Question:

Hello,

I recently inherited some Lotus Dinnerware in Gray, all are in excellent condition. I’ve been able to find the bronze and the chartreuse on the net but none of the Gray anywhere on any site, Is this a rarer color? If so is the value higher than the other colors?  I have the following pieces:

Desert Dish - 8
Salad Bowls – 2
Saucers (no cups) – 8
Bread/butter -7
Salad plates – 8
Dinner Plates – 7
Soup bowls (I think they have a handle on each side) – 5
Gravy boat – 1
Serving Bowl -1
Salt & Pepper shakers – 1
coffee pot – 1
covered casserole – 1

I’m also wondering if some pieces are harder to find. Thank you Tammy

Answer:

Lotus is one of many Red Wing patterns made in the Concord shape.  Lotus flatware (various plates, bowls and covers) featured the hand painted Lotus artwork on a white background.  Lotus hollowware (pitchers,salt & peppers, creamer, sugar bowl, gravy boat, etc) was available in three solid colors: Metallic Brown, Chartreuse and Gray.  Tea and coffee cups were the only items that included a both the Lotus decoration and the solid exterior color.  Other Concord patterns also utilized these solid colors.  Five patterns were available with gray hollowware.  Thus a gray Magnolia casserole could be turned into a Lotus casserole by merely switching the covers.  And gray items without covers such as creamers and gravy boats could belong to any of the five patterns.  While sets of Lotus dinnerware with gray hollowware may be less common than sets with metallic brown or chartreuse hollowware, gray Concord hollowware is not necessarily rarer or more valuable than the other colors.   

As for difficulty in finding various pieces in the Lotus pattern, there are several factors.  Place setting pieces (bowls, plates, cups & saucers) are easier to find than accessories because more of them were needed to compose a set of dinnerware. A sevice for eight required 8 place settings but only one creamer, sugar, coffee pot, gravy boat, etc.  Lotus was introduced in the late 1940s and made through 1957.  New items were introduced to all Concord patterns over the years, and the later items are generally are more difficult to find because fewer of them were made relative to other pieces in the pattern.  The egg plate, spoon rest, two supper trays, and coffee cup (not tea cup) are some of those items. There was also a series of vases and planters decorated with the Lotus pattern (as well as the Magnolia and Blossom Time patterns); these are also not easy to find.

The values below assume excellent, undamaged condition.  Any damage will reduce the value by at least 25-75% depending on the extent and location of the damage.

Sauce dish (dessert dish):  $5-10
Cereal bowl 6.5 inch:  $10-15
Saucer:  $5
Bread & butter plate 6.5 inch:  $5-10
Salad plate 7.5 inch:  $7.50-12
Dinner plate:  $15-20
Cream Soup bowl, no cover (two handles on sides):  $7.50-12
Gravy boat:  $15-20
Nappy (vegetable bowl):  $15-25
Salt & pepper:  $15-20
Beverage server (coffee pot):  $50-60 if cover included; $15-20 if no cover
Casserole with cover:  $25-35

Larry

Question:

I found a set of Red Wing dinnerware in Village Green at a local thrift store. With the exception of a small chip in one of the dessert plates everything else is in mint condition. The set includes; 8 plates, 8 dessert plates, 8 dessert bowls, 8 saucers, 8 coffee cups, a creamer and sugar container, a larger bowl (maybe a fruit bowl?) and a platter.  I have attached a picture.  I was just curious what a set of this size and condition might be worth.

Thank you for your time!

Ann Courtney 

Answer:

Current market prices for Village Green items as follows.  All values assume excellent, undamaged condition.

Dinner plate:  $10-15

Bread & butter plate:  $8-10

Sauce dish (small bowl):  $8-10

Cup & saucer:  $10-15

Platter:  $20-25

Nappy (veg bowl):  $20-25

……….Larry

Question:

I love the color Orange and this quickly caught my eye at a Garage Sale yesterday. Talked the guy down to $10 for it. Not interested in selling but he said it was Red Wing so I wanted to see if you can confirm. If so, I would like to know more about it also. It has the 565 on the bottom.

