[1] After his hiring in Chicago, Taylor introduced English methods for preparing clay and producing terracotta, employing muffle kilns in what is believed to be their first use in the United States.
[1][2] 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.
Potter was so impressed by the use of terracotta that after the building's completion in 1886 he recruited Taylor to help form the New York Architectural Terra-Cotta Company, which became one of the largest manufacturers in the country.
Surviving letters revealed that he provided lengthy written advice to competitor Gladding, McBean while working at the New York Architectural Terra Cotta Company, and he was likely paid to do so.
[1] Taylor's work in promoting terracotta production within the United States played a key role in establishing its usefulness and suitability for American architecture.