American Terra Cotta and Ceramic Company
Scope and Content Note
The collection contains thousands of shop drawings from the American, Indianapolis, Midland and Winkle (St. Louis, MO.) Terra Cotta Companies, along with photographs, negatives and order books. Shop drawings are particularly valuable for showing the exact location and method of placement of the terra cotta pieces on each building, thus facilitating replacement and restoration of existing ornamentation.
The collection includes examples of terra cotta designs from such notable architects as Louis Sullivan, George Grant Elmslie, William Gray Purcell, Parker Berry, Percy Bentley, Holabird & Roches and Claude & Starcke.
Though this finding aid lists all commissions by American Terra Cotta, not all of these commissions are represented in our shop drawings and photograph collections. Please contact the Northwest Architectural Archives to inquire about which commissions are available.
Dates
- 1905-1964
Language of Materials
English
Restrictions on Access
There are no restrictions on access to the collection.
Restrictions on Use
Advance notice is required to view the materials.
Corporate history
The company was founded in 1881 as a drain tile factory by W. D. Gates. In 1888 the company took the name American Terra Cotta Company and moved to a plant near Crystal Lake, IL. The firm grew by absorbing other firms, among them, Indianapolis Terra Cotta in 1918 and Midland Terra Cotta, in 1930. In 1966 the firm ceased the manufacture of clay products but continued to operate as a foundry under the name T C. Industries.
Extent
812 Cubic Feet
Abstract
The collection contains shop drawings from the American, Midland, Indianapolis and Winkle Terra Cotta Companies, along with photographs, negatives, order books and indexes.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged alphabetically by architectural firm name or by project name when firm is unknown. Click on the appropriate grouping listed below to go directly to that section in the list of detailed contents.
Physical Location
High Bay, Mezzanine, Audio-visual room
Acquisition
Received as gift, 1972
Online Building Photographs
The entire collection of building photographs has been scanned and is available for viewing on the web. [Not shown on this website are the thousands of negatives that illustrate the individual terra cotta pieces and are called "detail photos" in "The American Terra Cotta Index."]
Click here to search for photographs from the American Terra Cotta Collection
Processing Information
The collection was processed and the finding aid written by Statler Gilfillen; published as "The American Terra Cotta Index," 1972.
- American Terra Cotta Company -- Archives
- American Terra Cotta and Ceramic Company -- Archives
- Architectural terra-cotta -- United States Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Decoration and ornament, architectural -- United States Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- American Terra Cotta and Ceramic Company Records
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
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Collecting Area Details
Contact The Northwest Architectural Archives Collecting Area
