Ridge Plastic Wall Tile Elyria (1 results)
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Published by Ridge Plastic Co, Elyria, Ohio, 1945
- Hardcover
- Manuscript / Paper Collectible
Seller: White Fox Rare Books and Antiques, ABAA/ILAB, New York, NY, U.S.A.White Fox Rare Books and Antiques, ABAA/ILAB
Contact seller3-star sellerCondition: Used - Very good
US$ 500.00
US$ 7.00 shippingShips within U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketCloth. Leather clasp with snap. Condition: Very Good. Oversized, heavy salesman sample folio with 88 tile samples attached on four panels when the folio is opened. The folio, when closed, is slightly oblong, 40.5 by 45 cm. Most of the tiles are typical squares, 11 cm square, but there are also narrower and longer border pieces a…s well. Protecting the tiles when the folio is closed are two green felt pads (like the material on the surface of a pool table), both attached on their top side. The tiles are a variety of pastel or light colors, often with a marbling effect. We could find no institutional copies of this tile folio or anything issued by the company. We suspect the company was a subsidiary of the Ridge Tool Company, which goes back to the 1920s but located itself in Elyria in 1943. That company, later acquired by Emerson Electric, made bathroom piping, among other things, and these tiles would seem not an illogical product extension. Thus while we don't have a date for this folio, its look and product is entirely consistent with the mid-1940s and certainly not much later, so we are dating the catalogue to 1945. Obviously, using plastic to simulate porcelain would be a product seeking to compete at a lower, budget price point, and from the look of the tiles, they are ones one might find in an office or restaurant bathroom or a middle class rental apartment building or a modest home but not in a grander residence or exclusive club. One certainly to this day see tiles of this type in diner bathrooms and the like. We do not know the fate of this company's tile business. The folio has a fair amount of staining and soiling on its green cloth, and its edges are considerably worn in places. There are a few short minor tears of the fabric along the lower edge. All the tiles are present though, with only one slightly shifted -- maybe it was always slightly misplaced. The folio also retains basic structural integrity, and the tiles are all well-preserved.
