We have lots of different pitchers in our collection and several of them are basket weave. We also have pitchers made by Medicine Hat Potteries and Alberta Potteries, I have shared photos of all the different potteries. Some of them are decorated, some have advertising and some are just a pitcher. There are several sizes and a few different shapes.
This blog will feature basket weave pitchers made by Medalta, I will provide information about the basket weave pitchers in this blog and will talk about some of the other pitchers in later blogs. I have included photos of other pitchers by other companies as well.
The photos are all pieces in our own collection.
“Basket Weave Pitcher” (1938-ca.1945) (Copied with permission of the writer)
.5, 1, 1.5 & 2-pints
This is the only pitcher made by Medalta to which a style number was assigned, but even though it was given No. 84 it was more commonly referred to as the B/W Pitcher in the Medalta records. While we do not have a firm date for the introduction of this product, it was either late 1937 or early 1938 as indicated by a letter dated July 2, 1938.
These pitchers must be as described, that is with the basket weave part in helio, crimson or green and the rest of the pitcher in cane. ...The original sample which Mr. Cunliffe submitted to us last winter was in two colors and that is the type of article required.” By March 1938 you start to find orders for the basket weave pitcher, and although the records are skimpy you still find this pitcher being sold in 1945.
As typical for mould-made pitchers of this period, the style number and size are impressed in the bottom of the pitcher. You do find “Medalta” impressed as well but it seems to be quite erratic. You can find many examples in various sized pitchers where the Medalta name is either absent or perhaps just obliterated. On the other hand most pitchers, even the ones with the impressed Medalta name, are well marked with an oxide stamp.
The sizes were not the usual ones but rather the 1/2, 1, 1.5 and 2-pint pitchers. Medalta’s larger 3-pint size for which there was little demand had been dropped while the smaller 1/2-pint size had been added to keep the pitcher as a four piece set. In this style of pitcher the size is usually followed with the pint abbreviation “PT.”
The colours and decorations used on this pitcher were quite varied. The Marshall-Wells catalogue for 1940 advertised the available colours as cane, crimson, helio and green. In a letter dated 20 December 1941, Medalta advised the Hudson’s Bay Company of Winnipeg that the “colours are cane, teapot brown, green and crimson.
The two-tone pitchers as requested in the letter quoted above are also found, as are ones with the stencilled cows and cottage decorations. And you can also find pitchers with a floral decoration around the top of the pitcher. They must have had a large number of moulds for the making of this pitcher, and in all likelihood they changed through time although I have not yet tried to identify or document these changes. My reasons for saying they exist include the fact that the style number can be found as just the number “84” or as “No. 84”. In one example, a half-pint pitcher, the “4” was backwards. It is hard to imagine how this could have happened but it did!
If you check the heights and/or diameters of any given size of pitcher you will also find great variability, perhaps another indication that the moulds were changed. Also as the handles were applied, you will find a great range in the shape of the handle and where it was applied to the body. It appears that all sizes of this pitcher were used as advertising premiums, although it was not selected as a premium too often. Only some six or so occurrences have been recorded so far, covering general stores, a dairy and a hotel. In addition, it was used by The Hanna Cooperative Association to advertise Ogilvie’s products, and if used by one store, other stores will undoubtedly show up in time. The advertising is invariably located at the top on the smooth portion of the pitcher.
One request that came Medalta’s way is recorded in letters dating to October 1938. The plant advised the head office in Calgary that “H.H. Schneoder is interested in a basket weave pitcher, with a cow or house decoration and his own name on the other side.” to which the head office replied on October 11th: “Replying to yours of the 9th in connection with Mr. Schneider requiring some basket weave pitchers, decorated and his name stamped on the side, you will use your decorated prices for this item G38/3, G38/10, and add 2c per article for stamping. The cost of the stamp is to be paid by Mr. Schneider. If this man intends giving these away in place of Calendars or some such item, it will be in order for you to give him a discount of 50%, and you will have to explain to him that this discount is only given under these circumstances. In other words if the pitchers are for resale the discount rate of 40% will apply.” This letter illustrates several points. Firstly, I am not sure of the spelling of the Merchant’s name as each letter gives a different spelling. Eventually, that is if an order was even placed, one of these pitchers will show up and hopefully that will give us the merchant’s name and perhaps the location of his store. It also shows that the merchant was charged for the cost of the rubber stamp and extra for the actual stamping. Lastly it shows the discounts that were available depending on whether or not the item was a giveaway.
Two years ago in March I was wondering what could I do to try and start a dialogue with other collectors of Western Canadian pottery. I was unsure of exactly what to but I thought a blog to share some of what we have found and the stories behind the pieces might be a place to start. I was never sure how to reach people and so after many months of writing a blog with just a hand full of people reading it I tried several things to reach more people, now there are anywhere from 50-300 people reading each blog, I think it may depend on the subject and if the pictures create an interest. Mostly the blog has been good for me as it has caused me to read more, do more research and talk to more people about what is out there.
Thank you for reading the blog and please let me know if there is a subject or specific pieces you would like to know more about. I am not an expert but I will do my best to find whatever information I can and share it with you.
The Search Continues.......
