Potteries of Trenton Society

New Jersey State Museum

 

Announce

 

Fourth New Jersey Ceramics Symposium

"New Jersey Terra Cotta:  Building an Industry on Clay"

Saturday, April 21, 2007

9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

to be held at the New Jersey State Museum Auditorium

205 West State Street

Trenton, New Jersey

 

 

The Potteries of Trenton Society (POTS) is pleased to announce its
association with the New Jersey State Museum in the development and
presentation of our fourth symposium on New Jersey ceramics entitled "New
Jersey Terra Cotta: Building an Industry on Clay."  This year's symposium
will be held Saturday, April 21, 2007, in the State Museum's Auditorium at
205 West State Street, Trenton.  Speakers will explore New Jersey's clay
resources, terra cotta manufacturing in the state, and its use on buildings
in New York City, Philadelphia, and Trenton. A box lunch is included in
symposium registration.

 

This year's symposium examines the contribution of New Jersey's important
terra cotta makers to urban skylines in the region. Forty-eight companies
operated in the U.S. during the period of terra cotta's greatest popularity
(1880-1930), and New Jersey had the largest concentration of terra-cotta
manufacturers.  Outstanding clay deposits, proximity to markets, and a wide
variety of transportation options all contributed to this industrial
prominence.  Architectural terra cotta is extraordinarily adaptable as a
building material.  It can be molded, sculpted, and glazed to imitate all
sorts of other materials or used for its own characteristics.  Architects in
the early 1900s thought it a superior medium because of its longevity,
imperviousness, color, and imitative qualities.  It was also lighter and
cheaper than stone.  Most of the architectural terra cotta made in New
Jersey was used as ornamental cladding on skyscrapers, but it was also found
useful for grave markers, hitching posts, carriage blocks, chimney pots, and
statuary.

 

On April 21, registration and light refreshments beginning at 9:30 a.m. will
be followed by an introduction to New Jersey's clay resources presented by
Peter Sugarman, research specialist with the NJ Geological Survey.  The
morning's talks will continue with archaeologist Richard Veit and curator
Mark Nonestied, who will discuss New Jersey's terra cotta manufacturers.
Susan Tunick, president of the New York Friends of Terra Cotta and author of
Terra-Cotta Skyline, will survey uses of New Jersey terra cotta in
significant buildings of New York City and environs.  After a box lunch,
Ellen Denker will introduce participants to Trenton's tile makers and
describe the driving tour that POTS has developed of significant tile and
terra cotta buildings surviving in Trenton.  If they choose, participants
may also take a tour of Trenton-made tile installations in the New Jersey
State House.

 

Advance registration for this year's program is $35.00 for the general
public and includes morning refreshments and a box lunch.  POTS members and
Friends of the New Jersey State Museum receive a $5.00 discount on advance
registration.  The POTS website includes a registration blank to print and
mail.  Advance registration will be accepted by mail only with payment by
check or money order.  Registration at the door will be $40 for all.  Please
register early.

 

Trenton is accessible by automobile and train.  For more information about
this year's symposium, including advance registration and traveling
instructions, please visit the POTS website
(www.potteriesoftrentonsociety.org) or the New Jersey State Museum's website
(newjerseystatemuseum.org). 

 

The New Jersey State Museum is a division of the NJ Department of State.

 
Patricia A. Madrigal
Principal Investigator/Business Manager
 
Hunter Research, Inc.
120 W. State Street
Trenton, NJ   08608
609-695-0122
609-695-0147 (fax)