Ralph's response makes a lot of sense (NYers ought to be familiar with the
older subway station walls), and was quite instructive in the need for
special handling of the glass tiles -- but -- I'm still curious -- were you
looking at glass tiles or glassy ceramic tiles?

Some clay tiles of the late 19th C were fabricated in a method that is
rarely used today -- dry dust-pressed tile -- that allowed those sharp
edges; and glazes with (now-banned) highly toxic ingredients were commonly
used, capable of producing surface effects otherwise hard to achieve.  (I
once needed reproductions and got directed to a company in England still
doing things "the old-fashioned way.")

So, was it subway glass?

Bruce Popkin


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Met History [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Friday, June 01, 2001 1:45 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      The old, "glassy" tile....
>
> Why, physically or chemically, is old tile (c. 1895-1930) so different
> from
> "modern" tile, even so-called "period" repro-tile (at least what I have
> seen
> in tile stores).
>
> The older tile has a transparent, glassy surface, with much greater
> translucence.  And it has those nice, sharp-right-angle edges (which
> require
> very tight joints), instead of the curved-in edges (which gives setters a
> lot
> of room to fudge).
>
> Christopher Gray
> Office for Metropolitan History
> 246 West 80th Street, #8, NYC  10024
> 212-799-0520  fax -0542
> e: [log in to unmask]