I love Roseville Pottery.  When the company first started,  it employed salesmen to travel to different cities.  They carried "miniatures" in a wooden case and went door to door to show these small works of art.  Roseville used this method for several practical reasons: a sales man could carry more(since they were small--3 to 4 inches tall),  it was easier on the sales man because the case weighed less, etc... These "miniatures" are stamped on the bottom with the size of the "real" piece.  For example, I have a "miniature" Roseville vase that is 4 inches tall and is stamped on the bottom 8 1/4(inches) which was the actual production size that could have been ordered by a prospective customer.  These miniature Roseville Pottery samples are extremely scarce, even rare, as the research I've conducted has shown.  These "samples" were only produced for a few years, aproximately from 1899 to 1905.  The display case carried by sales men was known as the "Canvaser's Outfit".