Los Angeles, CA
Details
- Dimensions
- 42.5ʺW × 60ʺD × 24ʺH
- Designer
- Gladding, McBean
- Period
- 1920s
- Item Type
- Vintage, Antique or Pre-owned
Shop Sustainably with Chairish
- Materials
- Bronze
- Pottery
- Condition
- Good Condition, Unknown, Some Imperfections
- Color
- Turquoise
- Condition Notes
- The whole fountain is in great condition for its age. I did notice on some of the small 4 x … moreThe whole fountain is in great condition for its age. I did notice on some of the small 4 x 4 tiles there is some chipping to the front of them, I believe that if you were to cut them down to fit into the fountain you will not be able to see these chips anymore. There are some small cracks that have been repaired throughout but none that you can really see once the item is installed. less
- Description
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This is one of the most wonderful, rare, tile fountains we have ever salvaged! It is 100% original D&M tile …
more
This is one of the most wonderful, rare, tile fountains we have ever salvaged! It is 100% original D&M tile co. With a Gladding McBean spitter.
The D & M tile company, named after its owners John Davis and John McDonald, operated in Los Angeles from 1928 to 1939. John Luther Davies was born in Wales in 1881 and trained as a ceramic artist in London. He immigrated to the United States around 1910 and worked in Staten Island New York before moving to Missouri. There he worked as a ceramist at the national terra-cotta works, listed in the city Directory of 1914 at 16th and Oakland Street and married Ethel Maria Coe, A fellow British expatriate. The couple had a daughter in 1915 and a son in 1920. By this time the young family had moved to Spokane, Washington where Davies worked as superintendent at the Washington brick lime and sewer pipe company. A few years later, they moved to Los Angeles.
Davies took a job as superintendent at the pacific clay products plant where his career began to take an interesting turn. The original site established in 1890 occupied over 6 acres and equipped for the manufacture of sewer pipe, brick, and stoneware. This is when Davis decided to begin experimenting with different glazes in his spare time. By 1927 he had left the company to make tiles on his own.
D & M produced four, five, six, and 8 inch tiles as well as some circular ones. The designs are mostly Moorish patterns in bright yellow, orange, turquoise, and blue. Among the hundreds of installations, the tiles were used at the Mission Inn in Riverside, California, At Balboa Park and San Diego for the Exposition there in 1935, and on the Grace line ocean liners Santa Paula and Santa Rosa. Davies staunch spirit was able to keep the company alive through the great depression, but these years took their toll. He died from kidney disease and 1939. After his death, Harry Hicks of Hispano-Moresque Tile co. who knew Davies during his lifetime, took the opportunity to immediately inspect the state of operations at D&M where he would eventually be able to acquire the D&M kilns inventory and glaze formulas. Though the company and its original form did not survive after Davies untimely death, has Heirs report today that D&M tiles remain in the family's backyard for years where people continue to buy them.
These tiles are fully customizable as they are not set into concrete. Each tile was hand removed by Eric from an old Spanish revival style home in Hancock park area. The home was absolutely incredible and only speaks for itself as you can see how gorgeous these tiles are! These would really make a great statement piece to your social gathering area. The colors of these D&M tiles are very vibrant, you just don't see them made like this anymore. We are so lucky to of had the chance to own these beautiful art pieces for awhile. Complete with 52 6"x6 tiles, 4 8"x8" tiles, and 12 4"x4" and obviously the two show stopping scene tiles of the Spanish flamenco dancer and guitarist. Each scene tile measures 6 x 12". less
Los Angeles, CA
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