Metlox Manufacturing Company was established in 1927 by Willis and T. C. Prouty in Manhattan Beach, California. Prior to about 1934, Metlox Pottery produced  ceramic and neon outdoor signs. About 1934, the companies began producing ceramic housewares for which they subsequently became quite well known. The famous Poppy Trail line was introduced in that same year, the design creation of the President Willis Prouty, and the company soon introduced innovations which allowed them to speed production while at the same time lowering their costs. The most highly sought Metlox patterns are the work of the sculptor Carl Romanelli who designed art pottery and dinnerware for the company in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and again briefly in the 1950s.

The company produced dinnerware, cookie jars, and miniatures. The Nastalia line was comprised of items whose design was reminiscent of the late 19th and early 20th centuries such as locomotives, gramophones, cars, coaches, and baby carriages. Some of the more valuable pieces are wagons and carts pulled by horses or donkeys, often with separately manufactured passengers. From the mid 1960s through the mid 1970s, 'Poppets' were produced, 86 in all, representing characters ranging from royalty and various professions to a grouping of Salvation Army workers. Most came with a name tag and paper labels. Some of the more popular lines are Red Rooster, California Provincial, Colonial Homestead and Homestead Provincial, as well as Poppytrail. The company continued production until going out of business in 1989.

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