Hopi & Pueblo tiles : an illustrated history /

Hopi and Pueblo tiles are flat clay plaques that are shaped, painted, and fired by these Arizonan and New Mexican tribes' members for sale to tourists and collectors. The art originated in the 1880s at the urging of non-American Indian Thomas Keam, who ran a trading post in northern Arizona. This slim paperback by mother-and-daughter collectors recounts the history of these tiles in somewhat clunky prose. It also provides basic information about the technical aspects of tile production, notes prominent tilemakers, and offers advice on buying tiles. More than 80 tiles are reproduced, as are historical and contemporary photographs of tilemakers and display sites. As the first book to focus exclusively on Hopi and Pueblo tiles, this can fill a niche for library collections in the Southwest and for those focusing on decorative arts or Native American culture.-Kathryn Wekselman, MLn, Cincinnati (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.