Question:
My mother-in-law recently passed away and my husband and I acquired some Red Wing Pottery/Stoneware (we’re not really sure how to classify it). There is a salad bowl with salad spoon and fork, a casserole dish with cover, two bowls, and a set of salt and pepper shakers. The set is brown on the outside and a sagish green on the inside and a band around the top. They all say Red wing USA on the bottom except the salt and pepper – one of which has the initials RW. I cannot upload a picture at this time, but could possibly get you one later this week. Any help you can give us would be greatly appreciated. Thank you ~ Elsa Green

Answer: A photo or two would really help in this case. From your description of the colors and the Red Wing USA mark I believe your items are from the Bakeware dinnerware set. Most people refer to this pattern as "Oomph" because the cover of Red Wing’s brochure features the line "Red Wing puts OOMPH into earthenware". This brochure is dated January 1943. I’m not certain when production of Bakeware ended; most likely it was in the late 1940s.

As the name implies, Bakeware was intended to be used primarily to cook and serve food, not to be a full dinnerware set. Most items in the set are casseroles, various bowls in several sizes (mixing, deep nappy, shallow nappy, salad), as well as a roaster, beverage server, teapot and salt & pepper shakers. The place setting is limited to just plates (two sizes) and a cup & saucer.

It’s difficult to ascertain just what you have based your description. The Bakeware salad bowl is wide and low; in excellent condition is it worth $25 to $40. But the salad spoon and fork are not Red Wing, most likely they were purchased separately and added to the set. There are four different covered casseroles; round casseroles in three sizes and an oval shaped casserole with deep sides. Value would be $20 to $50 depending on which casserole you have. The salt & pepper shakers are sometimes marked "RW" on the bottom as you noted. A pair of Bakeware shakers in excellent condition is worth $15 to $25, perhaps a bit more for the marked shaker. I can’t place a value of your two bowls without knowing the type and size of them. The range would be $10 to $50.

Larry