Town and Country Years: 1947 – 1956
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Town and Country dinnerware was created by celebrated designer Eva Zeisel, and it represented her only work for Red Wing. This pattern is famous for its tilted plates and bowls, for rounded shapes that easily fit in the hand, and for its Shmoo salt & pepper shakers. (“Schmoos” were characters in the popular Lil’ Abner comic strip.) Town and Town and Country FolderCountry was initially available in seven colors that could be mixed and matched by the consumer: White, Dusk Blue, Sand, Metallic Brown, Chartreuse, Peach and Rust. By 1949 White, Peach and Sand had been discontinued and replaced by Forest Green and Gray. Also by 1949 the salad spoons and soup tureen with ladle were discontinued, thus they are quite rare today. Town and Country pieces were not marked and for years were not recognized by most people as Red Wing. But interest in Eva Zeisel and her work escalated rapidly in the 1990s, as did interest in and values for Town and Country dinnerware. Though the Town and Country pattern was discontinued in 1956, the mug (the larger of the two coffee cup sizes) continued on, decorated in the colors of the Village Green, Bob White, Round Up and Tampico patterns. Town and Country sold well and is readily available today.
Informal Supper Service Years: 1951 – 1953 ??
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For years collectors sought an explanation for the presence of Town and Country pieces glazed in Concord colors. The answer was discovered by analyzing a brochure for Informal Supper Service. Informal Supper Service was introduced in 1951, the same year as the Quartette pattern in the Concord shape. Informal Supper Service consisted of Town and Country pieces decorated in the four Quartette colors: Ming Green, Mulberry, Copper Glow and Chartreuse (Concord Chartreuse, not the lighter Town and Country Chartreuse). Available pieces included bowls, sugar, creamer, salt & pepper, teapot, baker, relish dish, casserole, marmite and Lazy Susan with 7 relish dishes and condiment server (mustard jar). These pieces were intended to be used with the newly introduced Festive and Patio divided supper trays and cups. Festive trays were oblong and had a squarish cup; Patio trays were shaped like an artist’s palette and had a cup borrowed from Town and Country. The Festive and Patio pieces utilized the same four Quartette colors and are fairly common, but the Quartette-glazed Town and Country items are not easy to find.
Special Designs, Test Colors and Limited Production
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