Question:

Good afternoon! My mother loves the Red Wing cookie jars and is missing only the Friar. I came upon a Friar at a local antiques market, but want to be sure that it’s real before purchasing it. Here is a photo of the stamp:

The stamp looks to be a deep green color, which concerns me, but the lady at the shop said that Red Wing used black, blue, and green ink for its markings.

Any assistance that you could give me would be much appreciated! My mom’s birthday is coming up and this fella would be
terrific… if he’s the real deal.

Hope you’re having a lovely weekend,

Katie

Answer:

I can’t be absolutely certain without a hands-on inspection, but I see no reason to suspect this cookie jar is a fake or reproduction.  The two Red Wing marks look to be
authentic.  These cookie jars have been reproduced but the ones I’ve seen are
clearly marked and are smaller in size than the originals.  Yellow is a common color for the friar jar and the common colors are relatively inexpensive.  I would look more suspiciously at a jar in a rare or unusual color.

Larry

Best regards,