That Sweet, Sweet Tile Cash

After nearly 20 years of interest, 6 years of investigation and 1 year of movie madness, I finally got around to putting together a gallery of Toynbee Tile photos. The gallery is far from comprehensive, but details a wide array of styles. Unfortunately, general negligence destroyed a large chunk of the official record. A dramatic hard drive crash/data loss incident in early 2007 wiped out a ton of irreplaceable photos (including the hybrid tile on I-676 in Philadelphia).  In putting the gallery together, I also realized that I’ve been indefensibly lazy in getting tile photos for the past few years.

Since the “what are they doing now” segment of the movie says that I continue to photograph tiles and document their sightings, I felt like I should probably start doing that. First stop, Kensington and Allegheny, where 2 large tiles appeared in 2009. I don’t get to K&A as much as I used to and discovered that 1 of those tiles is already gone. Thankfully, 1 beat up old tile was there when I visited today. It’s the image at the top of this post and it’s also here:

 

What a creepy tile in a creepy place. I love it.

Last thing. I’d be a better person if I didn’t mention that prints of all Toynbee Tile photos are on sale now! While I’m somewhat conflicted about selling prints of my tile photos, I’ve rationalized the whole thing in a couple of self-serving ways.

One: They’re my photos. I try to create interesting representations of the tiles through texture, color and perspective. The fact that I add my own creative eye to the tiles themselves is worth a couple dollars.

Two: The more the message is out there, the more it’s out there. I’m a fan of all aspects of the Toynbee Tiles and want them to live on in whatever way shape or form that I can. Distributing prints for a nominal profit is one surefire way to achieve that. Thank you and Goodbye!!!