Pieces of the Past

When most people think of tile, what may come to mind is a piece of flooring that can be purchased at one of those warehouse-like home improvement stores.

There’s a great selection--at as little as $2.50 a tile--that, besides covering a floor, can help decorate the kitchen counter and perhaps the bathtub.

You definitely won’t find that kind of tile at the Pasadena Pottery and Tile Show on Saturday and Sunday at the Elks Lodge.

The kind at this event is fancy and artsy, has lots of history and can be quite costly.

Take, for instance, a 30-by-15-inch Mayan-inspired piece from the 1920s. It’s 3 inches thick and costs $6,000.

Then there’s a 15-by-11-inch glazed, multicolored piece featuring pirates on a ship and the rising sun. That one is priced at $2,500.

The show will also feature furniture, such as a festive Art Deco table from the 1920s made of orange and black tile. You can take it home for $3,500.

The good news is that not all of the merchandise will be as expensive as those pieces, considered one-of-a-kind.

More than 60 dealers from around the country will exhibit their goods on about 300 tables, and some of it will be very reasonably priced, show organizer Scott Wells said.

“There will be stuff as cheap as $10 and as much as $25,000,” said Wells, who owns an antique tile shop in L.A. “There will be something there for practically everyone, not just the serious collector with lots of money.”

The show even offers a great freebie: history. Many of the valuable items are from the 1920s and most of the tile comes from Los Angeles, considered a mecca at the time.

“There were 20 tile companies in the 1920s in L.A., but they went out of business during the Depression or they burned down,” Wells said. “Now it’s very hard to find antique tile.”

He has found some in old buildings that were eventually demolished. In such cases, the tile is usually discarded as junk, Wells said.

“It’s very sad because not only is it part of history, but it’s very expensive stuff being destroyed,” he said.

At this first show, which Wells plans on making an annual event, there will also be plenty of rare pottery--ranging from $60 to $60,000. Hundreds of companies will be represented. Most are no longer in existence, making the merchandise more valuable.

Among the pottery featured will be American Art from the Victorian period to the 1950s and ‘60s, big garden pots from the 1920s and dishes from the 1930s.

There will be many items by Bauer, a well-known manufacturer of colored dishes and pottery in 1933, and many plates with Spanish- and Mexican-style designs from the 1930s and ‘40s, valued between $400 and $900.

While there is plenty of pricey stuff being sold, there is hope for bargain shoppers.

“You can go to a show like this to learn about the stuff and how to identify it,” Wells said. “Then you can go and find a lot of it in flea markets and yard sales.”

BE THERE

The Pasadena Pottery and Tile Show, Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Elks Lodge, 400 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Thousands of antique tiles and pots will be displayed on more than 300 tables. Admission: $6. Information: (818) 795-3770 or (213) 413-0558.