Pottery Archives - Driving for Deco

Fiestaware dancing lady logo from a 1937 price list. Image from the author’s collection.

After over three years looking at vintage Fiesta at Driving For Deco, we have come to the last installment of Fiestaware 101. This post will look at the famous dinner ware line up to its restyling in 1969.

Sales of Fiesta slowed in the 1950’s and that trend continued even more so in the 1960’s. Fiesta remained basically unchanged since the mid and late 1930’s which made the line seem dated by the 1960’s.

Late 1960 or Early 1961 Deletion

The Dessert Bowl

Until the entire Fiesta line was restyle in 1969, the dessert bowl was the only elimination of the decade. In production since the introduction of the line in 1936, Frederick Rhead’s original concept for this piece was as a fruit bowl. When the 5 1/2 inch oatmeal bowl became designated as a fruit bowl, this piece became the dessert bowl. It is very easily found in the first six colors and just a little harder to find in the colors of the 1950’s. Discontinued around the end of 1960, just a year and a half after the introduction of the medium green glaze, it is very rare in that color. And the value reflects its rarity.

Two Fiestaware Dessert Bowls one in chartreuse and one in gray.

Current prices vary greatly. Most dessert bowls on ebay seem to be in the $25.00 – $50.00 range in all colors except medium green. At flea markets some can be bought for as little as $10.00. A medium green bowl sold at auction on November 23, 2013 for $250.00. But some have sold for over $500.00.

Medium Green Fiestaware Dessert Bowl. Image from Strawser Auctions.

Teacup Changes

Sometime in the early 1960’s changes were made to the teacup for easier production. The hand turned foot and inside rings were eliminated. These later teacups are also slightly larger than earlier cups.

Yellow Fiestaware teacups in early and later varieties. The one earlier variation is on the left with the hand turned foot. The cup on the right is the 1960’s style. Image taken by the author.

Yellow Fiestaware teacups showing the rings on the inside of the early style as compared to the ringless 1960’s cup. Image taken by the author.

1962 – 1965

Fiesta Casuals

Salad plates, Fiesta Casual Hawaiian 12-Point Daisy

Four Fiesta Casual Hawaiian 12-Point Daisy salad plates. From the collection of the author.

In what was probably an effort to increase flagging sales, Homer Laughlin produced an interesting variant, Fiesta Casuals. This line used white glazed dinner and salad plates, saucers and platters trimmed in either yellow or turquoise decorated with stylized, stencil flowers. Fiesta Casuals came in two different designs, Hawaiian 12-Point Daisy and Yellow Carnation.

Fiesta Casuals Yellow Carnation. Image from Strawser Auction Group.

This Fiesta variant must not have been popular as it is not that easy to find today. Prices for pieces of Fiesta Casuals are all over the place, ranging from less than $10.00 to over $150.00.

1967

Amberstone

The Amberstone version of the iconic Disc Pitcher. This piece does not have the impressed Fiesta mark on the bottom. Photo by the author.

Another variation on Fiesta in the 1960’s is Amberstone. Marketed by Sheffield as a supermarket premium in 1967 it utilized Fiesta shapes (with the impressed Fiesta marks removed). Some pieces were modernized and all were dipped in a brown glaze. Plates and platters had a black Mediterranean style medallion under the glaze. Tea cups handles changed from a ring to a “c” shape, the sugar bowl lost its handles and mugs became straight sided. Finials were modified from flared to rounded knobs.

Amberstone dinner plate showing the underglazed black decal. Image from ebay.

: Modified Amberstone mug. Image from ebay.

: Amberstone coffee cup and saucer, showing the “C” style handle. Image from ebay.

: Amberstone sugar bowl minus side handles and with knob finial and creamer with “C” style handle. Image from ebay.

Advertisement for Amberstone from the Lawton Constitution, August 14, 1967, Lawton, Oklahoma. From Newspapers.com.

Ambestone teapot. Image from ebay.

During this time, with Fiesta still in production some mistakes happened. Cups with “C” handles exist in yellow, turquoise and medium green. And some Amberstone pieces have the impressed Fiesta mark. The casserole underwent a complete revision and fruit bowls sides changed from straight sided to sloped. The retired coffee pot and marmalade were made available in the line.

The Amberstone casserole. Image from ebay.

Sloped sided Amberstone fruit bowls. Image from ebay.

: Amberstone coffee pot. Image from ebay.

: Amberstone marmalade jar. Image from ebay.

