The Decorative Tiles of North Africa

The Decorative Tiles of North Africa is a monograph by Rexford Newcomb, professor of the history of architecture at the University of Illinois, published in 1929 by Associated Tile Manufacturers of New York as no. 7 of its series Architectural Monographs on Tiles and Tilework. ³

It opens with a historical introduction on the Arab conquest of North Africa and the geography of its four countries, describes Maghrebi architecture, which it treats as a school standing between that of Egypt and al-Andalus, with its courts, fountains and square minarets, then the ceramics of Kairouan and Tlemcen, the zellij of Fez and Meknes, and the tiles of Tunisia and Algeria, closing with a bibliography. ^{4 5 6 7 2 8 9}

It leans heavily on Rivoira, Migeon, Saladin, the Marçais brothers, Bel and Gallotti, quoting them at length, and was written for American architects, ending with an invitation to the modern architect to learn from the Maghreb's combinations of brick, stone, stucco and tile. ^{10 9}