Medalta had a long history of producing miniatures, starting at least in the early 1920’s and going right through until the plant closed in 1954. Some have claimed that the miniatures were salesmen’s samples but, if so, there is no mention of the practise in any of the Medalta papers. We do know that Medalta used its miniatures to promote the plant, giving them away to people visiting the plant and selling them as souvenirs to those that wished them, Many of the miniatures are marked with a Medalta stamp on the side or with the phrase “Compliments of….”
It just might be that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Devonshire and Governor General Lord Bung of Vimmy all received a miniature crock or churn when they visited the plant in 1919. Perhaps somewhere in an English museum, or perhaps even the Royal collection itself,
lies one of these little miniatures!
In total, Medalta made seven different miniatures. All but the miniature Fez were used to promote the plant, while the story for the fez is that it was made to give to the delegates of a Shrine convention held in Medicine Hat in 1949.
The seven different pieces are listed below, along with their size and the approximate number of each recorded so far. Item size # seen
churn 3.5 to 3.75" high 8
chamber pot 1.38 to 1.5" high 13
butter crock 1.5" high 1
crock 2.5" high 14
shouldered jug 3.75 to 4.0" high 54
round top jug 3.38" high 1
saki cup 1.5" high 1
fez 1.13 high 5
Churn
The churn is perhaps the most prized of the miniatures, not only because it is early and hard to find, but also because of its graceful shape. As to its date range, it is my guess that it was not made for many years, probably no later than 1930.
Chamber Pot
The chamber pot appears to have had a fairly lengthy period of production from about 1920 to at least the war but even so it is fairly hard to find. The advertizing samples which have been seen include ones named to the Grand Council U.C.T. (also found on a jug), Marshall’s Books (located in Medicine Hat) and the Belleville Pottery Company in Ontario. I do not know the date of the Marshall’s miniature but the other three were ordered in the second half of the 1920s. The reason for extending the production date to the war years is that a letter dated April 1940 mentions the miniature chamber referring to it as a “pispot.”
Saki Cup or Unhandled Chamber Pot
Once again I have recorded only one sample so therefore I cannot say much about it. It was marked on the bottom with stamp no. G.14 and it was a dark wine in colour. It likely dates around 1940 and perhaps it was intended to be used as a saki or Chinese tea cup.
Fez
The miniature fez or Shriner’s hat was likely a special order made only for the 1949 Shrine convention held in Medicine Hat. It was chosen as a memento of that occasion due to one of Medalta’s senior staff members being an active Shriner.
Shouldered Jug
After the pottery changed hands in 1924, with the name changing to Medalta Potteries Ltd., miniatures started to be
produced for anyone requesting them. You can find orders for jugs placed by the I.O.O.F, National Hotel, Charles Baker, Grand Council - U.C.T. and the Athabasca Hotel (2 varieties Get the Broom & a bear design).
Some of the largest orders for miniature jugs during the mid to late 1920’s were placed by the Medicine Hat Pottery Company in Toronto. They were the agents/distributors for Medalta’s products in the Toronto area from around 1925 to 1938. The similarity in name to the pottery located in Medicine Hat led many collectors to pass on the opportunity of acquiring one of these jugs as they did not realize they were made by Medalta. You can find the Medicine Hat Pottery Co. jugs with 2 different Toronto addresses and a variety of different layouts. So far I have recorded at least four different varieties.
There is not much evidence of jug orders from 1934 to 1947, but in the late 1940s and early 1950s Medalta started making them again. By this time Medalta was using its white burning clay rather than its grey stoneware clay. The samples you can find include the Never Drink Water scene (a boy urinating into a pond) and the Cattle Country (saddle) and Mountain Trails (white-tailed deer) series. In these series dating to the early 1950s, the miniature jugs were used as vinegar holders.
As a new collector it very exciting to find our first miniature piece to add to our collection. We still have a few pieces to add in order to one of each of the miniatures produced by Medalta but the shelf is starting to fill up, the good thing is that they are small so the shelf will hold many of them.
Like always the fun is in the stories we hear and the people we meet.
And the search continues....
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