Metlox Pottery on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Metlox Pottery, strictly speaking Metlox Manufacturing Company, was a manufacturer of
Metlox Pottery was founded in 1927 by Theodor C. Prouty and his son Willis Prouty, originally as a producer of outdoor ceramic signs. After the death of T.C. in 1931, Willis renamed the company Metlox Pottery ("Metlox" is a combination of "metal" and "oxide," a reference to the glaze pigments), and began producing
retrieved 2010-06-11 After Shaw's death in 1980, Kenneth Avery became the president of Metlox. The first line of
Metlox-Poppytrail-Vernonware History
Kitchenware brands Companies based in California Ceramics manufacturers of the United States Manhattan Beach, California Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles 1927 establishments in California 1989 disestablishments in California American companies established in 1927 American companies disestablished in 1989
ceramic
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...
housewares, located at 1200 Morningside Drive, Manhattan Beach, California
Manhattan Beach is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, on the Coastal California, Pacific coast south of El Segundo, California, El Segundo, west of Hawthorne, California, Hawthorne and Redondo Beach, and north ...
, US. The pottery factory closed in 1989.
History
Metlox Pottery was founded in 1927 by Theodor C. Prouty and his son Willis Prouty, originally as a producer of outdoor ceramic signs. After the death of T.C. in 1931, Willis renamed the company Metlox Pottery ("Metlox" is a combination of "metal" and "oxide," a reference to the glaze pigments), and began producing dinnerware
Tableware items are the dishware and utensils used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. The term includes cutlery, glassware, serving dishes, serving utensils, and other items used for practical as well as decorative purposes. The q ...
. The Metlox Manufacturing Company was incorporated 5 October 1933. Evan K. Shaw, of American Pottery in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, purchased Metlox from Willis Prouty in 1946.History of Metlox Potteryretrieved 2010-06-11 After Shaw's death in 1980, Kenneth Avery became the president of Metlox. The first line of
pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
produced, "Poppytrail," became well known for its brightly colored glazes derived from locally mined metallic oxides. Subsequent lines included "Nostalgia," "Red Rooster," "California Provincial," "Colonial Homestead," "Homestead Provincial," and "Colorstax."
In the 1950s Metlox introduced a line of modernist dinnerware featuring free form designs and squared plates using "blanks" that were then decorated with designs and colors. These were then marketed under the pattern names of "California Contempra", "California Modern" and "California Freeform" names.
Besides kitchenware, Metlox also produced a very popular line of large ceramic horses and carriages in the 1950s. Carl Romanelli designed vases, figurine
A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cla ...
s and miniatures for Metlox. A line of collectible ceramic people planters called "Poppets," designed by studio potter Helen Slater, were produced starting in 1970.
In March 1971, the FDA announced a recall of 400,000 pieces of Metlox pottery due to high lead content in the pottery glaze. One individual was suspected to have been poisoned. The company voluntarily recalled their California Poppytrail Tempo and Mission Verde Series; with a portion of their Petalburst Metlox Vernonware Series. The remainder of Metlox's pottery did not present lead leaching.
Metlox's incorporation was terminated on 4 January 1988.
The pottery factory closed in 1989 after 62 years of operation. Metlox's former site is now occupied by Shade Hotel and other businesses.
After the pottery closed, lead and other byproducts of the pottery-making process remained on the plant property at Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Valley Drive. The city estimated remediation would take about 2 years with the cost to be collected from the property owners or having the site put on a State or Federal cleanup list."Poisoned Past: Metal Waste Contaminates Site of Closed Pottery Factory in Manhattan Beach", by Paul Feldman, Times Staff Writer, June 21, 1989
See also
*California pottery
California pottery includes industrial, commercial, and decorative pottery produced in the Northern California and Southern California regions of the U.S. state of California. Production includes brick, sewer pipe, architectural terra cotta, til ...
References
Further reading
*Gibbs, Carl. ''Collector's Encyclopedia of Metlox Potteries: Identification and Values, Second Edition''. Collector Books (2001) *Chipman, Jack. ''Collectors Encyclopedia of California Pottery, Second Edition''. Collector Books (1998) {{ISBN, 1-57432-037-8External links
Metlox-Poppytrail-Vernonware History
Kitchenware brands Companies based in California Ceramics manufacturers of the United States Manhattan Beach, California Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles 1927 establishments in California 1989 disestablishments in California American companies established in 1927 American companies disestablished in 1989