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EXPOSITION AT VIENNA.
shape of the tile. Tiles so formed are more perfect in shape, are denser, stronger and more uniform in wear, than those made from clay in its plastic state. There is less shrinkage in firing, and little or no distortion. Most of the cheap tiles upon the Continent are made by the old methods, and are by no means so exact in their forms, and sharp in their edges and angles, as those made from the damp powder under pressure, in accurately formed moulds.
The exactness and uniformity of size obtained by the new method greatly stimulated the industry, and it has been steadily increasing in importance to the present time. Many firms are now engaged in the' manufacture in Great Britain, particularly at Stoke-on-Trent, and Burslem in Staffordshire. The establishment of Messrs. Minton, Hollins & Co., now carried on by Mr. Hollins, is one of the oldest, and is occupied exclusively in the production of all varieties of tiles.
The rapidly increasing demand for tiles of all descriptions of late years is remarkable, not only in England but throughout Europe. They are used in almost all modern buildings of any pretension. They make the most serviceable and ornamental floors^ for public buildings. In the South Kensington Museum alone there are some 40,000 square feet of pavement laid. They are used in railway stations, on shipboard, and for decorating walls and pavements of churches. For this latter purpose, great numbers are required in the work of restoration of old cathedrals. At Worcester, the cathedral which has lately been restored, chiefly through the munificence of the Earls Dudley and Ward, who gave equal to $350,000 in gold for the purpose, has a tiled chancel of most elaborate design, a part of which is over four hundred years old. The dilapidated portions have been renewed with tiles made in exact imitation of the ancient tiles, and at a cost of not less than $10,000, under the direction of Sir Gilbert Scott, the architect.
One firm alone (Minton, Hollins & Co.) cite the following among the principal places for which they have furnished the tile pavements :—