Question:
I recently acquired several dinner plates, platters, etc. from the Bob White collection from my mother. Since the color scheme is popular today, I want to use them on a regular basis. Are they diswasher safe? Thanks.

Answer: Red Wing sales literature boasted their dinnerware was "oven proof" and "detergent safe", but did not mention dishwashers. The company closed in 1967 and automatic dishwashers had not yet become a common household appliance. (The same is true for microwaves.)

Bob White dinnerware should be fine in a dishwasher as long as the glaze is intact and the piece has no chips or cracks. Early (1930s and 40s) Red Wing dinnerware often developed fine cracks in the glaze (crazing) and such pieces should not be put in a dishwasher. But by the mid 1950s the glazes were much improved and the crazing problem was resolved. We have used a set of 1960s Red Wing Ceramastone as our everyday dishes for over 20 years and have had no problem with them in the dishwasher.

Larry