Thanks!

Answer:

The photo shows an orange coffer server from the “Plain” pattern and is part of the Red Wing’s large Gypsy Trail line.  The 565 coffee server was one of the items available when Gypsy Trail was introduced June 1935 and was still in production when the line was discontinued in the mid 1940s.  Orange is probably the most common color for the 565 coffee server but they can be found in at least a dozen different colors.  Other potteries made similar coffee servers but only Red Wing servers were marked 565 on the bottom.  Value for an orange 565 server in excellent condition is around $25.

Larry

Question:

 I’d appreciate any information on this snack set(?).   Pattern?  Name of the shape/set?  Age?  Value?   The cup has a 3 3/8″ top diameter, 1 7/8″ bottom rim outside diameter and stands 2 5/8″ tall.  The unusually shaped folded over rim plate measures about 10 1/2″ X 11″.  It has a chartreuse exterior.  The interior has a slight circular depression for the cup – but the ring is much more noticeable on the backside – see third photo.  There’s an impressed mark on the back which looks like /08 – maybe 708? 

Thank you very much for any assistance.

Bill

Answer:

The photos show a Party Plate and Cup from the Party Line pattern, which was produced in the late 1940s.  Your plate is shape 108 and the cup is shape 111.  The impressed mark on the bottom of the plate is 108.  Twelve different shapes numbered 100 through 111 were made for the Party Ware pattern.  These shapes were available in three exterior colors (Chartreuse, Gray and Metallic Brown) and were decorated with four different fruits (grapes, pear, apple or cherries).  Thus a buyer had many different combinations of colors and fruits from which to choose.  The unique shape of Party Ware made it difficult to store in the kitchen cupboard and the pattern is not easy to find today.  Value for this plate and cup would be $30-40.

Larry

Question: Hi,

I have a white covered butter dish.  From research I just found out it may be vintage and collectable.

This is white, not pink or green and would love to know the pattern.  Maybe its worth, given it is in excellent condition.

Christine

Answer:

This is a covered butter dish from the Tweed Tex pattern, one of six patterns made in the Anniversary shape.  Tweed Tex was made from 1953 to 1956 and all items are entirely white.  Most collectors value Tweed Tex lower than the colorfully decorated items from the other five Anniversary patterns.    Value for a Tweed Tex butter dish in excellent undamaged condition is $20-30.

Larry

Question:

Can  you tell me what I should be asking when selling the following items from the Lexington Dinnerware line.

Perfect pieces

Creamer

Spoon holder

3 cups

2 small sauce bowls

2 divided vegetable bowls

1 divided relish

1 saucer

1 flat celery dish

4 plates

Oval platter

Imperfect pieces

Teapot

Gravy boat

2 cups

3 small sauce bowls

Casserole w/lid (lid handle was broken in two, glued back together, but not very well)

2 saucers

Small bowl

Large serving bowl

4 plates

Tall pitcher – tiny nick in spout

Teapot

Some of the imperfections are crackle.  Do you think bleach would take some of the dark away?

Jerry

Answer:

Please see below for my estimated values.  All values that I provide are my estimate of the current market value for a SINGLE item in excellent, undamaged condition.  I cannot say what the owner should ask as a sales price because that depends on numerous factors that are unknown to me.  See the “Selling Red Wing” portion of the FAQ section on the RWCS web site.  I also cannot provide estimated values that are adjusted for damage.  My general rule of thumb is that damage reduces the value by 25 to 75%.  Damage must be viewed to make a proper evaluation and even then collectors often disagree.  The decrease in value depends on the location, extent and visibility of the damage and whether or not the item is especially difficult to find. 