Values for Amberstone pieces vary. Plates can be found for $1.00 – $5.00. Cups and saucers have a value of between $5.00 – $10.00. Harder to find pieces like the disc pitcher, coffee pot and casserole have sold recently for about $50.00 (or sometimes even less).

1969

Finally, after 33 years in production, the bright colors and Art Deco style had become old fashioned. Homer Laughlin decided to revise the line one last time. Yellow, turquoise, red and medium green, along with the original shapes were retired in July, 1969. At the same time, Fiesta Ironstone debuted. Utilizing the shapes from Amberstone, Fiesta Ironstone only came in three colors, Antique Gold, Turf Green and Mango Red (the same red of the vintage Fiesta line).

1969 brochure for Fiesta Ironstone. Image from laurelhollowpark.com.

Fiesta Ironstone limped along for three years. On January 1, 1973 Homer Laughlin decided to drop the line and retire the Fiesta name forever.

Well that didn’t exactly happen, but that’s another story.

This concludes the series Fiesta 101. More is still to come with Fiesta 201, in which we will look at other Fiesta related china and comparisons between vintage Fiesta and the currently produced Fiesta.

Anthony & Chris (The Freakin’, Tiquen Guys)

Fiestaware dancing lady logo from a 1937 price list. Image from the author’s collection.

By the late 1950’s sales of Fiesta started to dwindle. Homer Laughlin tried to revive interest in their most famous line by changing the colors once again. In June, 1959 the change came. The bark cloth inspired jewel tone colors, so sophisticated, only eight years before, now seemed passé. Bright colors were once again popular. Now the Fiesta line offered only four colors. Yellow and turquoise stayed, red returned after a 15 year hiatus and a new green (medium green) was introduced.

June, 1959 Deletions

The colors, rose, chartreuse, forest green and gray were retired. Because of the relatively short production life of pieces made in these four colors, along with slowing sales, give 1950’s pieces their generally higher values than ones made in original colors.

The bark cloth inspired jewel tone colors of gray, rose, chartreuse and forest green retired in June of 1959. From the author’s collection.

These items were dropped from the Fiesta line in the spring and summer of 1959.

15 Inch Chop Plate

Fiesta 15 inch chop in rose. Image from Etsy.

This very large and heavy plate had been part of the Fiesta line from its introduction in early 1936. This plate is only found in the first 10 colors, no 15 inch chops are known to exist in medium green. In price lists this item is called 15 inches, but actually it measures 14 1/4 inches. It is the widest piece ever made for Fiesta. As of the beginning of 2019 prices for the 15 inch chop plate vary greatly. Book value for chop plates range from $45.00 – $80.00 for plates in the original colors from the 1930’s, while the 1950’s colors have a range of $95.00 – $110.00. Online, in antiques stores or at flea markets the prices can be as low at $10.00 to $150.00 and sometimes more.

After Dinner (Demitasse) Cup & Saucer

After dinner cups and saucers in the colors of the 1950's.

Fiesta After Dinner cups & saucers in 1950’s colors. Image from vintageamericanpottery.com.

The After Dinner cup and saucer remained in production for seventeen years after the After Dinner coffee pot had been discontinued. A very elegant piece with a hand applied stick handle these cups and saucers are relatively easy to find in the original colors, but very difficult to find in the colors of the ’50’s. Cups and saucers in the original six colors can be found for as little as $25.00 a set, in ’50’s colors they are seldom found for less than $300.00. Although there are rumors of a few sets made in medium green, they were never officially produced in that color. If the rumors are true they are so rare that they have no established value.

Coffee Pot

The rare gray Fiesta coffee pot. Image from vintageamericanpottery.com

Made in only the first 10 colors, the coffee pot was dropped from the line early in 1959. Therefore none were made in the elusive medium green. Introduced with the line in early 1936, the coffee pot had a 23 year run. But even with such a long run, they are not that easy to find, especially in 1950’s colors. And can be hard to find in excellent condition. Often they have chips to the finial, base or rim. In mint condition they can be found for as low as $100.00 in original colors, and to over $300.00 in rose, forest green and chartreuse. Gray coffee pots are the rarest and are worth over $500.00.

10 1/2 Inch Compartment Plate

Gray 10 1/2 inch compartment plate. From the collection of the author.

