Mosaic Tile Company: Langenbeck, Mueller, and the Second Zanesville Giant
When the two men most responsible for American Encaustic’s finest work walked out the door, they did not go far. In 1894, the chemist Karl Langenbeck and the modeler Herman Carl Mueller founded the Mosaic Tile Company just across Zanesville — and built, out of their own expertise, a second giant of the American tile trade.
Two masters, one new works
Langenbeck was among the first American-trained ceramic chemists, the man who understood glaze as science; Mueller was a Nuremberg-trained sculptor whose figural relief had defined the best of AETCo’s art tile. Between the chemist and the sculptor, Mosaic had, from day one, both the formula and the hand. The company grew quickly into one of the largest tile makers in the country.
From floor mosaic to pictorial panels
As the name promised, Mosaic began with ceramic mosaic and floor tile, but its range widened into ornamental wall tile, faience, and the ambitious hand-decorated pictorial panels that are the company’s showpieces today — among them the rare mid-century flamingo murals. The celebrated potter Frederick Hurten Rhead worked here in the early 1920s, another thread tying Mosaic to the front rank of American ceramics.
Marks & identification
Mosaic tiles commonly carry an impressed back mark — the word “MOSAIC,” often within a device, or the initials “M.T.Co.” Later dust-pressed field tile may show a circular company stamp. As with its Zanesville neighbors, the marking is consistent enough that attribution is usually secure.
The long run and the close
Mosaic outlasted many rivals, producing tile in Zanesville into the late 1950s before winding down and finally closing in the 1960s. Its decorative panels — hand-painted, one tile at a time — are among the most sought-after American art tile of the twentieth century.
Read more in Four Flamingos: A Rare Mosaic Tile Company Mural.
Relic Asylum — Tiles with past lives.
Sources & further reading
- Tile Heritage Foundation — Mosaic Tile Company, Zanesville, Ohio.
- Mosaic Tile Company flamingo panel — Retro Renovation