I never use bleach to clean stained dinnerware.  If not done properly it can ruin pottery. I have attached an article that I wrote on the subject for the RWCS newsletter back in 2003. 

Creamer:  $5-10

Spoon holder:  $50-75

Tea cup:  $5-7

Small sauce bowl:  $5-10

Divided vegetable bowl:  $20-30

Divided relish (3 sections): $20-30

Saucer:  $5-7

Celery dish:  $20-30

Plates: $5-15 each, depending on the size

Oval platter:  $20-25

Teapot:  $25-35

Gravy boat: $20-25

Casserole w/lid:  $20-30

Small bowl (cereal?):  $10-15

Large serving bowl:  $15-20

Tall pitcher: $20-25

Larry

Question:

Hi,

We have just aquired 70+ pieces of Delta Blue, only 2 or 3 have small chips, and some have a few blow outs which is normal….I need a value guide to sell this.  I have about 15 serving pieces

BEN

Answer:

The values I provide are my current estimate of what a knowledgeable buyer would be willing to pay a knowledgeable seller, which in my opinion is fair market value.  Actual selling prices difficult to gather because they are generally not available to the public.  This is especially true for a hard to find pattern like Delta Blue.  My values assume excellent undamaged condition and are for one of the item described. 

Dinner plate:  $60-75
Salad plate:  $15-25
Cup & saucer:  $20-25
Saucer:  $7.50-10
Fruit bowl:  $15-20
Creamer:  $20-25
Sugar with cover:  $20-25
Oval divided veg dish:  $30-35
Round veg bowl:  $30-35
15″ oval platter:  $40-50
Pitcher 4 cup size:  $40-50
1 gallon coffee pot with side knobs and cover but no stand:  $80-100
Butter dish with cover:   $40-50
4 quart casserole with cover and stand (under plate):   $75-90
Teapot with cover:  $90-100
Bean Pot with cover 2 quart: $50-60
Waffle dish cover:  $100-125  (very rare piece)

Larry

Question:

We just found a covered jar marked “Red Wing U.S.A. 725-L” at the bottom.  The lid has the number 725.  Where can we find out more information about the piece?

Thank you,

Dennis

Answer:

The item in the photo is a large Jolly Jar.  In 1960 Red Wing introduced three sets of Jolly Jars, each set with a different design.  Each set featured jars in three sizes (small, medium and large).  The names of the three designs were Sweet Shop, Mosaic and Sierra.  The jar in the photo is from the Sierra design and is the large size.  The L after the mold number indicates Large; the other two sizes logically included a S or an M after the number. 

Jolly Jars aren’t part of any dinnerware pattern, and they aren’t really art pottery either.  They were promoted in a brochure titled ”Giftware and Novelty Items”, so that is how they are categorized by most collectors.  Value for a Jolly Jar in excellent, undamaged condition is $40-50. 

Larry

Question:

Hello, Do you have any idea whether there was a Bob White design flower vase produced?Attached are three photos (views: front, side, back) of a piece I haven’t been able to find any specific information on… Any assistance would be appreciated. Zane

Answer:

Yes, the photo shows a Bob White cruet without a stopper.  I’ve attached a photo of a pair of cruets complete with stoppers and the wrought iron stand that came with them.  (In later years the stand was made with copper rather than black iron). 

Bob White Cruet with Iron Stand apart

Larry

Question:

Hi!  

I have a question for the artware folks:  can you tell me anything about this little teal-glazed vase?  It stands 3-3/4 inches tall and is only about 2-1/2 inches wide.  It’s marked “Red Wing” on the bottom and is glazed in white on the inside.

Can you help?

Thanks!

Martha

Answer:

The item in the photo is not a vase.  It is a turquoise cruet from the “Plain” dinnerware pattern, which is part of the vast Gypsy Trail line.  It was made in the late 1930s and was available in turquoise, yellow, orange, blue and ivory.  Value for this cruet is $25-30 if it is in excellent condition. 

Larry