Glazed Terracotta Figure Discovered at the Site of the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company on Staten Island

While working on a research project late last year for Antiques & the Arts Weekly about eighteenth and nineteenth century utilitarian pottery found on Staten Island in New York City, I learned about this glazed terracotta figure from the collection of Historic Richmond Town at the Staten Island Historical Society.

This figure was discovered before 1976 at the site of the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company in Tottenville on Staten Island by Robert Anderson. It is believed that the figure represents the "Dutch Boy" trademark paint logo, which was first incorporated when the paint company was established in 1907. The standing male figure is seen wearing a hat and his hands are in his pockets. The historical society also describes the figure as having been modeled by hand and not made in a mold.

Founded in the late-1890s by De Forest Grant, William D. Frerichs, S.S. Whitehurst and Charles U. Thrall, the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company became one of the largest terra cotta manufacturers in the United States, largely as a result of company mergers. The first merger occurred in 1906-07 when the Perth Amboy, New Jersey Terra Cotta Company, the Excelsior Terra Cotta Company, and the Standard Terra Cotta Company merged with the Staten Island firm under the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company name. The company's production was also split between its location at 101 Ellis Street on Staten Island and the main factory and kilns that were located about four miles south in Perth Amboy.

According to the historical society,  "For over three decades, the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company designed and manufactured architectural fabric and ornament sculpture, and garden pottery that was installed and used in almost every major American city, as well as abroad. Founded in 1897, the company opened its factory in Tottenville, Staten Island, in 1898 and expanded rapidly. By 1906, the Tottenvville plant was employing 450 to 500 men and was producing the fabric and ornament for such prestigious projects as the first New York City subway stations, the upper stories of the Flatiron Building, and the Plaza Hotel."

Note: The Staten Island research story I was working on was eventually published in the January 31, 2020 issue of Antiques & the Arts Weekly, titled, Early Red Earthenware & Stoneware Found on Staten Island.

Glazed Terracotta Figure Discovered at the Site of the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company

Hand Modeled Glazed Terracotta Figure 

Discovered at the Site of the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company on Staten Island

Possibly Represents the "Dutch Boy" Trademark Paint Logo

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Staten Island Historical Society

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