Tag Archives: Dinnerware

Fiesta 201: Part Seven Fiesta Kitchen Kraft Platter and Covered Jug

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Fiesta Kitchen Kraft label.

Fiesta Kitchen Kraft label. Image from thepotterypapers.blogspot.com

                                                                                                     CLICK HERE FOR PART SIX 

Part Seven of Fiesta 201 will take a look at the Fiesta Kitchen Kraft platter and covered jug.

 

Royal Metal Manufacturing Oval Platter

 

Royal Metal Manufacturing Co., oval platter in green in chrome metal holder.

Royal Metal Manufacturing Co. Oval Platter, green glaze in the metal holder. Image from liveauctioneers.com.

Dates of production: 1936 – 1944.

Available colors: red, blue, yellow, green.

 

Red platter for Royal Metal Manufacturing, Co / Fiesta Kitchen Kraft.

Red Fiesta Kitchen Kraft (Royal Metal Manufacturing, Co.) Oval Platter. Image from vintageamericanpottery.com.

If the Fiesta platter and Kitchen Kraft pie plate had a child it would be the Royal Metal Manufacturing Oval Platter. This platter has the angled straight sides of the pie plate with the oval shape and colors of the the platter while lacking the concentric circles of that piece. And it is also approximately an inch larger than the Fiesta counterpart. These platters originally came with a metal holder made by the Royal Metal Manufacturing, Co. While probably sold in conjunction with Fiesta Kitchen Kraft it was never officially part of the Fiesta Kitchen Kraft line. And never listed on any price list.

 

Royal Metal Manufacturing Oval Platter in cobalt blue.

A cobalt blue oval platter. Image from vinatageamericanpottery.com.

 

Today this platter is relatively easy to find, which suggests it sold well during the 1930s and 1940s. As a result, on the collector’s market, it is a pretty inexpensive addition to a collection.

 

Yellow oval platter in its chrome holder.

Yellow oval platter in a chrome holder. Image from liveauctioneers.com.

Royal Metal Manufacturing (Fiesta Kitchen Kraft) Oval Platter: Book value: $55.00 – $82.00 *. Current market prices: $35.00 red with metal holder – $60.00 cobalt blue with metal holder (liveauctioneers.com).  **

*Book values come from Fiesta, Harlequin, Kitchen Kraft Dinnerwares, Schiffer Publishing 2000. These reflect pre-2008 recession values. And like Fiesta items glazed in red and cobalt tend to have higher values than those same pieces glazed in yellow and green.

**These prices reflect what these bowls are currently selling for online in excellent condition with no chips or cracks. 

 

Fiesta Kitchen Kraft Covered Jug

 

Fiesta Kitchen Kraft covered jug in the red glaze.

Red Fiesta Kitchen Kraft covered jug. Photo from liveauctioneers.com.

Dates of production: 1938 – 1944.

Available colors: red, blue, yellow, green.

Covered Jug original price: blue, yellow, green $1.50 ($29.04 in 2021); red $2.00 ($38.72 in 2021).

The Covered Jug is another of the Fiesta Kitchen Kraft items that falls into the hard to find category. And as such the price of them on the collector’s market reflects the scarcity of the piece.

 

A cobalt blue Fiesta Kitchen Kraft covered jug, with a partially intact paper label.

The jug in cobalt blue, with a partially intact paper label. Photo from ebay.

 

And to complicate things more, there were two sizes  produced for Fiesta Kitchen Kraft. The original size held a full two quarts or 64 ounces. Going into production in late 1937, this slightly larger jug is what was available at the time of Fiesta Kitchen Kraft’s introduction in January of 1938. But by February a new slightly smaller version started to replace the larger model. The smaller jug’s capacity was approximately the same as the larger one. And it is possible that there might have been some overlap in production of both sizes, until the molds wore out on the larger size jug.

 

The incised Fiesta Kitchen Kraft mark on the underside of the covered jug.

The incised Fiesta Kitchen Kraft mark on the underside of the covered jug. Photo from vintageamericanpottery.com.

 

Because of the item’s scarcity the covered jugs usually sell for high prices. Plus finding one in excellent condition takes some time, too. The knob on the lid is rather large and is not undercut to make gripping easy. So often the covered jug has small chips on the lid’s underside or along the top edge of the jug. The jug itself is also prone to hairline cracks, which is another issue that collectors need to watch out for before buying one.

