*****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.
The following bricks were found in Suriname, South America by Marnix (John) Visser. Marnix states – I have found several bricks on an old Scottish plantation in Suriname South America with the name Waterloo and located in Nickerie at the border with Guyana. James Balfour was the plantation owner. . . Below – Hurlford –…
Found by Hector Miguez in the area of Mendoza, Argentina. Prestongrange Brick, Tile and Fireclay Works, Prestonpans, East Lothian. . . . .
Found by Michèle Côté and Marc Trudel on the beach along the Gaspé shore of Percé, Québec Canada. The ‘Gartcraig’ brick is most definitely Scottish. It was found near to a brick stamped ‘Vulcan’ which may also be Scottish as ‘Vulcan’ is a trademark of Campbell & Co, Roughcastle Fireclay Works, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. (However, ‘Vulcan’…
Many thanks to Bruce MacDonald for the following photographs which were taken at The Sunbury Plantation House, St Philip Parish Barbados. All the bricks present were fire bricks and included English manufacturers such as Ruffors of Stourbridge, Cowen of Newcastle and Duddell of Fenton. 90% of the bricks present appear to have been stamped ‘Glenboig’….
Many thanks to Charlie Terry for the following photographs and information. Charlie states – My great-grandfather worked at the Beaconsfield and Lefroy gold mines in Tasmania. He was an assayer. Some of the bricks are still in their original boxes and have been stored in a shed for decades. Below – An example of one…
This brick is in the possession of John Hicks, West Monroe, Louisiana, USA. John is uncertain where the Docken brick was found in the USA as he picked it up at a brick swap meeting. James Dougall & Sons Ltd, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. Alternative brickworks include: Bonnyside Brickworks, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. .
Found by Joe Fletcher at “Turonville” in Tarana, NSW Australia. The property is a farm dating back to the 1850s. Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, By Millerston, Glasgow. . . . .
The following Scottish bricks were found by Tracie Perrie on the shore at Borden, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Below – ‘Glenboig’. Glenboig Union Fireclay Company, Glenboig, Lanarkshire. Alternative brickworks include: Glenboig Star Fireclay Works, Glenboig, Lanarkshire. Glenboig Fireclay Works, (Old Works) Glenboig, Lanarkshire Below – ‘Gartcraig Scotland Gaskil’. Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, By Millerston, Glasgow….
Found by Dr Ali Asghar Hemmati in an old building previously belonging to the Iranian oil company located in Haftgel City in the province of Khuzestan, Iran. James Dougall & Sons Ltd, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire Alternative brickworks include: Bonnyside Brickworks, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. . .
Found by Jeffrey Valli on the railroad tracks in Truro, Massachusetts, USA. Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, By Millerston, Glasgow. . . . .
