Is
it Wedgwood or is it…
You
may think you are looking at English Wedgwood jasperware, but you're
not. What you see here is Canada's own version of the ever-popular
pocelaneous stoneware called Ecanada. This classic looking pottery
 was
hailed by many through the mid 20th century as upper-end decorative
accessories stocked by shops like the T. Eaton Co and Henry Birks.
Even to the expert eye these well made imitations have strong designs
that are capable of standing on their own. Only now do antiques
shops seem to be taking notice of these classics.
The
Ecanada Art Pottery was located in Hamilton, Ontario and was the
brainchild of one George Emery, who was born in Staffordshire England
in 1881. At the age of 12, Emery was apprenticed for seven years
at the Wedgwood factory in basic potting and mould making. Showing
skill, he was apprenticed in design for a further 7 years at the
same location. Working for a while at Wedgwood, where he was bound,
he decided to seek opportunities elsewhere and immigrated to Canada
in 1912. It was while Emery was working as a designer for the Canadian
Porcelain Company in Hamilton that he first began to produce his
own version of Wedgwood jasperware that was to become known as Ecanada.
The earliest pieces appear to have been produced in his basement
from about 1926. He was able to use the kilns at the Canadian Porcelain
Co. for firing when space was available and production grew. Pieces
produced at this time tend to be a greyish blue and may be marked
to the base with impressed upper case letters, CANADIAN PORCELAIN
CO. LTD. HAMILTON. ONT. or EMERY HAMILTON CANADA. Emery continued
with this mode of manufacture until 1944 when he purchased premises
of his own. Moving the production to its own site made sense but
in increasing the size of production Emery also had to hire more
professional designers and potters. This increased cost, coupled
with the change in Canadian tastes, saw the Ecanada Pottery Company
slip into Canadian history by 1952.
All
Ecanada wares were essentially slip cast with the white relief work
applied to the sides being made of a white porcelain body. Colours
vary greatly with a dull grey/blue being the first Emery produced
followed on by dark blue, light blue, pink, yellow, dark green,
lavender, black and pale green. Dark blue was discontinued in about
1949. The relief moulding was added after the body of the piece
was made. Similar to the consistency of play dough these decorative
relief pieces were pressed out and then applied to the body using
slip the same colour as the piece itself. Peter Kaellgren suggests
there were pieces produced that had more than one colour in addition
to the relief but such items are exceptional.
 A
wide range of wares was produced including jardinière’s,
candlesticks, tea services, smoking accessories, plaques, figures
and electric lamp bases. The English neo-classical look was consistent
all the way through the production line with the exception of some
utilitarian wares including plain brown ware teapots made for Woolworth’s
and mugs that were produced for the Honey Dew Restaurant Chain.
Not
all Ecanada is marked. Sometimes just being familiar with the comparatively
weightier nature of the pottery will help to distinguish itself.
Marked pieces are identifiable by having an impressed mark to the
base of the object in uppercase block letters. According to Unitt’s
Book of Marks the following marks can be attributed to the factory.
ECANADA/ART/WARE/HAMILTON
ECANADA/ART/WARE/POTTERY/MADE IN CANADA /EMERY 1926
AUCANADA
ECANADA/ART POTTERY
EMERY/HAMILTON/CANADA
Still
widely available, Ecanada tends to be very affordable with prices
ranging from under ten dollars for an ashtray to just over $100
for a good size vase. Lamps tend to cost under $100 although those
with original hand painted shades will be much more expensive. Ecanada
is very common throughout Ontario and is easily spotted in antique
shops and auctions. When compared to other very plain Canadian produced
pottery in the 19th century Ecanada still represents a genuine bargain
and has a real decorative potential.
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