 

 

Fiesta Kitchen Kraft Covered Jug: Book value:  $295.00 – $360.00*. Current market prices: $199.95 – $305.00 (ebay);   $375.00 (vintageamericanpottery.com)**

*Book values come from Fiesta, Harlequin, Kitchen Kraft Dinnerwares, Schiffer Publishing 2000. These reflect pre-2008 recession values. And like Fiesta items glazed in red and cobalt tend to have higher values than those same pieces glazed in yellow and green.

**These prices reflect what these bowls are currently selling for online in excellent condition with no chips or cracks. Intact paper labels increases the value of pieces up to 25%.

 

In part eight of Fiesta 201, Driving for Deco will take a look at one of the most collectible items from the Fiesta Kitchen Kraft line, the three covered jars.

CLICK HERE FOR PART EIGHT

Anthony & Chris (The Freakin’, Tiquen Guys)

 

Fiesta 101: Part Three 1939 The Juice Set.

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Fiestaware Dancing Lady Logo

By 1939 Fiesta was the top-selling solid color dinnerware in the United States. To further stimulate sales, a special promotional juice set was offered at a suggested retail price of $1.00. The set consisted of six tumblers and a 30 oz. pitcher. This new pitcher was identical to the 71 oz. disc water pitcher except for the size.

 

The Fiestaware promotional juice set of 1939. Yellow pitcher and six tumblers in the original colors.

The Fiestaware promotional juice set of 1939. Yellow pitcher and six tumblers in the original colors.

As the  disc water pitcher was being developed in early 1938, several different sizes were modeled. In 1939, the smallest became the juice pitcher with Yellow chosen as the glaze color.  A good number of juice pitchers can be found in Harlequin Yellow (a brighter, more pure yellow than the Fiesta yellow). Harlequin, a sister line to Fiesta, was sold exclusively through Woolworth stores and there are too many of the Harlequin Yellow pitchers to be an accident.  It must have been a deliberate choice by Homer Laughlin as a way to offer more options for the set. The standard Fiesta yellow pitcher has a book value of $45.00, while Harlequin Yellow juice pitchers are worth around $50.00 – $55.00.

 

Fiestaware juice set and carton.

Fiestaware juice set and carton.

A special order juice set was produced for Old Reliable Coffee a product of the Dayton Mills Spice Company. This was one of many promotional products offered by Dayton Mills and consisted of the same tumblers but with a red pitcher. Today the red juice pitcher is quite hard to find and has a value of over $500.00.

 

The Red Juice Pitcher made for the Old Reliable Coffee special promotion.

The Red Juice Pitcher made for the Old Reliable Coffee special promotion.

 

The juice tumblers had a long and somewhat painful production process. In 1935, Homer Laughlin was approached by Kraft-Phenix Cheese corporation. They were interested in having ceramic crocks made for their processed cheese products.  Creative designer, Frederick Rhead was able (after some trial and error) to mold a crock to Kraft’s satisfaction and 200,00 were produced.  In 1937, Kraft again came to Homer Laughlin for a new container. Rhead knew that there would be a lot of back and forth before an acceptable crock was created. He designed over 20 different models, all rejected, over a 14 month period. In the end, Homer Laughlin was unable to meet Kraft’s needs. As a side note Kraft had glass crocks made by the Hazel Atlas Glass Company. The glass crocks are almost identical to the Fiesta ones. What it boiled down to was economics. A ceramic crock filled with cheese would have to be sold at 35 cents each. Kraft could sell two glass crocks fill with cheese for the same price. The last ceramic crock designed for Kraft would go into production as the juice tumbler the next year.

 

 

 

The juice set tumblers were produced in all six original Fiesta colors.  There was a seventh color available, Rose. Rose was a recent color addition to the Harlequin line. While not as easy to find today as the other tumblers, there are enough out there to suggest that it was either made for a  special order or offered to add more variety to the juice set. Book values for tumblers in the original six colors range from around $45.00 for those in Red, Cobalt and Ivory and $40.00 in Green, Yellow and Turquoise. Rose tumblers have a value of $80.00. But with most Fiesta since the recession these pieces can often be found for less.

 

Rose Juice Tumbler

Rose Juice Tumbler

The success of the juice set led to an all out special promotional campaign the next year. In our next Fiesta blog post we will look at the Salad Set and the French Casserole.

 

For Fiesta 101: Part Four Click Here

 

Anthony & Chris (The Freakin’, Tiquen’ Guys)