Hi and welcome to our Show and Tell. We are showing off some of our fun items that we collected throughout the years. If you see something of interest and are in the USA please contact us. Then we can possibly list and reserve the item you’re interested in at our Etsy store for purchase. For pickup only items we can list and reserve the item at our Ebay store. We are not selling items through this website, it is for Show and Tell purposes only. Thank You!
Geo Allen & Son Collectable Plaque. The 1930 date and the listing of four major cities (New York, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago) regional offices or major service hubs of the firm during its peak operational years makes this a nice centerpiece for antique industrial collections. The plaque identifies when established in 1891 and the firm’s core expertise: Firebrick Construction and Boiler Setting. This involved the specialized masonry work required to line high-pressure industrial steam boilers with heat-resistant materials.
Measures 8” wide 5” tall and 3/16” thick. Nice weight for size at close to 1 1/2 pound. Looks brass and nonmagnetic. Still nice and legible, 2 mounting holes intact. This has what looks like a casting issue with company name lettering in center, letters are not perfectly uniform and back shows a 1 1/4″ circle dead center looks like a rivet head inside, possible the boiler it was on for several decade imprinted back some how.
Front looks to have had general cleaning throughout the yeas but back back and sides are untouched showing the original patina and showing nice age, with scratches, scuffs, paint splatter, dings, nicks, stains grind marks and still looks great!!! Found some fun reading on this historic company at bottom of page.
Dated 1930. Cool Old Plate!! Please check pictures for description and condition,
Geo. Allen & Sons (also known as George Allen & Son) was a prominent American engineering and contracting firm that specialized in high-temperature masonry and industrial furnace design during the early 20th century.
Origins and Firm Structure
The company was headquartered in New York City and operated as a partnership. A 1928 patent identifies the firm’s partners as Jane Allen, William Allen, and George Allen Jr.. By the 1930s, the company had established a significant national presence, maintaining offices or major service operations in New York, Boston, Cleveland, and Chicago to serve the industrial heartlands of the United States.
Technological Innovations
The firm was highly regarded for its advancements in firebrick construction and boiler settings—the structural brick enclosures that housed massive steam boilers for power Patented Air-Cooled Walls: One of their most significant contributions was the development of the “George Allen Air-Cooled Wall” (Patent US1674422A, 1928). This design used a system of air passages within the firebrick to prevent the lining from melting or deteriorating under the intense heat of modern high-pressure boilers.
Boiler Settings: They were master contractors for “boiler settings,” which required complex masonry to manage thermal expansion while maintaining structural integrity.
