Summary

Italian mosaic product sample in mixed colours from the De Marco Brothers circa 1920s. The De Marco Brothers were manufacturers and installation specialists of mosaic, terrazzo, ironite and granolithic flooring. Established by Italian brothers Severino and Annibale De Marco who migrated to Australia in the early 1900s, the De Marco Brothers business operated in Melbourne from circa 1914 - circa 1955. They made contributions to many prominent Melbourne building projects including the Myer Emporium (Myers), the T & G Building and the Hotel Australia.

Physical Description

Rectangular sample sheet of patterned mosaic tiles in green, yellow, white and two shades of blue. Tiles are adhered to a textile backing in off-white. Textile has a narrow band of red diagonal hatching to the top section. The textile is fixed to a strip of timber. A linen hanging tag is fixed to the top of the textile backing and the timber strip. The front of the timber strip is marked with the number 4 stenciled in the centre and a white rectangular sticker is fixed to the top right. The sticker consists of a black border with text and a circular icon within. The mosaic tile pattern consists of two sections: Top section abutting the timber strip is bordered top and bottom with a single row of small green mosaic tiles. Between this is a diamond pattern of small square mosaic tiles in blue and yellow. Two yellow tile pieces are missing from this section along the bottom border, at the far left and the far right. Some tiles are loose. Bottom section consists of a diamond pattern of larger mosaic tiles in blue and white. These tiles have some stain damage and some tiles are loose. A faint rectangular shape can be seen across the bottom row of mosaic tiles affecting the tile colouring, possibly where another sticker had been located.

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