very rare and highly collectible early 20th century unusual figural "teco green" matte glazed terra cotta diminutive salesman sample or coproate gift card tray designed and fabricated by the american terra cotta & ceramic company, chicago, il. the grotesque figure dish contains manufacturer markings along the unfinished underside. great overall condition, considering age. the american terra cotta & ceramic co., were manufacturers of architectural terra cotta and teco pottery. the company was founded in 1881 by william day gates, with their and kilns located in terra cotta, ill. after a fire destroyed gate's drain tile factory in 1887, he went on to rebuild his operation, expanding the clay works and entering into the decorative, glazed terra cotta markket. the same year the company changed its name to american terra cotta and ceramic company. the great architect, louis h. sullivan often worked with american terra cotta's renowned modeler, kristian schneider on several of his commissions. together with george grant elmslie, they developed the ornamental design for architectural terra cotta known as the "sullivanesque" design, that would later be mass-produced by the midland terra cotta company of chicago. many extant downtown chicago buildings (e.g., wrigley building) were fabricated with the use of american's terra cotta. in addition to architectural terra cotta, the company also produced decorative pottery known as "teco" pottery. in 1934, the american terra cotta and ceramic co. was purchased by george a. berry and years later, the manufacture of terra cotta was discontinued in 1966. measures 4 x 5 inches