Question:

Hello,

I have a collection of Red Wing Bob White dishes that I wish to sell.  What would be a fair asking price for this set?

1 set salt and pepper shaker-hour glass shape

1 set salt and pepper shaker-birds

1 hors d’oeuvres

1 gravy boat with lid

2 creamers (one has a small chip)

2 sugar bowls with lids

1 medium casserole with lid

1 large casserole no lid

2 rim soup bowls

12 cereal/salad bowls

3 sauce bowls

1 large salad bowl

4 bread and butter plates

18 salad plates (not sure if that is what they are called)

14 dinner plates

1 teapot with lid (chip on inside rim)

4 12-inch water pitchers

15 coffee cups

16 coffee saucers

1 trivet

1 divided vegetable bowl

4 small dishes or saucers that I cannot identify

1 cookie jar (small chip on inside rim)

Answer: Please let me know if you have further questions. I would like to invite you to become a member of the RWCS – it’s just $35 per year. I would be happy to mail you a membership form or you can visit the membership advantage page on our website.

Question:

Hello,
I have a Redwing plate that I have owned for several years. I have recently been interested in knowing more about it and have not been able to find the pattern on the sites I have looked at. The plate is 11″ in diameter and has a texture surface with the pattern. The back is marked Redwing and has the numbers 445 475 and what looks like a 480-2. The numbers are under the glaze. The in bright pink in top of the glaze it says keep me. There are no chips or cracks to the plate.
Thank you for your help in advance. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Cristan

Answer:

This is a very interesting plate.  It is not a standard Red Wing dinnerware piece. It’s a test or sample piece.

The plate with its textured surface is from the Anniversary dinnerware line, which was introduced in 1953.  The artwork is from the Nassau pattern.  Nassau was also introduced in 1953 but was produced on the Concord shape, not Anniversary.  Nassau did not sell well and was made for only one year.  Your plate gives reason to believe Red Wing considered using the Anniversary shape for Nassau rather than the Concord shape. The numbers on the bottom are codes for the colors used for the test plate.  “KEEP ME” was added by somebody who owned the plate at one time.  That person recognized that this is an unusual plate.  Red Wing did not mark items over the glaze in that manner.

Test and sample plates have high collector appeal and thus have high values.  Test pieces that have a recognizable Red Wing pattern generally fetch higher prices than those that are decorated with unknown designs.  This is a one-of-a-kind plate and thus it is difficult to assign a value.  Assuming it is in undamaged condition, I estimate it would sell for $500 to $800 at an auction attended by knowledgeable Red Wing collectors.

Larry

Question:

Hello,

I am hoping that you will pass this on to the dinnerware experts.  I have this butter warmer in yellow.  I don’t see it anywhere in my Red Wing book.  On the internet, I see a “smart set” and in the Bob White pattern.  Nothing in the simple yellow.  I am wondering if it is from the same time frame as the yellow chicken teapot as well.  Any information is appreciated.

Thanks for your time and effort,

Regards,

Becky

Answer:

The yellow butter warmer was made by an amateur pottery using an old Red Wing mold.  It was not made by Red Wing Potteries.  The mold is in the Casual shape, which is the dinnerware line that included the Bob White and Smart Set patterns.  But this piece was made later, probably in the 1970s or 1980s.

The company assets were sold to the public when Red Wing Potteries closed in 1967.  The molds used to form a wide variety of dinnerware and art pottery pieces were included in those assets, and many of those molds were purchased by art schools and amateur potters.  No effort was made to remove the Red Wing name from those molds because the company was no longer in business, thus there was no perceived need to protect the company name.

There are many “Red Wing” pieces out there that were made by amateur potters.  Many of them have a date and the potter’s name or initials scratched into the bottom.  As best I can tell this butter warmer does not have those features.  But the color is a shade of yellow not found on authentic Red Wing pieces.  And the numerous flakes in the glaze all over the piece are a strong indication that this was the work of an amateur potter.

Larry

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