Small antique Perrusson floor - late 19th Century

A small, +/- 2m2 antique ceramic floor manufactured by Perrusson in Ecluses, Burgundy, France in the latter part of the 19th century. This is one of four floors we have recently recovered and professionally restored after reclaiming them from the renovation of a bourgeois house close to Macon in the Saone-et-Loire department of central east France. The tiles are all reverse stamped with a 9 dot motif and manufacturer, 'Perrusson Ecluses'. 

The floor, while French, replicates a style more commonly Victorian English; the large 17.3cm square and c.15mm thick tiles simulating individual smaller tile inserts, four to each main field tile. The floor is framed by a half size border tile, 17.3cm x 8.5cm of a simple band design and primarily mid grey with black and mustard piping. This can be laid as a single lay or as a back to back double lay and we have shown in the photographs below.

The floor has cleaned well revealing an excellent ceramic and a beautiful patina. Owing to the small batch making process of production there is tonal variation with the tile colours, which only adds to their charm, as well as slight variances in the tile details, owing again to the two tile moulds being unique by each production worker. On a number of tiles there is edge nibbling and small, groutable chips, the photographs below being a random section of the total floor. Being a highly fired tile they can be laid inside or outside of the home and will work effectively with underfloor heating systems.

Perfect for a toilet, small bathroom, entrance porch, patio or as a carpet style feature framed by a complimentary tile or antique wood. They can also be used on walls; in showers, an aga inglenook, behind sinks or baths... 

We have included within the photographs below a scan from an antique Perrusson catalogue showing the 3D themed border tiles. 

Tile quantities, give or take one or two:-

Field tiles - 30 tiles - +/- 1m2 

Bar themed half borders - 60 tiles - +/- 1m2 or 10.7 linear metres single lay, 5.4 linear metres as a double lay

Plus some free tile rejects for offcuts

Ceramiques Perrusson, Ecluses

A brief history

Jean-Marie Perrusson was not only known for ceramic tile production but also for the production of bricks and roof tiles. Many of the lozenge themed terracotta mechanical tiles in Burgundy bear the Perrusson hallmark. He built his first brick making factory in 1860 and started mechanical tile production in 1863, to which he added a workshop for manufacturing ceramic tiles in 1875. Further expansion of the ceramic tile production in the Saône-et-Loire was initiated (in Saint-Julien-sur-Dheune in 1866, St. Pantaleon 1870), and even beyond the department (in Sancoins Cher in 1870 and Fontafié in Charente in 1878).

The company was renamed ‘Perrusson Fils et Desfontaines’ in 1890 and the factory also manufactured architectural ceramics and statues. In April 1960 the factory finally closed its doors. The vast majority of the original buildings constructed in 1890/1900 are destroyed with the offices, changing rooms of the factory, the concierge and the electrical workshop the only significant remnants of the site that can still be seen. We have included some photographs below of the factory both recently and from the period  of its peak.

The Perrusson factory employed 40 workers in 1860, 80 by 1874, 130 in 1890, 300 at its peak in 1900, 280 in 1930 and 130 during 1945 to 1950.