Baby Sleigh, Donkey, Deer and More

This blog has information on the planters produced by Medalta.  The information is copied with the permission of the writer.

The photos are from our own private collection.

Whether it was Medalta or Medicine Hat Potteries that first came out with the animal and bird shaped planters may never be known, as the records from both companies are too few and far between. The majority of the Medicine Hat Potteries' records are still missing (the Friends of Medalta Society have a few but they take up less than two lineal feet) and the Medalta records are all but missing for 1938 and 1939 when these figurines first appeared which was also the formative years of MHP as most of you know.  I suspect that it was MHP which led the way, forcing Medalta to quickly follow suit, but admittedly I have no proof to offer at present other than to wonder why they were not introduced earlier if it was Medalta's own idea. This article is about Medalta's figurines only as I do not have the space to illustrate the products of the other companies at this time. The competition's products will have to be shown in a future issue but for the record Alberta Potteries (Yuill) made a rabbit which was very similar to Medalta's, and Medicine Hat Potteries made two different elephants, a dog, a monkey and a leaping rabbit.  Medalta made seven figurine planters in total including a swan, shoe, baby sleigh, rabbit, donkey, elephant and deer. My definition of a figurine planter, by the way, is a piece with an opening large enough to take a small plant such as a cactus or perhaps a violet.  Solid figurines such as the buffalo shown under Hall's Auction will be examined separately sometime in the future What was the sequence in introducing the planters?  The swan apparently was the first 'animal' shaped planter introduced by Medalta. According to Ed Phillipson, he introduced it in 1938, and if you have a copy of the reprinted Medalta 1939 catalogue you will find it illustrated there on page 9. While I am not positive that the shoe was next, I suspect that it was. Regretfully I never asked Phillipson about it, and the notes from the Medalta papers are mute on when it was introduced. However, my guess is that it was introduced around the same time as the swan, and the Medalta stamp found on many of the specimens supports an introduction date of 1938 or 1939. The baby sleigh planter likely came next as we can date it firmly to the period when Medalta took over the P.I.E. vase moulds (Provincial Industrial Enterprises) in late 1939 or early 1940.  Next came the rabbit, donkey, elephant and deer shaped planters assigned style numbers 123 to 126 respectively. Only a few of the Medalta letters mention the figurine planters but they, coupled with style numbers higher than 126, show that the 123 to 126 series were available by 1941.  I believe that they were introduced in late 1940 or early 1941.  One reference that I have dated April 8, 1941, mentions bunnies and donkeys being in the kiln, so we know that they were designed by that time. You usually find the figurines finished in solid glaze colours, but some have been recorded in variegated glazes and the swan can be found in a matt lacquer finish.  For the record, I have recorded the following colours but I am sure that many of you will have colours not listed here.

• Swan, no style # (about 7" long x 5.25" high): glossy white, matt white and turquoise blue, beak and head may be accented in yellow and black 






• Shoe, no style # (about 6.25" long x 3" high): white, medium blue, turquoise blue, marbled orangebrown/cream, pink and maroon 








• Baby Sleigh, style # 89 (about 6.75" long x 6" high): pink, white, cream, turquoise blue and pinkish-mauve 








• Rabbit, style # 123 (about 8.25" long x 3" high): light blue, turquoise blue, white, pink, pale yellow and cream 






• Donkey, style # 124 (about 6.25" long x 7" high): grey, cream, turquoise blue and white, eyes and mouth may be accented in red and/or black 











• Elephant, style # 125 (about 7" long x 5.5" high): pink, white, blue and marbled blue/browns 







• Deer, style # 126 (about 7.5" long x 6" high): grey, cream, yellow, white, turquoise blue, white, pink and pale yellow 






One last comment that I would like to pass along is that the shoe planter came in pairs, but for what it is worth I have great difficulty seeing the difference.

I have included the information for the swan and the rabbit without a photo, currently the swans we have are Medalta 1966 and the rabbit we have is not marked.

And the search continues......