Question:
I have a pink chef pierre cookie jar but can’t find the value of it anywhere. Could you please let me know a little about it? I also have a pink pedastel cake dish that matches it. It’s really funny, but the cake dish came from my mother and the cookie jar was my husband’s mother’s. Any idea on the cake dish too? Thanks Donna B.

Answer:
The "Chef" cookie jar was introduced by Red Wing in 1941, along with his friends Katrina the Dutch girl and Friar Tuck. Price lists from 1942, 1943 and 1944 show them as being available in blue, yellow, and tan colors. An undated brochure, probably from the mid to late 1940s adds green as an available color. The early brochures refer to the jar as "Pierre the Chef".

These three cookie jars were great sellers for Red Wing. Many thousands of them were made and production continued into the mid 1950s. By then Katrina and Friar Tuck were dropped from production, but the Chef continued on along with several newly introduced cookie jar shapes. An brochure from 1956 lists fleck pink and fleck blue as the only two available colors. This is probably the last year of production for the Chef as he does not appear in a 1957 dealers price list.

Yellow seems to have been the best seller for colors, followed by blue, tan and green. The later fleck pink and fleck blue are not as common because they were made for a much shorter period, at the very end of production.

You did not mention the condition of your pink chef cookie jar, and of course condition is a major factor in the value of a collectible. While the Chef and his friends are not at all rare, jars in excellent condition are not easy to find in any color. After years of use (often by the small hands of children more interested in the contents than the jar), these jars are usually chipped or cracked and have grease stains. A Chef cookie jar in excellent condition would be worth around $100 to $125 in the yellow or tan colors, with another $25 to $50 for blue. Green would be worth more because the color is less common. The fleck blue and fleck pink colors should be worth still more due to their relative rarity, in the $250 to $300 range and maybe more to a collector who seeks one of each color.

The pink pedestal cake plate does not belong to any dinnerware pattern or line. It’s just a cake plate made to sell on its own. These were made in several colors in the mid-1950s. Value is $25-30 in excellent condition.

Larry

Question:
I recently purchased a large box of Red Wing dishes at a yard sale for $10. Not until I got home had I realized what I had aquired and how collectible they are. They are numbered and labeled Ebb Tide on the bottom and are green with dark brown swirls. However, I am wanting to use these as a functional set of dishes. My question to you is are they dishwasher safe or should they always be hand washed? Thanks! Jennifer

Answer:
To my knowledge the only dinnerware line claimed by Red Wing to be dishwasher safe was Ceramastone, their final line introduced late 1966. Brochures for earlier patterns claimed to be "detergent safe" but did not mention dishwashers. Most likely this is because dishwashers were not commonly found in American households at the time.

Ebb Tide was introduced in 1965, and I expect it will do just fine in a modern dishwasher. To be safe you might want to run a couple of pieces through the dishwasher a few times and inspect them afterwards. Perhaps your box includes a chipped piece or two that could serve as guinea pigs.

Larry

Question:
Was the Village Green, Village Green all hand thrown or was it cast? We have some mugs, 3 of them have a red raised "Red Wing" marking and 1 has a white "Red Wing" marking – this one is also a little lighter and thinner. What are the difference between the two and how is the raised mark created if it isn’t a cast piece? Thanks Demeri

Answer:
Village Green pieces were not hand thrown. They were formed by a mold or via ram press.

By mug I assume you mean the 5 inch tall beverage mug, not the coffee cup-shaped mug. These were formed in a mold, and Red Wing used many of them over the 17 years of production. I have three such mugs in front of me — one has RED WING USA in raised letters, the second has the same wording in impressed letters, and the third is completely unmarked. The raised letter version seems to be the most common from my experience. Why the differences? I suspect there is no good reason. Red Wing was haphazard at best at marking their wares and I doubt they put much thought into how the markings on these mugs appeared.

I’m not sure about your mug with the white Red Wing marking. How is the marking applied and how does it appear? Raised letters, ink stamp, impressed letters? Is the marking white merely because it is not covered with glaze, thus allowing the white clay to show through? Without a photo or more thorough description I really don’t know what you have here.

Larry

Question:
I was recently handed down a few pieces of the Bob White Casual pattern. One cup and saucer, One relish tray, One veggie tray(I assume because thats what it resembles, and a large platter. They all have numbers on the bottom along with the Red Wing stamp, accept the cup.

I’m wondering what they would be worth now, and if I should hold onto them. Will they increase in value as time goes by, or can I sell them now? Who would I sell the pieces to, if I should choose to do so? Thank You, Shannon Paumen

Answer:
Shannon,
Values for your Bob White items are as follows, assuming they are in excellent condition:
Cup & Saucer: $10-$15
Divided Vegetable: $25-$30
Relish dish: $30-$40
20" platter: $40-$50

Hard to predict the future value of your items as that depends considerably on the economy and the general antique market. Bob White was Red Wing’s most popular pattern and it sold very well. While it remains popular with collectors, there is a lot of it out there. None of your pieces are hard to find, so values aren’t likely to rise to any great extent.

How you sell your items and who you sell them to is entirely up to you. I don’t advise on that subject as there are too many variables. Depends on if your priority is top dollar or a quick sale of the entire lot. Also depends on how much effort you are willing to invest. An antique dealer will purchase your lot but at considerably less than full value. You might realize full value if you sell on eBay or a similar forum but you’ll need to invest some time and effort. Consignment auctions are another option, as are classified ads in antique publications such as the Red Wing Collectors Newsletter.

