Stoneware maker
Red Wing Union Stoneware Company marks
Formed in March 1906 by merging the Red Wing Stoneware Co., Minnesota Stoneware Co., the Union Stoneware sales company and the paper remains of North Star.
- Active
- 1906–1936 (as Red Wing Potteries to 1967)
- Based in
- Red Wing, Minnesota, United States
- Marks listed
- 3
- Typical pieces
- crocks, jugs, churns, water coolers
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 crock or jug, usually below the capacity number
'RED WING' arches across the top and 'RED WING, MINN.' curves along the bottom.
Where: side, above the oval
A newspaper in May 1910 referred to 'the new red wing trademark'.
Where: side, often turned sideways, with fleur-de-lis beside the capacity number
A pair of rubber-stamped birch leaves used at the short-lived Marshalltown, Iowa plant.
History
Around 1909 it introduced its red wing trademark, and stamped ovals and printed decorations gradually replaced hand work. The company renamed itself Red Wing Potteries, Inc. in 1936 as it moved toward dinnerware and art pottery; stoneware ended in 1947 and the plant closed during a strike in 1967.
Dating clues
- A red wing on the side points to 1909 or later.
- Handled jars carry patent wording for bolted-on handles from December 1915 until stoneware ended in 1947.
- Machine-turning of large ware ended around 1917.
Look-alikes and reproductions
- Union Stoneware Co. ovals (c. 1900–1906), which lack 'RED WING' in the company name.
Other names on the marks
Red Wing Potteries, Inc. (from 1936); RWUSCo.
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.