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RENOVATOR’S TOOLBOX
Above, encaustic tile in a Bed Stuy vestibule. Below, an elaborate encaustic tile “rug” adorns the entrance hall of Litchfield Villa
in Prospect Park.
American tile companies sprang up after the 1876 Centennial,
helped along by the railroad, says Padwee. They
could establish themselves wherever they found clay.
Brooklyn makers of encaustic tile in the 19th century
included International Tile Company, whose headquarters
and factory were located on 3rd Street in Gowanus.
Although not based in Brooklyn, American Encaustic
Tile Company, Columbian Encaustic and United States
Encaustic are other 19th century tile makers whose products
might be found in Brooklyn homes because they had
showrooms in New York City.
Encaustic tiles and tile companies waned in the 20th
century, done in by mechanized production and the
Depression.
Today, companies such as Craven Dunnill & Co. Ltd. and
Tile Source Inc. continue to make these tiles just as they
were made in the Victorian era.
The geometric patterns are created from the shapes,
colors, and inlaid designs of the tile. The effect can be
intense or subdued, traditional, rustic or modern.