Johnsons Apple Cider Red Wing threshing jug

Question:

I was wondering if you could give me an information on this.

Answer:

Your Johnsons Apple Cider Red Wing threshing jug was produced between 1909 & 1917.  Value if in perfect condition would be in the area of $2000 to $2500 or so.   Al Kohlman

8 gallon double leaf salt glazed back stamped Minnesota Stoneware crock

Question:

Hi!

I found this 8 gallon salt glaze in a basement after cleaning it up I noted the sidewall stamp for Minnesota Stoneware Co, Redwing, Minn.  There is a small flake/chip to the inner rim but no other damage, cracks, hairlines etc.  Both handles are unchipped and in general one of the cleaner crocks I have found.   The design is crisp with two birch leaves.

Can you give me an idea of age and value and or is this enough information.  The side wall stamp is on the back or reverse from the front design.  I included a group picutres with anohter bee singe 8 gallon and abee sting 12 gallon for size.  I have the two birch leaf turned in one picutre to show the reverse side wall stamp.

Thanks

Jim

Answer:

Jim, your 8 gallon double leaf salt glazed back stamped Minnesota Stoneware crock is just a gorgeous piece. It was produced sometime between 1883 & 1895.  Because of the double leaves, large size of leaves and extremely well executed, the value would be somewhere between $2000 & $2300.  Just a killer piece.  Al Kohlman

Town and Country Peach

Question:

Dear Experts,

I have inherited my mothers peach wedding dishes from the late 1940’s and have been told they were made by the Red Wing Pottery company.

I am contacting you for information about the set and current values of the pieces. I have a total of 101 pieces (including lids) and all are in excellent condition with no cracks or chips and only a few minor scuffs on a few of the dinner plates.

 

I have:

 

-11 large dinner plates 10 3/4″

-10 medium plates 8″

-8 small plates 6 1/4″

-8 covered soup bowls 5 3/4″  (16 total pieces)

-10 cereal bowls 5 3/4″

-8 comma shaped bowls 5″ x 6 1/4″

-12 cups 2 3/4″ high 3 1/4″ diameter

-12 saucers 6 1/4 ”

-I small serving bowl 7″

-1 pitcher 8″ total height with handle

-1 sugar bowl with lid

-I creamer

-8 spoon rests

-1 salt and pepper set

Most of the pieces appear to be a little tilted with one side higher than the other-is this normal? I would appreciate any information you can give me.

Thank you,

Chuck

Answer:

Your peach-colored dishes were indeed made by Red Wing Potteries.  Town and Country dinnerware was created by celebrated designer Eva Zeisel, and it the only design she produced for Red Wing. This pattern is known for its tilted plates and bowls, for rounded shapes that easily fit in the hand, and for its Shmoo salt & pepper shakers. Town and Country was introduced in 1947 and was initially available in seven colors that could be mixed and matched by the consumer: White, Dusk Blue, Sand, Metallic Brown, Chartreuse, Peach and Rust. By 1949 White, Peach and Sand had been discontinued and replaced by Forest Green and Gray.  The pattern was discontinued in 1956.   It’s unusual to find such a large collection of Town & Country all in a single color.  Apparently most homemakers preferred to mix and match colors.

 

Town and Country pieces were not marked with the company name and for years were not recognized by most people as Red Wing pottery. But interest in Eva Zeisel and her work escalated rapidly in the 1990s, as did interest in and values for Town and Country dinnerware.   Values peaked in the 2000s.  As with many antiques and collectibles, values dropped during the recession and haven’t yet fully recovered.

 

The values below are estimated values for a single piece (or base with cover) in excellent condition.  Any damage or discoloration will reduce the value.  White pieces are very scarce and values are significantly higher for them.  Metallic Brown also seems to command a higher price than other colors.

 

Dinner plate 10 3/4″:  $15-25

Salad plate 8″:  $10-15

Bread & Butter plate 6 1/4″: $10-15

Marmite (covered soup bowl) 5 3/4″: $20-25

Salad or Cereal bowl 5 3/4″:  $20-25

Sauce or Relish dish (comma shaped bowl) 5″ x 6 1/4″:  $10-15

Tea cup 2 3/4″ high 3 1/4″ diameter:  $10-15

Saucer 6 1/4″:  $10-15

Soup bowl (small serving bowl) 7″:  $25-30

Pitcher 3 pint (8″ total height with handle):  $60-75

Sugar bowl with lid:  $20-25

Creamer: $20-25

Coaster (spoon rest):  $20-25

Salt and pepper set:  $60-75

 

 

Larry

Settlement Vindicates Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation in Intellectual Property Dispute with Owners of Red Wing Stoneware and Pottery

