Question:
I have recently purchased a jug (online) from a Billings, Montana auction. I couldn’t personally look over the jug before bidding and had to go by a single, slightly out of focus picture. But what I saw in the picture intrigued me — a brown topped Red Wing jug with a wing and oval! When I rec’d the jug, two things sent up red flags to me. The color of the wing is a much deeper red than is commonly seen, however I have seen a rare 1 gallon lid before with a similar colored wing, and I feel that was a ‘good’ lid. ( Not too many lids out there with wings stamped on them). The other thing that looks suspect with this jug is the oval – it is smaller than I have ever seen (1-1/8" across).. it is a Union Stoneware Co. oval. The way the ink was applied for the oval looks suspect also, but I don’t know. Have you ever seen markings like this before? Can you offer any advise for me… I kinda think I am out $325 on my risky purchase. Regards, Tim Mikita

Answer: Tim, looking at the oval it is not a Red Wing oval. All the Red Wing ovals start with the words "RED WING" . Although your oval is smeary, it looks like the first word is Union. So I think it reads, Union Stoneware Company, but I cannot make out the name of the city below Stoneware Company. Either way, this is not a Red Wing oval. Also, the smallest ovals made by Red Wing are the round ovals. The round ovals are 1 1/4" in dia. Yours is an oval and the smallest Red Wing oval is 1 11/16". This piece was misrepresented and I think if you had seen it in person, you would not have purchased this piece just from the questions you asked me here. Wish I were wrong for your sake. Al Kohlman