Question:
hello. some years ago this piece was purchased in Illinois at a yard sale. We have had it for a while now but have never had it checked for its worth. The stoneware (?) piece stands 13" tall, and the mouth of the Water Cooler measures 10 1/2" across. The walls of the cooler are 1" thick. Most of the surface of the cooler still has a glossy glaze on it, although there are certainly spots where it has worn out, most notably the lip of the top of the jug which has nearly no glaze left. The base of the cooler has 2 long crack lines in it, one of which curves up into the body of the cooler. However, the cracks have not caused pieces to fall out and there has been no repair work (gluing/sealing/etc.) done to the cooler. The cooler has a light gray/clay color to it with 2 blue rings under the lip as well as 2 blue rings near the base, one above and one below the spigot hole. On the body, there is a large blue "Water Cooler" marking. It is bordered by decorative curls on top and a decorative underline below. Just under that is the "Red Wing" logo in a rusty red-orange color. Just above the spigot hole is the blue oval marking. Inside, the top reads "Red Wing", through the center reads "Union Stoneware Co." and on the bottom reads "Red Wing, Minn." All these markings are quite colorful and bold still. Inside the cooler on the inner surface of the base is a large marking of the number "4". It is lightly stylized and the number four symbol is fashion with an "open" top of the figure, as opposed to a "closed" top like this: 4. This marking is less bold than the exterior markings but is still plainly visible. When purchased, the lid and spigot were missing. As visible in the picture, this cooler was manufactured without handles. Thank you for your time and consideration! – tanas

Answer: Tanas, you have a early Red Wing hand turned 4 gallon water cooler. It was most likely produced somewhere between 1915 & 1920. After 1920 you would have seen the gallon-age (the number 4 on the bottom of the cooler) on the outside of the cooler. In mint condition, your cooler would have a value of $600 to $650. With the hairlines the value would be about half (if the hairlines are not to large. These coolers also came with a button water cooler lid. The lids in mint condition are move valuable than the cooler (around $800). Al Kohlman