Question:
In the early 60′s I began purchasing Red Wing "dinnerware" for my hope chest (does that date me?) Before I could complete the set I was told that the pattern had been discontinued. I have 8 large dinner plates, 8 bread and butter plates and 8 cups and saucers. I recently became curious and began searching to see if I could acquire additional pieces. I found your web site. I cannot identify the pattern. Can you provide some information to me on this particular pattern and whether it is worth anything? Thanks for your assistance and Happy Holidays! :-) P.S. since it appears I can only upload one file, the back of the bread and butter plate states Red Wing Hand Painted Ovenproof U.S.A. 121 Carolyn

Answer: The name of this pattern is Capistrano. The pieces you have are common but there are quite a few collectors of this pattern so they do have some value. If you are interested in building a set of Capistrano, the pattern is not hard to find and the prices are generally quite reasonable. Capistrano can be found in antique shops and at antique shows, and almost always there are some pieces listed on eBay. As with any dinnerware pattern some of the items are more difficult to find than others and those are the ones with more value. Much of the fun in dinnerware collecting is the hunt for those final elusive pieces. The Capistrano pattern was introduced in 1953 and was out of production by 1962. Remaining stock continued to be available for several years afterwards.

Larry