What do people do with Antique tiles?

Partial selection of
antique tiles- NYC Pier Show

"What do people do with these?" is the second most asked question.  The questioner has happened upon our display and is dazzled by design and color.  He/She has probably never seen antique tiles in such a mass before and wants to know more.

The uses are as varied as the tiles and those that choose them.  Antique tiles are practical as well as beautiful.  Tiles are easily cleaned and will not fade in the sun or be harmed by heat or moisture.  This makes them ideal for showers, bathrooms, and kitchen back splashes,  perhaps their most frequent use. Your combination of antique tiles can transform even the most upscale custom space into a truly one-of-a-kind masterpiece!



Just six favorite Art Nouveau tiles
add designer flair behind this stove.

But antique tiles can be used so many more ways than just in the "traditional".  Antique tiles can surround doorways or create a stunning entrance mirror.  They can hold books, your teacup, or even your dinner plate!

Tea and cookies elegantly served.
8" transfer tile "placemat"

Tiles can be framed and incorporated into your wall art and or collections.  You can tuck them into a bookcase or easel them onto a tabletop.  Antique tiles can cover your radiator or sit on your stove awaiting your messy cooking spoon. 

6" transfer tiles fit perfectly onto
otherwise plain stair risers.

Tiles placed on stair risers changes the practical into an artistic delight.  Fireplaces, Mantles and hearths also become a focal point with the choice application of tiles.



Originally made to hide
a radiator, this 4" tile makes
an intersting curtain tie back.

Antique tiles add lots of interest wherever they are used.  Whether one tile or many, antique tiles add interest and beauty.  Let your own creativity guide you to discover a perfect place for your antique tiles! 

Oh, and the first most asked question?  "Do you make these yourself?"   Some days, especially after lugging tile boxes, I actually feel old enough to answer, "Yes!"





Thanksgiving and Antique tiles??




Minton Hollins Animal series turkey tile 6"

 

It may be a stretch, but  how can I not write something about the connection?  So today I'm sharing Thanksgiving antique tile images and thankful thoughts. 





Wedgwood Banquet series 6" tile



I am thankful to have "discovered" antique tiles.  I still marvel at the glazes, the beauty and the history. 

I am intrigued by the mysteries; obscure makers, odd designs, unknown artists. I enjoy glimpses into past "fads" and giggle at  many tile motto's.

I am thankful for the travel, tile friends, and all that I've learned. I am thankful that I am to be interested in antique tiles and that I am able to work at something I so enjoy! 



Wedgwood Banquet series 6" tile



I am thankful to be at home today.  I remember several Thanksgiving days spent "on the road" travelling to shows.   Roadside diners and Thanksgiving dinner....Ah, yes.

I am thankful for the many tiles sold and the stories shared by their new owners.  I'm also very sure that those who have installed antique tiles are most thankful to be done with their projects.  Fingers crossed for the several who had today  as their project completion date.  Hopefully,  no hasty changes to the Thanksgiving plans...roadside diner, anyone??

I am thankful that many antique tiles have survived!   Their beauty and versatility keeps them popular with collectors.  I am thankful for everyone who are just discovering antique tiles.  

Wedgwood Plymouth Scene 6"

Where ever you are today enjoy the images and your day.  Have another piece of pie.

Want to see more tile? Please visit www.antiquearticles.com and www.antiquetileladies.blogspot.com

 

Why buy an antique tile?

Nobody needs an antique tile.  You can't eat it, sit on it or put anything in it.  Yet many people may disagree about the "needing" part.  One customer said, "I have to buy this, it takes my breath away!

So, why buy an antique tile?



J & JG Low 6" tile

Here are a few good reasons:

   

1.  It's beautiful and it takes your breath away. 

2. The history in the clay. 

Antique tiles from the 1880's have an amazing range of glaze colors, patterns and designs.  Tiles made then reflect trends and tell stories of the era.  The natural world, the far east, medieval life, archaeological discoveries,and  literature were all captured in tile designs.  The technology that made the tile, the market that sold the tile, the demand to purchase the tile, the ability to afford the tile and the cachet of using and decorating with tile are all part the tale.

                                                  

                  3.You can use it.

Antique tile a perfect spot for a plant to perch. 

Put a cup, dish, or plant on one. Hang it, lean it, or tuck it on a shelf.  Install in the shower, behind the sink or the stove. Decorate a mirror, cover a tabletop, surround a window, line your stairs, cover your walls. Use your creativity and imagination.

                   4.  An antique tile is green.

Plain stairs pop with decorative antique tiles!

                  5. It's affordable!

                                     

 "Buy an antique tile it will change your life."  says a philosopher/friend when concluding a tile lecture he presents.  Check it out see if he's right!

OK, here I am.  Dragged yet again into the new millennium.  Reluctant. Slightly intimidated and yet just plucky enough to start this blog writing about antique tiles.  Who else cares remains to be seen. 

I was scheduled to present a seminar on tiles in Boston.  As I rolled my computer into the room to get the PowerPoint set up, I bump into my sister.  "What are you doing here? I asked.


Bold design, fab colors.  6" tile.



"I saw the article that said you were the featured speaker and I thought I should come so that there was at least somebody in the audience!" 

Even my sister, who obviously loves and supports me, thinks it's slightly whackadoodle that I love tiles and can't imagine anyone else feeling the same way.

What is an Antique Tile?
My copier died.  When I called the company for tech support the auto voice said,"This has reached the end of life and we no longer support this machine."  Whew, was my copier an antique and a dead one at that?

 So is everything that is old an antique?  How old does something have to be to be an antique?  What is an antique tile?

The rule of thumb used to be that something was at least 100 years old to be an antique.  This is still true, at least as far as US customs is concerned, for items imported duty free. But for the rest of us "antique" has become less time rigid and can (and does) refer to something older than us by either a little or a lot.

Tiles were made from BC.  Hard baked mud that has proved very durable.  The antique tiles that I love are, by the made in BC scale, "new" as they were made between about 1880 and 1920.  I have had tiles that were made as recently as 1950, 1970 and even 1980 but most stay in the 1880-1920s  range. 



Selection of tiles from recent Hyannis, MA sale



The 1880's was primarily the time when tiles evolved from being entirely hand made to machine mass production.  The mass production part means that there are still examples around because there were so many produced and that makes them still affordable.   100 years old makes them old enough for me and maybe for you, too.

Just a taste of future postings:

• using
• history
• styles
• artists 
• makers
• why buy?
• Cost 
• finding them
• old vs.new
• Please let me know your ideas.

Hope to see you soon!
http://www.antiquearticles.com/