Hello Carl and Listers,

Such terracotta tiles as you describe were also exported to Australia and
were known here as "Marseilles tiles", "French tiles" or "interlocking
tiles". The bulk of them were imported from the early 1890s to World War I
when normal shipping ceased. The Wunderlich company of Sydney was the first
to copy them (1890s). Many other companies began producing them when French
shipments stopped during WW I. The builders used to refer to them by the
logos on the tiles such as your Bee brand. The French tiles imported here
were all unglazed. Wunderlich introduced glazed tiles and then experimented
with colour by the 1920s.

For those visiting Sydney for the Olympics, watch out for the red roofs in
certain parts of Sydney, a direct legacy of the original French Marseille
tile. Wunderlich used to boast in its advertising that it had Painted the
Town Red - meaning Sydney. The same applies to most Australian cities.
Tiles of the same design are still being produced in Australia.

Regards     Robert




In part, Carl Steen wrote:
"Most common is  "BREVETES S.G.D.G/ St Henry MARSEILLE" followed by "ANTOINE
SACOM..." and   "GRANDE ECAIL.../USINE LA PLATA." Examples marked "GU....",
"...E ECAILLE PU...",  "SEON St H...", "...OITURE..." and  "MARTIN FRERES"
were also found.

The designs also include insects--Bees and Butterflys in their design.
"Antoine" is separated from "Sacom" by a ship's anchor. Other examples have
heart shaped marks. A few had stamped numbers--2, 13, and 46 were seen."

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