The Mechanization of Brickmaking

Brickmaking for millennia—BC down to the early nineteenth century—was a highly labor-intensive undertaking. Early attempts to reduce this burden involved wooden stamping presses, none notably successful. Not until the metal-working industry developed did more effective mechanization of brickmaking arrive. Late in the century a new concept, extrusion through a die, brought greater success. Later kilns and improved knowledge of clays brought mechanization to its culmination. In the United States, much of this development took place in Philadelphia.