Favorable settlement for not-for-profit foundation mandates no financial payout and no adjustment in behavior

 

MINNEAPOLIS, February 22, 2016—The Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation (RWCS Foundation), the not-for-profit group that operates the Pottery Museum of Red Wing (Minn.), has reached a wholly favorable settlement in its year-long intellectual property dispute with Wells Valley Enterprises Inc., owners of Red Wing Stoneware and Pottery. Under the terms of the settlement, the RWCS Foundation maintains that it has not “infringed any of Wells Valley’s claimed trademarks or committed any other wrongdoing…and has further asserted that Wells Valley’s claims are wholly without merit.” Further, the settlement makes clear that RWCS Foundation may continue to operate without any alteration of its behavior, and will not make any financial payments to Wells Valley.

 

In a dispute that focused on the city of Red Wing, Minnesota’s history as center for the production of American pottery and stoneware, Wells Valley, owner of Red Wing Stoneware and Pottery, filed a trademark infringement suit against RWCS Foundation. Wells Valley alleged that RWCS Foundation’s use of marks incorporating the term “Red Wing” and graphical marks similar to those used by Wells Valley in its production of pottery and stoneware, infringed on its intellectual property and caused market confusion.

 

The Foundation rebuked these claims, maintaining that the term “Red Wing”, the “winged logo”, and other markings were commonly used to denote pottery once produced in the City of Red Wing, were not the intellectual property of any one entity, and had been used in some form by a number of other Midwestern and Red Wing, Minn.-based pottery and stoneware producers. The RWCS Foundation further maintained that even if Wells Valley had been able to prove ownership of the name and marks in question, the company’s previous owners had acquiesced to numerous third-party uses in the past, effectively barring Wells Valley from pursuing these infringement claims.

 

“We’re very pleased that we were able to bring this matter to an appropriate and civil conclusion,” said Christopher Larus, Chair of the IP and Technology Litigation Group at Robins Kaplan LLP, who along with colleague Kristine Tietz represented RWCS Foundation pro bono in this matter. “While the protection of intellectual property rights forms the cornerstone of the American economy, RWCS Foundation did absolutely nothing wrong here, an assertion supported by the favorable settlement we were able to negotiate.”

 

“The RWCS Foundation takes immense pride in celebrating the City of Red Wing’s long history in pottery production, and we are excited to put this matter in the past and continue to move forward in cooperation with Red Wing’s wonderful pottery and stoneware community,” said David Hallstrom, President of the Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation. “Our museum is a free-to-the-public, volunteer-based organization, whose mission is to preserve the artifacts of the potteries and to educate the public as to the rich history of the clay industries of Red Wing. To that end, our desire is certainly to work in cooperation, not competition with the city’s pottery producers.  We are very grateful to Chris Larus, Kristine Tietz and the entire Robins Kaplan firm for the valuable support they have given our Foundation.”

 

The case is Wells Valley Enterprises, Inc., d/b/a Red Wing Stoneware and Pottery v. Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation, d/b/a Pottery Museum of Red Wing. A copy of the settlement agreement is available upon request.

 

Since 2009, more than six percent of the firm’s total billable time has been contributed to pro bono efforts, twice the standard set forth by the Pro Bono Institute. The firm has recently been named to the National Law Journal’s 2016 Pro Bono Hot List, was recognized by Law360 as a top Pro Bono Firm in 2015, and was ranked in the top 10 percent of the Am Law 200 for pro bono work.

 

About Robins Kaplan®

Robins Kaplan LLP is among the nation’s premier trial law firms, with more than 220 lawyers located in Atlanta; Bismarck, N.D.; Boston; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; Mountain View, Calif.; New York; Naples, Fla.; and Sioux Falls, S.D. The firm litigates, mediates, and arbitrates high-stakes, complex disputes, repeatedly earning national recognition. Firm clients include—as both plaintiffs and defendants—numerous Fortune 500 corporations, emerging-markets companies, entrepreneurs, and individuals.

Red WIng 1302 and 1291

Question:

Hello,

This is a question for Larry. I recently purchased a set of Red Wing bowls. I believe these are bowls by Eva Zeisel. The smaller bowl measures 7″ across the top and is 4.5″ tall, marked Red Wing 1309 “last # is hard to read”, and looks to have a signature on the edge. The larger bowl measures 14″ across the top and is 2.75″ tall. It has 1201 on the bottom.  Both are chartreuse on the outside, and are dark brown or gunmetal brown on the inside. I have attached a few photos that may help with the identification of these pieces.

Regards,

Jesse

Answer:

Eva Zeisel designed the Town and Country dinnerware pattern for Red Wing.  The pattern was very successful but it was the only design she produced for Red Wing.  These two items are from the art pottery lines, not the Town and Country pattern, therefore, they could not have been designed by Eva Zeisel.

