Question:
I just received this piece from my grandmother. It is a 6-cup coffee maker in rose-colored glazed pottery. The coffee brewer part is removable to leave just a server-pot. It is in mint condition. My grandmother said it belonged to her mother-in-law (my great-grandmother). It has taken a prominent place on a shelf in my kitchen. I searched online and was unable to find any pieces like it. Just wondering if you had a monetary value for it, although it is priceless to me! Thanks!

Answer:
Red Wing catalogs list this piece as a Coffee Dripolator. It is one of many items in the Gypsy Trail Hostess Ware line. It was introduced in 1940 and made for only two years. I do not believe the metal insert portion is original, but am not certain of that. In photocopies of the 1940 and 1941 Gypsy Trail catalogs the insert appears to be made of glass, not metal. And the insert in the catalog has a rounded shoulder rather than a squared shoulder. But I’ve never seen this dripolator with a glass insert. It’s possible Red Wing switched to metal at some point. Whether glass or metal, the inserts were not made by Red Wing Potteries; they were purchased from an outside vendor. In 1943 three new dripolators were introduced, each with a pottery insert. Perhaps Red Wing had difficulty obtaining inserts from outside sources and decided to switch designs.

The value for your dripolator with metal insert would be around $50-60.

Larry