Medalta Potteries Perfection Cooler

Description: These water coolers, with spigots, were made by Medalta Potteries in Medicine Hat, Alberta in 1927 and 1928.

The perfection cooler is mentioned in the Medalta letters (see below) in several places, and a couple of them even provide a sketch of the coolers. On 25 June 1927, two different styles of coolers were sent to Medalta from its Toronto agent, Medicine Hat Pottery Company, requesting that they be copied; and, later, a third style was sent in (referred to as the Perfection Cooler Jar 1A). Anticipated sales were in the neighbourhood of 200-300 for each style of cooler from time to time.

By 1928, Medalta was making two different styles, but to date I have seen only the one style with a Medalta stamp on it. The difficulty in finding these coolers stems from the fact that they were made to fit within a metal container with a 7 to 8” metal spigot running from the stoneware container through the side of the box. One has to take the unit apart to find the Medalta stamp and most dealers want to sell the unit as is. I personally would not buy a Perfection cooler unless I could see how the piece within the box was stamped (as other pottery companies did make perfection coolers).

The one pictured here, and marked with Medalta’s stamp G.5.b, is the No. 1-A, not the number 1, it measures 8.25” across the base and stands about 11.25” high. The top of the 1A cooler has an inside ledge to hold a rubber ring unlike yours which have plain tops.

T.H. Cooler: 10” dia. base, 4 1/8” dia., 12 1/8” high

T.S. Cooler: 9 1/2” dia. base, top 4 1/8” dia., 10 5/8” high

1A Cooler: 8 1/4” dia. base, top 6” dia. top, 11 1/8” high

Medalta Potteries Perfection Cooler