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Muresque Tiles was formed in 1925 by William Flynn Muir; the company
was named after himself and his wife Vesta. The factory was located at
1001 22nd Avenue in Oakland. Bill Muir was born and raised in Glasgow,
Scotland, where he apprenticed as a tile setter. When he arrived in
Fresno in 1913, he worked for Fresno Marble & Tile, a tile contracting
company. He married in 1918 and had two children before moving to
Oakland in 1925 to make tiles.
Muresque tiles, among the finest produced in California, were inspired
by both Batchelder and Claycraft tiles. Muir had accumulated a
considerable collection of both. Among the many tiles, trim shapes and
accessories offered by Muresque, the company produced over 130
decorative tiles, most molded in high relief with a raised border and
used as wall or mantel inserts. The subject matter was always
romantic, depicting the majestic California landscape, scenes from
nature, medieval imagery and most notably ships at sea.
Although the company was short-lived, a victim of the Great
Depression, two illustrated product catalogs were produced,
reproductions of which are offered for sale by the Tile Heritage
Foundation. Click on “Historic Tile Catalogs” to have a look.
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