Stoneware maker
Minnesota Stoneware Company marks
Incorporated in Red Wing in 1883, the Minnesota Stoneware Company grew quickly, doubling its factory in 1887.
- Active
- 1883–1906
- Based in
- Red Wing, Minnesota, United States
- Marks listed
- 1
- Typical pieces
- crocks, jugs, churns
The marks, by date
Each mark’s wording is written out as a transcription: the words and line breaks, not a picture of the mark. Where a source describes a mark instead of quoting it, the description is shown in italics.
Where: side of salt-glazed crock, low on the back
Seen on salt-glazed crocks; a dealer describes it as 'Minnesota Stoneware Co. – Red Wing'. Bottom-marked versions reading 'Minnesota Stoneware Co; Red Wing Minn' are also reported.
History
It added white-glazed wares in 1895 and had moved entirely away from salt glaze by about 1900, the same year a fire forced it to build a new four-story brick plant. After the 1906 merger its works became 'Factory M' of the Red Wing Union Stoneware Co.; the 1900 building still stands as the Pottery Place Mall.
Dating clues
- Salt glaze was fully replaced by white glaze at this plant by about 1900, so a salt-glazed MSCo. piece is almost certainly pre-1900.
- White glaze was introduced alongside salt glaze in 1895.
Look-alikes and reproductions
- Red Wing Stoneware Co. and Union Stoneware Co. wares from the same town and era.
Other names on the marks
MSCo.; Factory M (after 1906)
Where sources disagree: The Red Wing Collectors Society gives 1883 as the founding year; Wikipedia says production ran from 1880. Mark wording comes from dealer listings rather than a society reference.
Sources
Marks help identify a maker and a date range, but they can’t prove a piece is genuine. Reproductions and later reissues can carry old marks. This entry isn’t an appraisal.