Medalta Potteries
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Ceramics, china |
Founded | 1916 |
Defunct | 1954 |
Fate | Bankruptcy |
Headquarters | Medicine Hat, Alberta , Canada |
The Medalta Potteries was a Canadian ceramics manufacturing company in Medicine Hat, Alberta, that operated from 1916 to 1954. It was the first manufacturer in Western Canada to ship its products east of Ontario.
Background
The rich natural resources in the area surrounding Medicine Hat provided impetus for the development of industry.[1] Among them was natural gas, used for heating, lighting, and to generate electricity for powering industrial operations.[1]
Most Canadians at the time bought ceramic products from large, established manufacturers based in the United States, particularly Red Wing Stoneware of Red Wing, Minnesota, in western Canada, and Ohio potteries in eastern Canada.[2] Three partners established Medalta Stoneware in 1916, starting with 12 employees, to prove that Canadian-made ceramics could compete with those from the United States, and that it was "equal in quality to any made in America".[2]
History
The company's products gradually displaced American-made ceramics at western Canadian retailers.
In 1924, the company was reorganized and renamed to "Medalta Potteries", at the time producing 75% of Canada's
Despite its success, the company made little profit and was constantly searching for used equipment it could obtain inexpensively to expand its business.[6] With a workforce of 82 employees earning an average of $3.25 per hour, Medalta's labour costs were significantly higher than those of manufacturers of imported ceramics from Austria, Czechoslovakia, England, France, Germany, and Japan.[4]
It also relied on the railways to ship its source material, which it obtained from numerous sources.
Operation
The clay used for manufacturing the ceramics at Medalta Potteries was imported from Saskatchewan, as the local clay was unsuitable for such use.[1] The clay provisioned by Medalta included three varieties.[8] From Chocolate Drop Hill near Eastend the company received shipments of a "chocolate clay", a dark clay that "burned a lighter colour than stoneware clay".[9] A clay known as "Saksatchewan Ball Clay" that burned white was obtained from a site near Willows, and the stoneware clays were obtained from Eastend and Ravenscrag.[8] The company constantly had a clay surplus, which it sold to brick manufacturers and Vancouver schools.[8]
The clay was processed in the factory (now known as the Old Factory), and the ceramics produced in the Turning Room.[1] Among the products manufactured were beanpots, butter churns, crocks, mixing bowls, and water coolers.[1]
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the company's officers permitted travellers to use the cooling kilns as a temporary accommodation as they crossed the country in search of work. The kilns could house up to 40 people overnight; they were required to vacate the premises before the start of the next workday.[1]
National Historic Site
The manufacturing complex was restored, and is now a working museum.[1] In a building adjacent to the site replicas of Medalta pottery are manufactured, to be sold in the museum gift shop.[1]
Several galleries are located in the complex.[1] These include: the Collector's Gallery, located near the kilns and exhibiting the Tony Schlachter Collection; the Yuill Family Gallery of contemporary works, for travelling exhibits and works by resident artists; and the Les Manning Gallery, named for the ceramic artist who conceived the Shaw International Centre for Contemporary Ceramics in which the gallery is housed.[1]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hajnoczky 2015.
- ^ a b c d Antonelli & Forbes 1978, p. 39.
- ^ a b c Antonelli & Forbes 1978, p. 41.
- ^ a b c Antonelli & Forbes 1978, p. 59.
- ^ a b Antonelli & Forbes 1978, p. 45.
- ^ Antonelli & Forbes 1978, p. 46.
- ^ a b c d Antonelli & Forbes 1978, p. 57.
- ^ a b c Antonelli & Forbes 1978, p. 64.
- ^ Antonelli & Forbes 1978, p. 62, 64.
References
- Antonelli, Marylu; Forbes, Jack (1978). Pottery in Alberta: The Long Tradition. LCCN 79304211.
- Hajnoczky, Julya (19 August 2015). "Worth the Road Trip: Medalta Potteries in the Medicine Hat Historic Clay District". Avenue Calgary. RedPoint Media & Marketing Solutions. from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
Further reading
- Getty, Ronald; Klaiman, Ester (Spring 1981). "Identifying Medalta 1916-1954: A guide to markings". Material Culture Review. 12: 17–60. ISSN 1718-1259. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
- Getty, Ronald; Forbes, Jack (October 1981). "Alberta pottery: An overview of the pottery industry in the Medicine Hat/Redcliff area of southern Alberta". Canadian Antiques and Art Review. 3 (22): 26–30. ISSN 0704-4429.
- Hayward, Anne (2001). The Alberta pottery industry, 1912-1990: A social and economic history. Mercury Series. Vol. 50. Canadian Museum of Civilization. JSTOR j.ctt22zmcbh.
External links
- Medalta Museum
- Historic Clay District History at Medalta Museum
- Medalta Potteries at Alberta Heritage Resources Management Information System