Medalta’s Company Stamps

Medalta used three different means to identify the products made in its plant. The most common one by far was the use of an oxide or glaze stamp applied using a rubber stamp. This type of stamping is also the most useful for dating Medalta’s products as the varieties are so numerous, reflecting changes over the years.

The next most prevalent type of marking is the in-mould ones. In this case, Medalta placed its name on the plaster mould. Thus, when a slip casting was poured, the item came out with the Medalta name appearing as an impression. This means of marking a product is less useful as a dating method as once a master mould was cast it could be retained for making working moulds right up until the plant closed.

Paper labels and the maple leaf paper decal were the least used means of marking the plant’s products, and when they were used it was often in conjunction with one of the two other stamping methods. While these labels are fairly good date indicators, their usefulness is limited by the few varieties that were used over the years.