Books:
"Red Wing Dinnerware Price Guide"
by Ray Reiss
It was published in 1997, so the
prices are a bit out of date. But it's still a great reference point
and it's only $13. The book can be ordered by calling 800-355-2324
or through Amazon.com
or Barnes &
Noble's web sites. Ray recently came up with an updated price guide for $5.00.
"Red Wing Dinnerware"
by Stanley J. Bougie and David A. Newkirk
This book is out of print, but a
quick search through Barnes &
Noble's site turned up a couple of copies through their (surprisingly)
Out of Print service. Price is about $45.
New copies can be had for $18 by catching Stan at the convention or by visiting Cliff & Margaret Ekdahl in their garage across the street and down the ally from Hill Street Antiques. You can usually find them open at convention time. Cliff & Margaret also have an amazing amount of dinnerware and art pottery for sale.
"Red Wing Art Pottery" and
"Red Wing Art Pottery Two" by Ray Reiss
Although written primarily for the
art pottery market, both these books contain a fair amount of material
dealing with dinnerware. Both can be ordered by calling 800-355-2324
or through
Amazon.com
or Barnes &
Noble's web sites.
Web Resources:
Wing Tips: an excellent general source for everything that Red Wing produced.
Red Wing Collectors Society: just in case you haven't got enough of Red Wing already. There are members or chapters in most states and they hold a yearly convention.
Town & Country: Doug Way and Betsy Lescosky have produced a wonderful site with great detail on the Town & Country line.
EBay: even if you're not in the mood for buying, this is a great place to check out prices and find pictures of rare items.
Replacements: see what they have for pieces and prices, divide the price by 3 or 4, and you've got the current market value.
The Wisconsin Pottery Association's page on their
2002 Red Wing Pottery exhibit.
Cleaning
Techniques: How to keep your newfound dishes looking good.
How
to sell your dishes: A little page on how and where to sell your dishes.
Additional Resources:
This is a handy
inventory spreadsheet developed by Larry Roschen. Use it to track the purchase
price, date, type of item, and condition of everything in your collection. Very
handy for inventory purposes and it can be used for dinnerware, art pottery, or
stoneware.
Licensing and other handy details: This spreadsheet is provided free of charge
to download, modify, and use and is not to be sold. It's in Office 2000 format
and will work on any version of Excel after that. If you're still running Office
95 or 97, you're out of luck.
We recommend that you back up the spreadsheet frequently to a floppy disk or
flash drive if you have one. Keep in mind that floppies use magnetic media, which
is only good for a few years. After five years half the floppies in a box will be
unuseable and after ten years all of them will be toast as the magnetic media breaks
down. Once every six months burn a copy of the spreadsheet to CD and store the
copy offsite. A safe deposite box, the office, or your sister's place will do.
If your house burns down and you need the list for the insurance agent, chances
are your computer burned too, so you'll want a copy at a different location. Don't
store a copy in a fireproof safe as that won't do the trick. Safes are designed
to keep paper from spontaneously combusting, which happens at 451°F. By that time
any floppies or flash drives in the safe will have melted.