Southern Mantel & Tile: Selling Mantels and Mantel Accessories

1909 Sanborn map of Jackson

Here we are on the third day of our series bringing some of Jackson’s construction history back out in the open. The Southern Mantel and Tile Company was based in Jackson, and apparently had their offices and maybe their whole operation on Gallatin Street, right around the corner from the old Armour & Co. building which later became the Iron Horse Restaurant, listed on the National Register and much beloved by Jacksonians until it burned back in the early 2000s. This catalog was published around 1908.

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Sizes.

Mantels are always made five feet wide, except on special orders, though the wall places on the sides can be extended several inches to cover the breast (front) of almost any ordinary chimney. Any variation from regular sizes compels a change in the work and makes an extra charge necessary.

Grates.

Grates are made in a number of patterns, but all of the very best castings, which will not be affected by any degree of heat. Some are highly polished, plated, or otherwise ornamented, and any preferred grate can be substituted for the one appearing in the illustration, as all are interchangeable. The openings (in the chimneys) for grates should be thirty inches high, thirteen inches deep, either twenty-four or thirty inches wide, as grates are in these sizes.

Enameled Tiles for Hearths and Facings.

Enameled tiles are made in such a variety of colors and styles, that any taste can be met in this particular. On information as to your wishes in this regard, we make most careful selections, or if left to us, we select the best and most harmonious colors and designs which our experience tells us would suit your requirements. All hearths are sixty inches by twenty-one inches, but tile for twenty-four inch hearths can be had at an additional cost of fifty cents net.

Floor and Wall Tiles.

We make a specialty of floor and wall tiles for vestibule, halls, bath rooms, public buildings, etc., and as this is a branch of growing value to intending builders, we invite correspondence. With the correct measurements and your ideas of their use, we will prepare colored sketches and submit for inspection, and at the same time quote you very low prices.