states this brick was found in Augusta, Maine, USA while replacing a water pipe. Allan & Mann, Port Eglinton, Glasgow Alternative brickworks include: Rutherglen Pottery, Glasgow. Mallsmire Works, Myrtle Park, Crosshill, Glasgow. ,
Found by John Barnard at Fitzroy, Falkland Islands. Stein, Castlecary Fireclay Works, Castlecary, Stirlingshire. Stein, Manuel Firebrick and Refractory Works, Whitecross, Stirlingshire. Stein & Co, Anchor Brickworks, Denny, Stirlingshire. Milnquarter Fireclay & Gannister Works, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire .
Many thanks to Vladimir Smirnov for highlighting this brick to me which was found in the vicinity of the St. Petersburg Region, Gatchina Region, Russia by a brick collector, Alexander Korolev. It was discovered the stove of a private house. Stein, Castlecary Fireclay Works, Castlecary, Stirlingshire. Stein, Manuel Firebrick and Refractory Works, Whitecross, Stirlingshire. Stein &…
Found by Glyn Harrison at an unknown location in New Zealand. This example is not in my possession. Douglas Fireclay Works, Dalry, Ayrshire. The reference to Bigelow on this special undoubtedly refers to the Bigelow Arch Company of Detroit, USA. Bigelow-Liptak Corporation was originally incorporated in 1927 with the merger of the Bigelow Arch Company of…
Found by Ken Sousa in Massachusetts, USA. Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, By Millerston, Glasgow. . . . .
Found by Claudio Ernesto Rios. Claudio states – The bricks were found in the City of Zárate, Buenos Aires, Argentina. In a fridge (almost totally destroyed today) the fridge’s name was Smithfield Refrigerator of English capital, built in 1903, so I would believe those bricks were manufactured in the last decade of the 19th century….
Found by Patricio Peralta in an old bakery, Lincoln, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. “Calder British Made”. Bonnybridge Silica & Fireclay Co Ltd, Bonnybridge. alt Calder Firebrick Works, Airdrie, Lanarkshire. alt Chapelhall Works, Lanarkshire. Hepworth Ceramic Holdings plc (GR-Stein Refractories Ltd. parent co) bought the Bonnybridge Silica & Fireclay Co. Ltd in 1972, closed Bonnybridge…
Found by Senja Salmi in Sääksjärvi, Mäntsälä, Finland. Senja states – We are not sure how old this house is but at least about 100 years old and it was built by the last blacksmith of this village. Bonnybridge Silica & Fireclay Co Ltd, Bonnybridge. alt Calder Firebrick Works, Airdrie, Lanarkshire. alt Chapelhall Works, Lanarkshire….