Larry

Question: {mosimage}
We have a Red Wing #256 juicer with the cuop and can find very little about it. My wife’s mother got it as a wedding gift in the 1940′s. It is bright yellow. I am attaching a picture and would appreciate any information about it including value, condition, years made ect.

Answer:
Jim,
Your juicer and cup were part of the Gypsy Trail Hostess Ware line and was made in the early 1940s. The juicer itself is uncommon, and the set together is quite rare. Most cups were lost or separated from its juicer over the years, so having the pair together is a big plus. Yellow is by far the most common color; the set is sometimes found in white and supposedly was made in the other Gypsy Trail colors as well.

In excellent condition this set would be worth around $300 to $400. Colors other than yellow or white would be worth more, perhaps by as much as 50%. Your set appears to be in very good condition, but your photo shows the juicer has crazing in the glaze and the cup has a hairline. This will somewhat reduce the value of your set, about 15 to 20%. Any additional damage (especially chips) not visible in the photo would further reduce the value.

Larry

Question:
I bought some RedWing Lute Song dinnerware at a sale and there are 2 small pieces that I can’t identify in the box. I was wondering if anyone could help. They are garlic shaped? or onion shaped pieces that appear to pour (if the pour spout is situated on top, it looks like an onion and the pour spout is the stem). They are about 3 inches across. There isn’t a lute on them like the other pieces, but they are the same color. I looked on replacements and a few other sites but can’t find this piece. The reverse says "red wing potteries, redwing minn" in a triangle. Is it lute song? They kind of remind me of a spoon rest. Any assistance appreciated. thanks Sharon H.

Answer:
Sharon, You have two individual ashtrays. Red Wing made them in various colors to accompany the 8 patterns in the True China shape, of which Lute Song was the best selling pattern. These ashtrays are fairly common but still very interesting. The triangle-shape mark you describe was used only on these ashtrays, not on any other piece to my knowledge. Value for your ashtrays in excellent condition would be around $20 each.

I’ve never seen an ashtray with the Lute Song design; most likely they were not handpainted because the piece is too small to hold much artwork. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t exist. I have photos of two True China ashtrays in the Merrileaf pattern, and am quite sure I’ve seen them in at least one other pattern.

Larry

Question:
My Daughters family of 6 house burned compleatly to the ground. She inherited from us a 106 peice set of "orleans" pattern of Red Wing potters. all in mint condition. A service for 18 cups, saucers, dinner plate, salad plate,sauce dish. A sugar and creamer,1 tea pot,2 med &1 lg Platers,4 small dishes w/lids,2 sets salt and pepper shackers, 2 serving bowls.Need value for insurence. All brocken and blackened by fire, Thank you, ASP/Jan C.

Answer:
Jan, Thank you for providing a thorough description of the Orleans collection. I can readily provide an estimated value based on the information you’ve given. Book value for this collection is around $2000, assuming all pieces are in excellent condition. This figure would be considered replacement or "retail" value. In other words, what one could expect to pay an knowledgeable antique dealer to purchase such a large set. This is not the same as the value a potential seller of such a collection should expect to realize. Thanks Larry

Question:
I am wondering what the price of Hearthstone orange dinnerware is selling for. I have 8 dinner plates, 8 large and 8 small bowls, and 4 cups. I also have 2 serving platters. It is from the late 70′s early 80′s. Orange with a brown rim. Thanks so much! Thanks Sara T.

Answer:
Sara, The Hearthstone Orange and Hearthstone Beige patterns were made by Red Wing for Sears stores. These patterns were made for only about one year, from mid-1966 until Red Wing Potteries closed in 1967. They are two of the six patterns made in the Ceramastone shape. Due to the short production time none of these patterns is very common, but they also don’t seem to be very popular with collectors. Assuming excellent condition, dinner plates are worth around $10, small bowls $5, large bowls $10, cups $5, and platters $15. Larry

Question: {mosimage}
A neighbor of my parents passed away and his children were putting items they thought might be of interest on the lawn for people to take. I picked up this teapot because I thought it looked interesting. I knew nothing about Red Wing, but noticed the name on the bottom. I believe it is the "Two Step" pattern. Any idea on a value for it? Thanks! Stephanie W.

Answer:
Stephanie, Your teapot is indeed from the Two Step pattern. It was made around 1960 and is not an easy piece to find. In excellent condition the value would be in the range of $50 to $75. Larry

Question:
My friend has a set of Red wing dinnerware- Futura 1955 pattern Tampico.(Watermelon) She has a meat platter, gravy boat, cups and saucers, plates, salt and pepper shaker, sugar bowl and creamer- approximately 30-40 pieces in total. She is wondering what the estimated value would be on this collection? Thanks Nancy H.

Answer:
Nancy, It’s difficult to answer your question because you’ve given only a partial description and an estimate of the number of pieces involved. I also need to know the condition of the items to make an accurate estimate. Assuming most of the pieces are common plates, bowls, cups, saucers and the several accessory pieces you mentioned, this lot would probably be worth in the range of $100 to $250. Value depends greatly on condition and just exactly what pieces are included. Larry