Pottery In Alberta

A history of the pottery industry in Alberta, which began around the turn of the century in Medicine Hat, where clay deposits and natural gas were abundant. This is a dramatic story of temperamental entrepreneurs who were fierce rivals and who had fires, world wars, a depression, high freight rates and cheap imports to contend with.

This study focuses on the economic and social impact of the pottery industry, both locally and nationally. Drawing on the rich primary sources of company records and catalogues, existing factory buildings and equipment, photographs and newspaper accounts, this book tells a fascinating story enriched by the memories of the people who worked in the plants.

Medicine Hat, Alberta, emerged as a centre for clay products & pottery based on the availability of cheap natural gas and local deposits of suitable clay. This book covers the history of pottery production in Medicine Hat from 1912 to 1990, emphasizing the height of the industry's development & success from 1915 to 1960 and the economic & social impact of the industry both locally & nationally. As a study of material history, it examines the pottery industry's output, plant processes, and the people who made & used these products. The book traces the factors that affected the emergence, success, tribulations, and demise of pottery production in Alberta in the context of the province's economic history. It also portrays the human side of the industry: rivalry & espionage among its founders, the scientists who tried to perfect pottery materials & manufacturing processes, and the daily lives of the industry's workers & entrepreneurs.

This three volume monograph contains a detailed review of the aboriginal ceramics of southern Alberta, as well as an interpretation of late prehistoric, protohistoric and ethnohistoric developments on the Canadian Plains as reflected by an analysis of these ceramics.

This three volume monograph contains a detailed review of the aboriginal ceramics of southern Alberta, as well as an interpretation of late prehistoric, protohistoric and ethnohistoric developments on the Canadian Plains as reflected by an analysis of these ceramics.