The best mode of treating a hall floor, whether in town or country, was to pave it with inlaid tiles or encaustic tiles. Ceramic antique tiles featured patterns that were created with different colors of clay. A variety of pavement tiles and antique tile borders were manufactured by companies such as Minton; some encaustic tiles were manufactured in Ohio. Antique Tile Pictures

Minton Tile Patterns

By the mid-19th century, Minton tiles covered the floors of many residential entryways, porches and other rooms, and like many Victorian decorative elements, Minton tile became a symbol of social position and good taste. Featured here are patterns of Minton tile advertised by the import firm of "Miller and Coates" of New York City in 1878.

Antique Tile in American Buildings

Encaustic tiles were produced in large quantities primarily for use in floors. Encaustic tile and unglazed geometric tile were especially popular in the United States for commercial architecture, with the firm of Minton & Co. as one of the major producers.In 1869, more than 15,000 patterned encaustic tiles manufactured by the Minton Tile Company were used to create New York’s Central Park Bethesda Arcade making it the only known example of Minton encaustic tiles used in a suspended ceiling.

Vintage Bath Tile Design

Skip the plain white subway tiles for your vintage bath. Create a luxury vintage bath with this bathroom tile design. The center focus of this vintage bath design is a large free-standing soaking tub set in front of an elaborately designed tile wall.

Victorian Tiles

From the 1850s through to the early 1900s, Victorian homeowners installed splendid floors, paths, porches and hallways, using encaustic and geometric tiles. The encaustic tiles are individually patterned, while the geometrics are small, plain tiles that fit together to make a pattern of squares, triangles or diamonds. Tile Source provides these Victorian Tiles today.

Antique Tile Bath

A bathroom interior from an 1883 bathroom remodeling project that is fitted up with "the most approved modern appliances" of the day.  An ornate mahogany framed bathtub with painted ceramic tile is the centerpiece of this vintage style bath.