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Book launch Party
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PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Ben Tyjeski, tyjeskib@gmail.com (or use form below)
Long-awaited book on South Milwaukee tile company published
December 6, 2023, from 4:00 to 7:00pm
Bucyrus Club & Event Center
1919 12th Ave in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin
On Wednesday, December 6, 2023, from 4-7pm, the long-anticipated book, Carl Bergmans and the Continental Faience & Tile Co., will be released at the historic and beautifully remodeled Bucyrus Club in South Milwaukee. The authors of this definitive work are local faience tile artist Ben Tyjeski, and tile collectors Kelly Dudley and Kathy Roberts.
Continental Faience and Tile Company operated in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1925 to 1943. It has taken almost 30 years for the authors to uncover the story of this relatively unknown tile company, whose tiles are found throughout Wisconsin but in many cases have been attributed to other American tile makers, most often to the Batchelder Tile Company.
The book covers both the history of Continental Faience and Tile Company and the life of Belgian immigrant Carl Bergmans, in many cases through his own words as taken from letters he wrote to Belgian author Marie Gevers throughout a 20+ year correspondence, and letters he wrote to architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Continental Faience & Tile Company experienced rapid growth in its early years, doubling the size of the factory and installing a 140’ tunnel kiln just before the Great Depression stifled the business. Mr. Bergmans was able to keep the business going during these difficult years when many other American tile companies closed their doors. After revamping the tile factory to produce pottery in its last few years, the business closed in 1943 due to the manpower shortage caused by World War II.
This lavishly illustrated book’s 272 pages include more than 1200 color photographs and approximately 75 vintage black and white photographs that document more than 125 decorative tile designs; approximately 40 border tile designs; the factory; its products, and installations with Continental’s tiles. Approximately 80 buildings are documented as having Continental’s tiles, located in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, and Florida.
Come celebrate the release of this nearly 30-year project on December 6, 2023 at the Bucyrus Club, 1919 12th Ave in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 4:00 to 7:00pm. The book will be available for sale for $60.00 and the local author, Ben Tyjeski, will be present to sign books. The authors have published the book themselves and encourage interested readers to attend the event as this is a limited print.
Contact: Ben Tyjeski, tyjeskib@gmail.com (or use form below)
Long-awaited book on South Milwaukee tile company published
December 6, 2023, from 4:00 to 7:00pm
Bucyrus Club & Event Center
1919 12th Ave in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin
On Wednesday, December 6, 2023, from 4-7pm, the long-anticipated book, Carl Bergmans and the Continental Faience & Tile Co., will be released at the historic and beautifully remodeled Bucyrus Club in South Milwaukee. The authors of this definitive work are local faience tile artist Ben Tyjeski, and tile collectors Kelly Dudley and Kathy Roberts.
Continental Faience and Tile Company operated in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1925 to 1943. It has taken almost 30 years for the authors to uncover the story of this relatively unknown tile company, whose tiles are found throughout Wisconsin but in many cases have been attributed to other American tile makers, most often to the Batchelder Tile Company.
The book covers both the history of Continental Faience and Tile Company and the life of Belgian immigrant Carl Bergmans, in many cases through his own words as taken from letters he wrote to Belgian author Marie Gevers throughout a 20+ year correspondence, and letters he wrote to architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Continental Faience & Tile Company experienced rapid growth in its early years, doubling the size of the factory and installing a 140’ tunnel kiln just before the Great Depression stifled the business. Mr. Bergmans was able to keep the business going during these difficult years when many other American tile companies closed their doors. After revamping the tile factory to produce pottery in its last few years, the business closed in 1943 due to the manpower shortage caused by World War II.
This lavishly illustrated book’s 272 pages include more than 1200 color photographs and approximately 75 vintage black and white photographs that document more than 125 decorative tile designs; approximately 40 border tile designs; the factory; its products, and installations with Continental’s tiles. Approximately 80 buildings are documented as having Continental’s tiles, located in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, and Florida.
Come celebrate the release of this nearly 30-year project on December 6, 2023 at the Bucyrus Club, 1919 12th Ave in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 4:00 to 7:00pm. The book will be available for sale for $60.00 and the local author, Ben Tyjeski, will be present to sign books. The authors have published the book themselves and encourage interested readers to attend the event as this is a limited print.
The Authors
Kathy Roberts & Kelly DudleyKathy Roberts and Kelly Dudley have researched the Continental Faience and Tile Co. and the life of its General Manager and President, Carl Bergmans since the mid-1990s. They have traveled near and far from their longtime home in Phoenix, Arizona to collect pottery, tile, and primary documents about Continental and Bergmans, including travels to Belgium. Roberts is a native of South Milwaukee.
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Ben TyjeskiBen Tyjeski is a faience tile artist and K-8 Art teacher at Garland School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has been documenting historic tile and terra cotta in the American Midwest for over ten years and has authored Architectural Terra Cotta of Milwaukee County, The Animal Tiles at East High in Wausau, Wisconsin, and The Bertelson Building: A Story in Terra Cotta. He is the City of Milwaukee Arts Board Mildred L. Harpole Artist of the Year of 2023.
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