Question:

Dear Experts

    I recently bought an off-white bowl with a Red Wing mark on the bottom.  It’s about 4 1/2 inches across and 1 3/4 inches high, and has ridges on the outside.  I have a number of Red Wing pieces, and have seen a lot more, but I don’t remember this mark.  Could you tell me about it, please?

    Patricia

Answer:

This upright wing ink stamp mark can be found on two kinds of Red Wing dinnerware. It was first used to mark Hotel or Restaurant dinnerware, a line of heavy durable dishes made for the restaurant trade in the 1960s. This bowl is from the Empire pattern, one of two designs in the Hotel or Restaurant line. (The other pattern is named Regal.) This ink stamp was also used to mark a variety of dinnerware items that were finished after Red Wing Potteries closed in 1967.  Workers glazed the green ware that remained after the plant closed with whatever glazes were still on hand, primarily the popular beige fleck glaze. Dinnerware items with this upright wing mark in non-standard colors were made by Red Wing and are categorized as post-production items.   

Larry