Mission Statement
The Tile Heritage Foundation, founded in 1987 as a nonprofit charitable organization, is dedicated to promoting an awareness and appreciation of ceramic surfaces in the United States.
The Foundation serves the need for a historical perspective regarding all ceramic surfacing materials, both past and present. In addition to aiding in the education of the public about the rich and varied history of tile, the organization has become a major voice in the preservation of existing installations of rare and unusual ceramic surfaces while enhancing the visibility of contemporary tile work as well.
Tile Heritage involves more than the promotion and protection of tiles, murals and mosaics. The Foundation represents the need to preserve a perception of ourselves. From the time of the earliest cave paintings and molded clay forms, people have always sought to conceptualize themselves and inspire others through artistic endeavors. Safekeeping ceramic surfaces today is an integral part of preserving ourselves, a means of being remembered and understood by future generations.
As we expand and remodel our existing world, increasing numbers of old tiles as well as architectural terra cotta and mosaic facades are torn away, thoughtlessly discarded and lost forever.
Join in the historic venture to unearth the ceramic traditions that beautify our homes and urban centers today. Participate in playing a vital role in stimulating public appreciation and support for our national ceramic treasure. Invest in preserving one of America's most permanent, yet vulnerable, artistic traditions.
Why should we care about the fate of ceramic surfaces in America? Because we are all a part of the tradition; this is our heritage.
Tile Heritage Foundation (THF), a charitable nonprofit organization founded in 1987, is dedicated to promoting an awareness and appreciation of ceramic surfaces in the United States. At THF, we serve the growing need for a historical perspective regarding all ceramic tiles, both past and present.
In addition to aiding in the education of the public about tile's rich and varied history, the organization has become a major voice in the preservation of existing installations of rare and unusual ceramic surfaces.
From the time of the earliest cave paintings and molded clay forms, people have always sought to conceptualize themselves and inspire others through artistic endeavors. Safekeeping ceramic surfaces today is an integral part of preserving ourselves: a means of being remembered and understood by future generations.
Our Resources:
- More than 4,000 different glazed and decorative one-of-a-kind tile samples from scores of American companies dating to the 19th century. (The tiles in the THF collection have been donated; THF does not buy or sell historic tiles.)
- 140,000 images of individual tiles as well as of installations from around the country and around the world.
- A library of hundreds of books, including more than 700 original company catalogs and more than 40 tile-related periodicals dating back to the 1880s.
- More than 40,000 documents, both historic and contemporary, representing tile manufacturing, distribution, and installation.
- 70-plus years of combined experience in the field.
- A network of experts worldwide for helpful and accurate answers to questions and solutions to problems.
- More than 770 members: manufacturers, studios, distributors, dealers, contractors, installers, designers, and other tile-related support industries.
- Contributor to the Online Archive of California (OAC), which provides a global finding-aid index for access to the THF Archives.
Tile Heritage Foundation is a repository — an archive — that impacts all aspects of the American tile industry:
THF provides pertinent information, unbiased consultation, and specific recommendations about tile’s legendary creation and manufacturing history and the objects themselves. THF serves both the industry and the public at large as no other agency can.
Marketing, sales, and distribution have served as an essential realm within the tile industry since tiles were first made to sell. Tile history that can be seen through sophisticated printed materials, handwritten letters, various marketing and sales ephemera, and books about tile and tile design — all protected by the THF archives.
Honoring the work and artistry of tile installers through the archiving of their accomplishments validates tiles for posterity.
As we expand and remodel our existing world, increasing numbers of old tiles as well as architectural terra cotta and mosaic facades are torn away, thoughtlessly discarded and lost forever. Identification encourages restoration of historic tile installations. THF offers tile identification services to the public at no charge.
THF provides an opportunity to protect significant company stories and accomplishments for posterity with an archive file. THF documents the location and producers of contemporary installations as well — their future is often as vulnerable as historic works and the need to preserve them in situ equally important.
More than the expertise of tile identification and protection, THF as a collaborative organization represents the need to preserve our mutual history. The THF archival records are a national treasure — they tell our story in art and architecture, as no other form can express.
- Prestigious institutions have partnered with THF or borrowed historic materials for their periodic exhibitions.
- THF has presented annual symposiums in different cities around the United States, partnering with local organizations to bring like minds together and to raise a community’s consciousness about the significance of local tile installations within these diverse venues. These programs included workshops, tours, and lectures on both historic and contemporary tile related subjects. Useful tile tour maps were created as a lasting memento and research articles were published from these educational events.
- THF is now engaged in maintaining the industry’s history as a living archive through a publicly accessible finding-aid Index.
Involvement and connections within the tile industry make THF a central space for communicating tile-related issues and happenings.