richly colored olive green majolica glazed 19th century interior residential fireplace portrait tile featuring a costumed shakespearean figure. the glazed tile was fabricated by the trent tile co., trenton, nj. the american victoran era tile was modeled by artist isaac broome. the 6 x 6 inch fireplace tile exhibits light surface crazing consistent with age. the trent tile co. first began operations in 1882 as the harris manufacturing company. by 1883 the name was changed to trent tile company. in 1883, isaac broome, a designer and modeler, came to trent to work. he was highly qualified, boasting 8 years of experience at the ott and brewer pottery. he left the company in 1886, but trent was able to keep producing new broome designs after he left, because of the amount he designed while he was employed there. after broome left, william wood gallimore, an artist and modeler, took his position. in 1912, the factory had financial troubles, and was bought by thomas h. thropp in 1916. under his ownership, trent produced 8 million square feet of tile each year. when thropp died in 1931, his son, h.w. thropp took over. r.p herrold purchased trent in 1936 with a loan from the government. in 1939, the factory was once again in trouble, and it closed down. in 1940, it was bought by wenczel tile company. tiles from trent were used on fireplaces, mantels, counter fronts, wainscoting, soda fountains, doorways, and as independent art panels. trent tiles were available in 118 colors, and countless designs.