Question:

Hi, I have the Blue Katrina Cookie Jar that was my grandmothers. I know it was made in the early 1940’s and there was a Blue, Yellow and a Green one was made a couple of years later. Could you tell me what these beautiful cookie jars sold for originally. I have tried to find some advertising from that time frame but so far have not found anything.

Thank you so much.

Margy.

Answer:

Sorry, I don’t have any retail ads for the Katrina cookie jar so I can’t say with certainty what the price to consumers may have been.  But I do have Red Wing’s wholesale price to stores that purchased these jars directly from the pottery.  The wholesale price listed for 1941 to 1944 was $24 for a dozen cookie jars.  That’s $2 per jar, and Red Wing often discounted their prices significantly depending on the total size of the store’s order.

Red Wing also made a series of fruit-shaped jars during the same period.  The wholesale price for them was $18 per dozen, and a 1941 promotional piece showed the retail price as $1.50 per jar.

Putting this all together it is safe to assume the retail price for the Katrina jar back in the day was less than $5, and most likely in the $2 to $4 range.

Larry

Question:

Hi,

I am inquiring about the following piece of Red Wing dinnerware I inherited from my grandmother.  I can’t find the correct email address on your “Ask the Experts” section, so I’m sending it to the only email address I could find.

After reviewing your “Ask the Experts” archives, it appears that this 10.5″ x 10.5″ square-ish plate comes from the “Blossom Time” collection, which I think you stated was produced from 1950-55.  I’m wondering if the removable carrying handle was part of the original collection (and if the item thus has a name), and if it adds any value to the piece?  Or, was this handle a generic type of add-on from that era that people could add to plates/platters to make them more portable/versatile?  It is in excellent condition.

Thanks for your help.

Beth

Answer:

The photo shows a Blossom Time dinner plate with an attached metal carrying handle.  Blossom Time is one of many patterns made in the Concord shape.

The metal handle was not listed in Red Wing brochures or price lists.  It was an accessory that could be purchased separately.  The handle was sold by Roberts Colonial House, a company in Chicago.  There may have been a co-marketing agreement with Red Wing, or the handle may have been available for purchase at the Red Wing Pottery Salesroom.  The handle adds minimal value to the Blossom Time plate, perhaps an extra $5 or $10.

I’ve attached two photos of a new unused handle in its original cellophane packaging.  The packaging includes a photo of a handle on a Lotus dinner plate, a sister pattern to Blossom Time.  The Roberts Colonial House handle was sold in the early 1950s.  A few years later Red Wing began to make tidbit trays out of surplus plates by drilling a hole and adding hardware.  It seems likely the tidbit tray concept originated with Roberts Colonial House handle.

Larry