Monday, May 7, 2012

Toynbee Tiles In New York City

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Toynbee Tile Park Ave and 51st ST NYC
Park Avenue and 51st Street

The mystery and adventure of Toynbee Tiles continues. I photographed several in Philadelphia, seen on the blog last week. The creator of the original style of tiles (for example, this one in St. Louis) is thought to be one James Morasco of Philadelphia, who died in 2003.

There was a new kind in Philly. The top line of all of them is "House Of Hades." They criticize journalists and the rich. Some of them have a new feature. clever images on the side. I particularly like the martini glass above. There doesn't seem to be anything on the web yet about this new artist.

Interest in the subject has been so great that a documentary film was released last year, Resurrect Dead - The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles. You can get it on Amazon, at least in the U.S. My copy should arrive tomorrow.

It wouldn't surprise me if the new artist or artists scans the web for references to the work. If he or she does, please come to St. Louis. I will help you lay tile. I will keep your secrets.

Toynbee Tile 5th Avenue and 83rd Street NYC
Fifth Avenue and 83rd Street

Toynbee Tile 5th Avenue and 86th Street NYC
Fifth Avenue and 86th Street

Toynbee Tile Park Avenue and 82nd Street NYC
Park Avenue and 82nd Street
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5 comments:

  1. OlivierMay 7, 2012 at 12:39 AM

    j'en avais vu , mais j'avais jamais fait le rapport. Une forme de walk of fame de l'artiste

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  2. HalcyonMay 7, 2012 at 7:49 AM

    Funny! Love the sentiments. :)

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  3. PerthDailyPhotoMay 7, 2012 at 8:12 AM

    Gosh you certainly learn some new and interesting things when you blog around the world. How very strange these are Bob, although I do wish he'd spread himself a bit further afield!

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  4. William KendallMay 7, 2012 at 12:32 PM

    I'm pretty sure I hadn't heard of these until you started mentioning them in Philly...

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  5. AnonymousMay 10, 2012 at 7:21 AM

    House of Hades has already been to St. Louis, i'm sure there are more
    than just this one as well:

    http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/deb-peterson/house-of-hades-tile-found-at-th-and-olive-streets/article_e283a9fc-ada4-11e0-8e6d-0019bb30f31a.html

    I "caught the bug" and started researching these House of Hades tiles
    a few years back.. they've been reported pretty much coast to coast..
    nyc, philly, chicago, cleveland, cincinnati, indianapolis, boise,
    portland, los angeles.. even one in brazil! And these are only the
    ones that have photos on the internet, i'm sure there's a bunch more
    that nobodies found.

    http://www.boiseweekly.com/Cobweb/archives/2011/12/07/house-of-hades-toynbee-tile-spotted-at-ninth-and-idaho-streets

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/topherhulett/6914408773/

    I would say they've been pretty "afield", no? :)

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