Karl Gurcke authored a book about bricks, in which he treats fire brick.  The 
yellow-tan brick does not melt in the fireplace fires and often resists  
industrial furnace temperatures. Just yesterday, I saw a group of really odd  
shapes lining a 1908 garden at the U.S. Navy Fuel Farm in San Diego. Those were  
specially-made for some sort of pipe structure. The earliest were made in other 
 countries, but by the end of the 19th century, American factories produced 
fire  brick. The Los Angeles Pressed Brick factory produced much of what is 
seen in  southern California fireplaces. But I expect local factories could be 
found  across America by the 1920s.
 
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.