RECENT ADVANCES IN THE POTTERY INDUSTRY. 307 



be complete without a brief review of the manufacture of orna- 

 mental tiles and architectural terra-cotta, which, although extend- 

 ing over only about two decades, furnishes an instance of marvel- 

 ously rapid development. 



As early as 1832, or thereabout, plain fire-brick and tile were 

 made by the American China Manufactory in Philadelphia, then 

 operated by Messrs. Tucker & Hemphill. They advertised these 

 products as being " of a superior quality, manufactured in part 

 from the materials of which the china is composed. These have 

 been proved, by competent judges, to be fully equal to the best 

 Stourbridge brick," which have been celebrated for their excel- 

 lence for nearly a century and a half. The fire-clays of the Stour- 

 bridge district have been used for upward of three hundred years 

 by British manufacturers. 



The European exhibits of fancy wall and floor tiles at the 

 Philadelphia Exhibition awakened the American ceramists to a 

 full realization of their insignificance in this broad field, and the 

 majority of ornamental tile works 

 in this country have been estab- 

 lished since that great industrial 

 event. With the exception of 

 roofing tiles, Americans made 

 there no exhibit of consequence 

 in this department of the fictile 

 art. As early as 1871 or 1872, 

 however, Messrs. Hyzer & Lewel- 

 len, of Philadelphia, had been ex- 

 perimenting in geometrical tiling, 

 and I have before me some in- 

 teresting examples of these early 

 attempts. Their first experiments 

 were directed to the manufacture 

 of encaustic tiles of geometrical 

 shapes — square, diamond, and tri- 

 angular — with natural and arti- 

 ficially colored American clays, 

 mainly buff, red, and black, the 

 designs being inlaid to the depth 

 of about a quarter of an inch. 

 While these efforts proved par- 

 tially successful, the wet clay 

 method employed at that time was unsatisfactory, because the 

 shrinkage was found to be irregular and the pieces came from 

 the kiln of different thicknesses. The next experiments were made 

 by the damp-dust process, which has been employed ever since. 

 The accompanying illustration will show two forms of geomet- 



FiG. 34. — Some of the First Fancy Ameri- 

 can Tiles. Hvzer and Lewellen. 



