Blue and White Tiles: William Morris Kelmscott Chaucer Tiles
William Morris Arts & Crafts Pre-Raphaelite Victorian Medieval
William Morris Arts & Crafts Pre-Raphaelite Victorian Medieval
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These are the first of what I hope will be many tiles from the Kelmscott Press Works of Geoffrey Chaucer. Each ceramic tile is 6 x 8 inches.
Thickness: 3/8 inch (1 cm)
Weight: 15.5 ounces (439 grams) each tile
8 x 6 inch tiles: $86
Prices do not includes discounts (There are some!) or shipping costs. See How to Order Tile.
I have watched Mr. Morris designing the black and white borders for his books. He would have two saucers, one with India ink, the other of Chinese white. Then, making the slightest indications of the main stems of the pattern he had in mind, with pencil, he would begin at once his finished final ornament by covering a length of ground with one brush and painted the pattern with the other.
If a part did not satisfy him, the other brush covered it up again, and again he set to put in his finished ornament. This procedure opens up another idea of his, that a given piece of work was best done once for all, and that all making of elaborate cartoons, and accurately copying into clear finished drawing, was a mistake. . . .
The actual drawing with the brush was an agreeable sensation to him; the forms were led along and bent over and rounded at the edge with definitive pleasure; they were stroked into place, as it were, with a sensation like that of smoothing a cat. . . thus he kept alive every part of his work by growing the pattern, as I have said, bit by bit, solving the turns and twists as he came to them.
~Architect William Lethaby
Applications, Care, and Dimensions
These tiles are suitable for interior use on walls, backsplashes, showers, and fireplace surrounds. They won't stand up to being a counter tile. Well, the tile will but the finish probably won't stay nice. If used in a shower or being a sink, you will want to seal it well. Your installer will know about this. I will send you an information sheet when I ship your tile.
Laying out your tile before you start installing will make things go faster and lessen the drama if you want to keep to a pattern. Be sure to use unsanded grout when installing your tile. The tile is tough but sanded grout will put infinitely small scratches in your seal which will make the finish different from what you started with. This isn't as noticeable on tumbled as on ceramic tile, but can happen. You can clean your tiles with any household non-abrasive cleaner and a soft cloth or sponge.
