Hi Mary-
I'm just back from vacation and sorting through my 300+ emails...   
Can you send me the pictures?  I think that you've very likely got  
tiles from a portable forge.  They are pretty common on farms and  
ranches in the 19th century- you've undoubtedly seen them around.   
There is a small hand crank that runs a fan to blast the air into the  
coke in the pan, which a smith or worker can crank when resting the  
shoe in the fire.
Cheers,
T

Timothy Scarlett
Assistant Professor of Archaeology
Department of Social Sciences
Michigan Technological University
[log in to unmask]
(906)487-2359
(906)487-2468
------------------------




On Aug 4, 2006, at 2:57 PM, Mary C. Beaudry wrote:

> Hello, listmembers,
>
> I'm writing to ask if anyone out there is familiar with fire-proof or
> heat-resistant firebrick or cementitious tiles.  We recently  
> excavated what
> might be a fragment of a stove liner or part of a stove pad from  
> deposits
> associated with the demolition of a 19th-century barn, used as a  
> stables in
> the early 20th century (we are unsure of demo date).
>
> On one side (its face?) is imprinted the legend
>
> NO. 4 [ ]
> STEWART
> RIGHT•BAC
>
> There is evidence of heat exposure in the form of reddening on this  
> surface;
> the other side has parallel projections, or grooves, depending on  
> how you
> look at it, that would have helped in securing the tile or whatever  
> it is to
> whatever it was supposed to be attached to.  I wondered if perhaps  
> this
> might have something to do with some sort of small stove for heating a
> stables or small forge for a blacksmith to heat horseshoes?   
> Probably way
> out to lunch ideas but the best I've come up with so far.
>
> I have high-res images of this beauty if anyone would like to have  
> a proper
> look at it from 3 angles.  Email me if you want a look-see.  Any  
> assistance
> greatly appreciated.
>
> Bests to all,
> Mary B.
>
> -- 
> Mary C. Beaudry, PhD, RPA, FSA
> Professor of Archaeology & Anthropology
> Department of Archaeology
> Boston University
> 675 Commonwealth Avenue
> Boston, MA 02215-1406
>