Question:
I have this Red Wing Coffee pot (I think!). It is marked Red Wing Potteries on the bottom with a star in the center. I haven’t seen any reference to this marking anywhere. The color is a dark teal. The pictures come out either too dark (no flash) or too light (with flash). Can you give me some information on this piece including a price range??? Thank you, Julie

Answer:
You have a coffee server from the Gypsy Trail line. Your server was made at the beginning of Gypsy Trail production, or perhaps even earlier. This color and the star ink stamp mark were available very briefly.

A brochure dated June 1935 marks the introduction of Gypsy Trail with 19 items available. All items are described as available in the standard Gypsy Trail colors – white, turquoise, blue, yellow and orange – except the coffee server. Coffee server colors were blue, black, blue-green and orange. We have found this server with the star ink stamp mark in blue, blue-green and black but not in orange. Blue servers with this mark are a significantly lighter shade than standard Gypsy Trail blue. Also, servers with the star mark have "dry" (unglazed) bottoms and the interiors color matches the exterior. Standard coffee servers have glazed bottoms marked only with "565" and they have white interiors. These early coffee servers are the only Gypsy Trail pieces I’ve seen with the star ink stamp mark.

The black and blue-green colors were not included in subsequent Gypsy Trail brochures, thus after the initial brochure the coffee server was available in the same standard colors as other Gypsy Trail items. The many non-standard aspects – unusual colors, dry bottom, ink stamp and colored interior – lead me to believe production of these servers likely began prior to the introduction of Gypsy Trail. Today these servers are quite hard to find, but they do turn up occasionally. Value for your ink stamped blue-green coffee server is $100-125 in excellent condition.

Larry