I have no direct information on how the molds came to be there, I can only speculate.
Did Batchelder live in your house?
No, he lived in Pasadena, my house is in Silverlake.
Did one of his workers live in your house?
I seriously doubt it. According to city records my home was built 6 years after the Batchelder factory closed.
Okay, then what IS your theory of how they got there?
This is pure speculation on my part. One plausible theory is that whoever built my house, or later did garden landscaping for it, might have passed the site of the closed tile factory on Artesian street in downtown LA about 6 miles away. My excavated wall also consisted of kiln bricks, mantle piece parts, a water fountain, and much kiln shelving. It's possible that the factory grounds were still strewn with debris from it's operations for several years after it's closing assuming the property was tied up in litigation over the bankruptcy. Someone could have loaded up a truck of this rubble from the site as late as 1939.
How many do you have?
I have about 220 molds. Of those, half are patterned and half are flat pavers in different shapes. Of the patterned ones only about 25 are not eroded seriously, Of those 25 I have several repeated patterns making for only about a dozen different designs. See photo
What condition are they in?
Fair to poor with about 5 rather good ones. None can be called excellent because they were, no doubt, retired molds anyway and they have spent 60 years in the ground. Keep in mind they're only made of 1920's era plaster of Paris.
What's happening to the molds now?
They are not outdoors anymore.
Are they valuable?
To a few select tile freaks they would be historically amusing. There's no precedent for their value since, from what I can tell, there are no other surviving molds from this factory thus no market value established, so in my opinion they are priceless.
Are they for sale?
No, I am appreciating the molds too much and I can't imagine parting with them. I still enjoy looking at them, I press clay into them occasionally, I love rendering their impressions into the computer (see cyber tiles section) and just all around pretending I'm Ernest Batchelder. I'd be broken hearted if I sold them.
Can I send you my question that you didn't answer?
F.A.Q.