The mold number on the pedestal bowl is 1302.  It is pictured on page 205 of “Red Wing Art Pottery” by Ray Reiss.  The 2003 price guide for the book states value between $30-40. The writer states the number on the larger bowl is 1201, but Ray’s book shows a vase as shape 1201.  From digging in the Volume two of Red Wing Art Pottery, I think the bowl is 1291. The book show a different glaze combinaton (turquise and bronze) the value would be around $80.

Hobby Shop Egg Cups

Question:

Hi there-

I have 5 glazed egg cups that are marked Red Wing USA, June Johnson. 4 are dated ’57, the try is dated ’58.
Can you tell me about these and their value please?

Thank you,
Jeanie

Answer:

These egg cups are not part of any Red Wing dinnerware line and thus I don’t know a lot about them.  To my knowledge they were not shown in any Red Wing brochure or sales literature.  One theory says they were made for a custom order from the Old Mill restaurant.  Red Wing is known to have made an ashtray for the Old Mill, which was located in Austin, MN.

While I don’t know a lot about egg cups, I can state with confidence that these egg cups were not made by Red Wing Potteries despite the RED WING USA markings.  When Red Wing Potteries closed in 1967, the company’s molds were sold to the public with no attempt to obliterate the RED WING markings in the molds. Many of these molds went to art schools and hobby shop potters.  Non-Red Wing items formed by genuine Red Wing molds turn up fairly often but usually they are quite easy to tell from the authentic Red Wing product.  Colors and decoration are not the same. Weight is another consideration; amateur pieces are usually heavier or lighter than the original item due to the clay used to make the piece.  Amateur potters and art school students usually mark the piece with their name or initials and the year of production scratched into the wet clay.

These egg cups display several of these non-Red Wing characteristics.  The inside and bottom of the authentic Red Wing egg cups that I’ve seen are glazed the same color as the exterior; these egg cups have white interiors and bottoms.  The pink color resembles an authentic Red Wing glaze but the brown glaze does not.  The brown glaze slops over the rim and slightly into the interior.  Red Wing artists weren’t perfect but they would not produce such an imprecisely colored rim.  Finally, the name and number scratched into the clay does not fit the profile of an authentic Red Wing lunch hour piece.  The makers of lunch hour pieces used the factory’s colored glazes to mark their items.  Names and numbers scratched into the clay are essentially a dead giveaway that the item was made in an art class or by a hobby shop potter with an old Red Wing mold.

As for value, I’m sorry to say that hobby shop pieces like these have minimal value. They don’t hold much interest for collectors, though someone may be willing to pay a few dollars to add such an oddity to add to their collection.

Larry R

Spruce Test Plates

Question:

Thank you for your time and expertise. I am in possession of the 3 test plates for the Spruce pattern dinnerware. I realize some test plates are of great value and wonder what these may be worth? The center plate has a very small chip. I have sent 2 photos of the chip as well.

Thank you,

Victoria

Answer:

These plates have handwritten codes on the bottom, which was standard practice for Red Wing test plates.  The artwork and base color of these plates leaves no doubt they were made as test or sample pieces for the Spruce pattern.

 

It’s difficult to place a value on a one-of-a-kind item like a test plate. Based on prices realized at auction for test plates for other Red Wing patterns in recent years, I’d place the value at $400 to $600 per plate.  The small chip on one of the plates would reduce the value to the low end of that range.

 

Larry

Red Wing Florist Vase

Question:

Good Morning,

I picked this piece up last week at an auction in SD. Its about 10.25″ tall.   I don’t think it’s RW, but wanted to ask the expert ;)   I remember similar items like this being sold years ago at Gulbranson auction in Trent, SD.   I want to think they were called cemetery urns, but it’s been too long ago to remember details.    Any thoughts would be appreciated.

We visited the RW museum about a month ago!   Amazing.   We picked up a Spring Song plate in the gift shop!   Love it.

Thank you!!

Cal

Answer: Cal, you do indeed have a Red Wing Florist Vase.  In perfect condition and without advertising the value is between $225 & $275.   Al Kohlman

Red Wing Stoneware Montana advertising fancy jug

Question:

I am trying to get an idea of when it was made.

I have attached 3 pictures, it is 10 inches high and 8 inches in diameter with “redwing stoneware co” molded on the bottom.

Would appreciate any help you can give me.

Dave

Answer: Dave, your Red Wing Stoneware Montana advertising fancy jug was made at the turn of the century.  Anywhere from 1900 to 1920.     Hope this is what you were looking for.  Al Kohlman