The first recorded mark used by Pewabic Pottery consisted of five maple leaves arranged in an arc beneath which PEWABIC appears. This impressed mark was commonly used between 1903 and 1907. It is also found as a printed paper label with black ink. The collection has one impressed example, cat. no. 1.
PEWABIC impressed in straight line
This impressed mark or printed paper label in black ink is found on vessels produced from about 1906 to 1910. There is one example of the impressed mark, cat. no. 4, and one example of the paper label, cat. no. 23.
PEWABIC impressed in reverse
This mark is found on vessels made from about 1908 to 1911. No dated objects with this mark have been located to establish years during which this mark was employed, nor is there any clue as to why the mark is a mirrored image of PEWABIC. The Parker Collection has one example of this mark, cat. no. 2.
PEWABIC DETROIT impressed medallion
This is the most commonly found impressed mark and appears to have been in use from about 1910 until production stopped in 1969. Thirty-five vessels have this mark: cat. nos. 5-7, 9-10, 12-13, 15-26, 29-31, 34-40, and 42-46.
PEWABIC Pp DETROIT impressed medallion
This mark appears on vessels made after about 1930. The metal stamp was disfigured by Ella Peters in 1969 after production had ceased. There are five examples: cat. nos. 32, 33, 47, 48, and 49.
PEWABIC DETROIT thin, dark black ink or sepia ink
The collection has one example with sepia ink, cat. no. 44.
PEWABIC DETROIT black letters
This is the most common of the medallion paper labels and was used for more than fifty years until 1969. There are twenty-six examples: cat. nos. 1, 5, 7, 9-11, 14, 17, 19-21, 23-26, 31-32, 34-38, 40-41, 44, 45, and 47.
PEWABIC POTTERY sepia ink
Less common than the other medallion labels, this label seems to have been used from the late 1920s until 1969. There are ten examples: cat. nos. 1, 7, 8, 14, 16, 17, 21, 23, 39, and 42.
M1 and M2 handwritten paper labels
According to Ella J. Peters, Mrs. Strattons assistant, Charles L. Freer encouraged Mrs. Stratton to set aside certain examples of her work because of their exceptional quality of color, shape or texture. Mrs. Stratton devised these labels to represent suc h examples. The M represented museum quality. I have only seen examples of M1 and M2 handwritten paper labels, although I have been told that there was an M3 label. Mrs. Peters could not indicate which quality the M1 or M2 designation represented because the practice of affixing such labels was no longer in use when she began working for Mrs. Stratton in January 1938. There are twelve examples of M1 labels: cat. nos. 5, 7, 9, 16, 17, 19, 20, 29, 31, 37, 39, and 46. There are three examples of M2 labels: cat. nos. 25, 34, and 38.
