It was used in the UK, United States, Canada and Australia and is still one of the most common building materials found in U.S. urban environments.The material, also known in Great Britain as faience and sometimes referred to as "architectural ceramics" in the USA was closely associated with the work of Cass Gilbert, Louis Sullivan, and Daniel H. Burnham, among other architects.Glazed architectural terra-cotta offered a modular, varied and relatively inexpensive approach to wall and floor construction.Late 19th-century advertising for the material promoted the durable, impervious and adaptable nature of glazed architectural terra-cotta.From its founding, in time to rebuild the fire-ravished city of Chicago, until its closing, it was the major producer of architectural glazed terra cotta in North America.
Polychrome glazed capital, circa 1915. Randalls Lost NYC collection
White glazed Sullivanesque, circa 1925. Randalls Lost NYC collection