collections
Batchelder Tile Registry
The Batchelder Tile Registry was launched in conjunction with the Museum’s 2016/2017 exhibition Batchelder: Tilemaker, which explored the design aesthetic and range of production of Ernest A. Batchelder (1875-1957) the prolific author, designer, educator, artist, and tilemaker who lived and worked in Pasadena and Los Angeles.
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PMH's international Batchelder Tile Registry
PMH is compiling a registry of Batchelder tile installations throughout the United States and Canada and is asking for assistance from the public.
No factory records are known to exist for Batchelder's tile business, which was in operation from 1910 through the 1930s. Through this ongoing public outreach, PMH is documenting for the first time the scope of the business and distribution of the tiles throughout North America.
Architectural historian Robert Winter, Ph.D., exhibition curator and author of the definitive book on Batchelder tile, explains that while these tiles were not inexpensive, they were affordable to people of more modest means, and thus “hundreds of homes in Southern California and, indeed, the rest of the United States and even Canada are endowed with beautiful Batchelder fireplaces and fountains.”
Collections
If you have a Batchelder tile fireplace, fountain, or other type installation in your home or office, we would like to hear from you. Please send a photograph with dimensions of your tile installation, and the date of your house/building to batchelder@pasadenahistory.org. Or upload your photos using the form below. (Please note: this information will not be shared with the public. Although our plan is to eventually develop a database for public use, no property will be listed without the owner's permission.)
Not sure if your tiles are Batchelder? Feel free to send us photos. Museum researchers will be glad to check in the Batchelder tile catalogs to see if any of your tiles match. Please note that the Museum cannot authenticate or appraise your tiles; however, we can provide a list of experts you can contact for those services.
This film was presented by PMH for the exhibition Batchelder: Tilemaker (September 21, 2016 through March 12, 2017). Journalist Patt Morrison interviews architectural historian and Batchelder tile expert Robert W. Winter about the life and career of famed Arts and Crafts tilemaker, Ernest A. Batchelder. Features footage of the 1909 Batchelder bungalow in Pasadena, CA, and appearances by tile historian Joe Taylor of Tile Heritage Foundation; architectural historian Ann Scheid of the Gamble House; and Alan Batchelder, the grandson of Ernest Batchelder. Directed by Nate Joseph and produced by Skycraft Studios, 2016.
Send Us Your Batchelder Tile Photos
Please provide any comments or observations with each item you upload.
You may upload up to three images with this form. If you would like to send more, please send an email to batchelder@pasadenahistory.org
Images: Batchelder Aztec tile plaque in Robert Winter's backyard. Photo by Joanne Wilborn/Marlyn Woo; Detail of Hershey Hotel fountain tiles. Photo courtesy of Hershey Entertainment
