AVALL AND FLOOR TILES. 
88 
*■ 
sive firings to Avhich thcy must be submitted, is so great, that 
thcy are iioav usually made in three or more parts, or tiles, 
and are fitted together after the last bring. 
Great labor is expended lipon the finer qualities of encaustic 
tiles. They are made chicfly by hand, of moist clay, and are 
finished by scraping. Such tiles cost from ls. to 2s. Qd. each, 
and are too costly for general use. 
Eleven or twelve large kilns are required for the burning. 
An engine of sixty horse-power suffices to do the grinding and 
mixing of the materials. An average of 700 persons is 
employed. 
Other exhibitions of the encaustic and enamelled tiles Avere 
made in the British section by Robert Minton Taylor, and by 
the Mintous, the latter being chiefly enamelled tiles and slabs 
for grates, hearths and floAver-boxes. Messrs. Maw & Son 
did not exhibit, but manufacture tiles in great variety from 
designs by distinguished artists.* 
Simpson, W. B., & Sons, London, exhibited a chimney- 
piece of art tiles and walnut wood, Avith tiled sides, arranged 
for an open grate. 
Dutch Tiles. 
Gebrüder Ravesteijn, Westraven, near Utrecht, made a 
very complete display of the cheap tiles of Holland, arranging 
them upon the sides of a fall pyramidal column. They are 
characterized by crude and quaint designs, usually in blue 
or purple upon Avhite enamelled ground. There were also 
yellow, black and marbled tiles in great variety, but no data 
as regards production and cost could be obtained. 
These tiles are designed chiefly for wall decoration, being 
thin, about one-quarter of an inch thick, and with a smooth, 
glazed surface. They measure five and one-quarter iuches 
square, and are not very strong. Their use about old- 
fashioned fireplaces is well known, and there is more or lcss 
* Most of the larger tile works of Great Britian are represented by agents in the 
TTnited States. Messrs. Miller & Coates, of New York, have long represented Messrs. 
Minton, Hollins & Co., and the public are indebted to them for great efforts to extend 
the use of tiling for decorative purposes. The establishment of R. Minton Taylor is 
represented by Mr. Thomas Aspinwall, 39 Murray Street, N. Y.; and Maw & Son, 
by Anderson, Merckant & Co.