Replacing the 12 inch grill or compartment plate in early 1937, the 10 1/2 inch compartment plate stayed in production for 22 years and ended before the introduction of the medium green glaze. Because of the dividers, these plates do not stack well. So when buying, look them over carefully and make sure the dividers do not have any flea bites or small chips.

Cream Soup Bowl

Fiesta cream soup bowl in chartreuse. Image from ebay.

Along with the after dinner coffee pot and after dinner cups and saucers, the cream soup is one of the most elegant Fiesta pieces. With its two side handles and flared foot it vaguely resembled the casserole, only much smaller. Introduced in early 1936, the cream soup, can be found in all 11 vintage colors. Bowls in the first 10 colors can be found in the $20.00 – $60.00 price range. Dropped from the line shortly after the introduction of medium green in mid-1959, bowls in that color have the second highest price of any regular Fiesta production piece, around $4,500.00.

: Anthony and the only medium green Fiesta cream soup bowl that we have ever seen in person. Picture taken at the Pine Hill Antique Center in Adamstown, PA in 2015.

: Detail showing the price tag of the Fiesta medium green cream soup. It was out of Anthony’s price range.

4 3/4 Inch Fruit Bowl

This bowl was a January, 1938 addition to the line and stayed in production until mid-1959 making it very hard to find in medium green. The medium green 4 3/4 inch fruit bowl’s value reflects that rarity. Bowls in the first ten colors can be found in prices ranging from less than $10.00 up to $40.00. The elusive medium green bowl is in the $300.00 – $500.00 range.

The rare medium green 4 3/4 in fruit bowl. Image from vintageamericanpottery.com.

Egg Cup

Fiesta egg cup in forest green. Image from worthpoint.com

Introduced to the Fiesta line in late 1936, production of the egg cup ended in early 1959. Discontinued before the introduction of medium green the egg cup is found in only the first ten colors. Fiesta egg cups have retained their pre-recession values and usually sell for around $50.00 in original colors and $75.00 or higher for 1950’s glazes.

2 Pint Jug

Two pint jug in rose. From the collection of the author.

Another late 1936 addition to Fiesta, the original intent was to have a series of jugs in five sizes. Only the largest size made it to production. Homer Laughlin dropped the two pint jug sometime in early 1959 so none were made in medium green. Values for the two pint jug have dropped since the recession. Today one can acquire this piece for around $50.00 or less. And glaze color does not make much of a difference in value.

June, 1959 Additions

With bright colors being popular again in the late 1950’s, Homer Laughlin changed the Fiesta palette once again. With the United States Government relaxing restrictions on depleted uranium in the late 1950’s, red Fiesta, discontinued in 1944, returned. And a new, bright, grassy green joined the line, becoming the eleventh and last vintage Fiesta color.

Medium Green

Fiestaware casserole in medium green. Image from worthpoint.com.

Only known as green on Fiesta price lists of the 1960’s, collectors have dubbed this color medium green, to avoid confusion with earlier greens. Because sales of Fiesta were so low in the 1960’s pieces in this color are the most difficult to find today. Values of pieces in this glaze are much, much higher than comparable items in the other colors. After the aforementioned cream soup bowl, the medium teapot is valued around $1,500.00 and the casserole usually sells for about $1,400.00 in mint condition.

Rare Fiesta medium teapot in medium green. Image from Replacements.com.

All other pieces in medium green generally have 3 to 10 times higher values than those in original or 1950’s colors. For a novice collector determining if a piece is actually medium green and not light green or forest green can be tricky. That is why knowing what pieces were dipped in the medium green glaze is an important starting point. Another trick is to carry around a pack of spearmint Tic Tacs as the color is almost the same as the medium green glaze.

Medium green creamer and sugar. From the collection of the author.

Individual Salad Bowl

Individual salad bowl, the last piece modeled for vintage Fiesta. From the author’s collection.

The individual salad bowl has the distinction of being the last item added to the vintage Fiesta line. Introduced in mid-1959 it is found in only red, yellow, turquoise and medium green (referred to by collectors as the sixties colors). Even though these bowls were made for ten years they are not too easy find. A very similar bowl had been designed for Fiesta in the 1930’s but was added to the Harlequin line instead. The placement of the outside rings at the middle and with no rings at all on the inside of the Harlequin bowl is the easiest way to tell it apart from the Fiesta bowl. The Fiesta bowl will also be marked on the bottom. In mint condition these bowls sell in the $75.00 – $140.00 range.

Individual salad bowl in red. Image from vintageamericanpottery.com.