James Taylor

James Taylor (1839–1898) was an English-born ceramicist who is considered "the father of the American architectural terra cotta industry."

Biography Taylor was born in England and experienced in architectural terracotta manufacturing there, acting as superintendent of J.M. Blashfield & Company for five years. He emigrated to the United States in 1870 and immediately encountered stubborn misconceptions about terracotta's suitability for use in the United States, with many architects advising him to return to England.

Taylor's family settled on a farm in Port Monmouth, New Jersey and while there he worked with his friend Edward Adolphus Spring to form Eagleswood Art Pottery, which was one of the first institutes in the United States to offer an education in making ceramics. In 1893 he left after his health began to fail and retired to his farm in New Jersey, where he remained until his death in 1898.