Fiesta Kitchen Kraft label. Image from thepotterypapers.blogspot.com
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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, green glaze in the metal holder. Image from liveauctioneers.com.
Dates of production: 1936 – 1944.
Available colors: red, blue, yellow, green.
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.
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 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
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.
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. 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.
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- Typical damage on the underside of the covered jug lid. Photo from ebay.com.
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- Damage that can be found on the covered jug body’s rim. Photo from ebay.
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.
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Anthony & Chris (The Freakin’, Tiquen Guys)
