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
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.
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- Modified Amberstone mug. Image from ebay.
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- Amberstone coffee cup and saucer, showing the “C” style handle. Image from ebay.
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- 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.
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- Amberstone coffee pot. Image from ebay.
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- 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.