After 30 years of research, three authors have released a book that details the history of a little-known tile factory in South Milwaukee.
The book, Carl Bergmans and the Continental Faience & Tile Co., tells the story of Belgian immigrant Carl Bergmans and showcases thousands of his handmade tiles.
Local tile maker and Milwaukee Public Schools art teacher Ben Tyjeski worked on the book alongside tile collectors Kelly Dudley and Kathy Roberts, who are based in Phoenix, Arizona.
Tyjeski says it’s the only book dedicated to the story of Bergmans and his tile factory.
Bergmans opened Continental Faience & Tile Co. in South Milwaukee in 1925 and shipped tiles to almost every state east of the Mississippi River. Many of those tiles were also used for installations across Milwaukee until the company dissolved in 1943.
“I always thought that title was something that belonged in Florida, California, Europe, Middle East — so to learn that we have this here is really special,” Tyjeski says.
He adds that Bergmans’ tile factory largely stayed in business during the Great Depression in the 1930s because of orders placed by Milwaukee Public Schools and other large institutions throughout the city.
Although the South Milwaukee factory was demolished in 2008, Tyjeski says many of Bergmans’ tiles have stood the test of time and can still be found throughout Milwaukee.
“Carl Bergmans is important to Milwaukee because we live with the products that [he and his employees] created in their factory,” Tyjeski says. “We live with those tiles and we live with those tiles in our homes, in our schools, churches, even in businesses still.”
More information about Carl Bergmans and the Continental Faience & Tile Co. and how the book came together can be found at ContinentalFaience.com
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