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 chimneypiece
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 oldfashioned
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.
