Illustration of the MIT Campus that was transferred onto a ceramic tile and distributed in a printed box as a commemorative gift on the occasion of the centennial anniversary of MIT’s relocation to the current site in Cambridge.

Tile came packaged inside a paper box, printed with the MIT2016 event logo and information about the original tile.

Tile came packaged inside a paper box, printed with the MIT2016 event logo and information about the original tile.

In 1916, MIT relocated from downtown Boston to Cambridge and celebrated with a large event that included a boat parade across the Charles River. Boston ceramic and glassware firm Jones, McDuffee & Stratton produced and distributed ceramic tiles with a drawing of the new campus as a commemorative gift to event attendees.

In 2016, MIT celebrated 100 years since the relocation with a semester full of events and a reproduction of the tile. The illustration of the MIT Campus was printed, transferred onto the tile, and the tile was fired in the MIT Student Art Association kilns. The firing process preserved the iron in the ink as a sepia toned image. The project included the design of a printed box that the tiles were packaged in for distribution.