Question:

I’m hoping you can tell me if these carafes are Redwing or perhaps steer me in the right direction in finding out what they are.  All I have are these 2 pictures.  The carafes look very similar but the finials on the lids are different as well and the shapes of the wooden handles.  One lead I have has told me they are most likely Redwing, another is telling me they are most likely Bauer.  They are not signed or marked.

Any help you can provide me is greatly appreciated.

Gabriel

Answer:

The two items in the photos are batter pitchers and were presumably used to pour pancake or waffle batter.

The pitcher with the round knob on the cover was made by Red Wing.  Catalogs list it as an item in the Plain dinnerware pattern, which was part of Red Wing’s extensive Gypsy Trail line.  Red Wing’s Plain batter pitchers were never marked on the bottom.

The pitcher with the loop handle on the cover was not made by Red Wing, but history links it to the Red Wing pitcher.  George RumRill was a pottery designer who worked with Red Wing in the 1930s.  He was a significant figure in the development of Red Wing art pottery and dinnerware. He introduced new shapes and glazes, and was instrumental in the roll out of the Gypsy Trail dinnerware line.  In the late 1930s a dispute arose between RumRill and Red Wing and their partnership ended.  RumRill went on to work with other potteries to produce his wares, including Shawnee and Gonder.  The looped handle batter pitcher is a slightly modified version of the Red Wing batter pitcher made for RumRill by another pottery, most likely Shawnee.  Most of these pitchers are marked on the bottom with “rumrill” in lower case letters enclosed by two horizontal lines.

Larry