For collectors and aficionados of American art tile, this thoroughgoing, historically detailed book of more than 2,000 tiles from 149 potteries, studios, and factories will prove indispensable. And for casual readers who happen on its amazing array of delectable color photographs, it will be a seductive invitation to join the club. Author Norman Karlson was a photographer who shot some hand-painted Florentine tiles for a Ladies' Home Journal article in 1962. After 500 readers asked where to find them, Karlson started a European tile store in the basement of his home, branching into American art tiles in the 1980s.
Date Published 9/15/1998
Ratings
Rated By: fgaydos
From: Unavailable
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Comments: This a great book for anyone interested in Art Tile history, This is a wonderful book. It is well planned with a neat, concise design. The tiles are beautifully photographed in color and arranged both geographically and chronologically. There are 225 pages full of histories of potteries and manufacturers along with biographies of tile makers. If you are into Tiles, then this book is a 'must have' for your education
Rated By: A reader
From: Unavailable
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Comments: A feast for the eyes!!! For the pragmatic who truly needs to see "slide-show" type arrangements of tiles and short descriptions of tile makers and their beginnings...this is for you! Practical and absolutely beautiful.
Rated By: A reader
From: Unavailable
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Comments: Perfect for novice tile collectors and lovers alike! This bountiful volume conatains gorgeous photos and detailed information on tile manufacturers from the turn of the century to WWII. Some famous ones, and a lot of obscure ones that I was thrilled to learn about. Besides being pleasing to the eye, it really did broaden my understanding of the different tile manufacturers and the influences that shaped the work and heritage. I rarely spend this much on a book, but I found it to be well worth the money.
Rated By: Sean J. Malloy
From: Covington, KY
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Comments: Superb reference Superb photos and beautifully written and researched text make this a must for any serious collector of American Art Tiles! Karlson pushes the information envelope with regard to many American tile artisans. For example, he includes a photograph of perhaps the only known example of a glazed Matt Morgan art tile. If you are a serious Art Tile collector this book should be in your library!
Rated By: Jody Iona Palm
From: Greeneville, TN
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Comments: Excellent and Beautiful This is a must for anyone interested in the history of tiles and tile makers.
The book gives a history of every tile making outfit in America from 1876-1941, and shows as many color samples of the tiles they produced as the author seems to have gotten his hands on, many from his own collection. It was sobering to notice, when reading about all the tile companies, how many went under during the depression or just afterwards. This country lost a wonderful heritage, as many never came back after the depression lifted. Too bad, really. There are currently some companies making copies or remakes of some designs (what with the renewed interest in all things Arts and Crafts). Maybe this book and the Neo Arts and Crafts movement will spark some new American tile making shops? I hope so.
The book is beautifully laid out and would be a nice coffee table addition for those who are not tile collectors, but who just enjoy looking at tiles.
Rated By: Dianne Foster "Di"
From: Arlington VA
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Comments: Not a coffee table book.... Well, okay, maybe you would place in on the coffee table if your book shelves aren't high enough, but this is a practical book. "American Art Tile" covers the period from 1876-1941. Why does it stop in 1941? Because sadly, many tile making firms shut down for WWII and never reopened.
The book shows photographs of hundreds of tiles made by more than 100 American firms (probably every one Mr. Karlson could identify). Included are the Dedham Pottery in Dedham Massachusetts with it's famous blue and white scenes of rabbits running around the edge of the tile; the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in Doylestown, Pennsylvania with it's fantastic Eastern European images; The Weller Pottery in Zanesville Ohio with it's "Sicardo" works; Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati, Ohio which produced the matte glazed architectural tile used in the New York Subway system such as Fulton's Steamboat at the Fulton Street Station; and the wonderful Pewabic Pottery in Detroit Michigan from the Chippawa word for copper colored clay.
These tiles are not all individually labled, so if you're trying to identify a particular item, the book will provide only limited information. On the other hand, it will probably help you determine the origin of the manufacturing company, if not the name of the specific design. According to Karlson, many of the companies are out of business, so this may be as good as it gets since catalogues are impossible to obtain.
Mr. Karlson includes many photographs of individual tiles, but few are show 'in situ' so the pages can become overwhelming in their detail. However, the book is probably destined to be something antique tile dealers keep in their reference desk. If you're a serious tile collector or fancier, you will probably find the book worth the cost.
For collectors and aficionados of American art 
