Miscellaneous Vintage Fiesta Lines

During it’s (so far) 80 year run, HLC branched into several other lines of Fiesta that were, in general, fired during their last five or six years of their vintage period.

Fiesta Ironstone

Perhaps the most well-known of the offshoot Fiesta lines, Ironstone is generally considered part of the Fiesta color-line up. Ironstone was fired from 1969-1972. There were three colors in the firing, antique gold, mango red, and turf green, all meant to be modeled off of popular colors at the time.

ironstone

Sheffield Amberstone

Despite not holding the name Fiesta, several collectors still consider this as part of the Fiesta line, since many of the pieces are made from the same molds as regular Fiestaware. It was both introduced and retired in 1967. It comes in a brown glaze (somewhat similar to the post86 chocolate glaze, however there are differences in the shapes of the products) and some pieces have a black silk screen pattern on them.

fiesta amberstone

 

Fiesta Casualstone

Fiesta Casualstone was a similar product to Amberstone. It was produced in 1970, and was a gold color, similar to the antique gold Ironstone color. It, too, contained a silk screen pattern on several pieces, but it had a more delicate pattern than the Amberstone.

casualstone

Fiesta Casuals

Fiesta Casuals came in two colors, blue and yellow. There were only eight different products, given teacup and saucer as one product.  They had a flower pattern were stenciled on the oval platter, the dinner plate, the salad plate, and the saucer. The solids were the nappies, the fruit bowl, the creamer, the sugar with lid, and the teacup.

Fiesta Harmony Line

Fiesta Harmony line was, similarly to the Casuals line, a set of stenciled plates, cups, and bowls that were meant to pair well with the original six colors. HLC paired with the Nautilus line in 1936.

 

Calendar Plates

For two years, from 1954 to 1955, Fiesta produced calendar plates. These only came in light green, ivory, and yellow.

calendar plate

Kitchen Kraft

Kitchen Kraft was it’s own line, but in 1937, they began dipping their shapes in Fiesta colors, which is why you so often see these products in Fiesta colors and sold along side them.

Fiesta Ensembles

Fiesta Ensembles was when HLC began selling Fiesta in sets, similarly to what they do today, only they also sold them with glassware and flatware. This began in 1939.

fiesta ensemble

Others

In 1935, some products were sold with decals, although these can be very hard to find, and most are like part of the other lines, and in the 30s and 40s, HLC sold striped Fiesta, in yellow and ivory, with red, green, or blue stripes.

red striped tripod
Tripod Candleholder

Sources: Lauren Hollow Park, Homer Laughlin: Decades of Dinnerware by Bob Page

A Brief History of Vintage Products

fiesta products

Depending on how you count, there are anywhere from 52-75 different types products during the 1936-1972 run, and they aren’t all available in every color. Most people typically agree that 42 pieces were debuted, although some people say it’s 34 pieces, and others say 36. However many pieces were debuted, the line took off, and approximately twenty new products were added before the end of the thirties (although several products were discontinued as well!)

Some products can only be found in the original six colors, and some can be found in all original eleven colors. Some can only be found in some of the later colors.

The following are considered the original pieces by most collectors in the original eleven glazes:

  • Ashtray
  • Covered Onion Soup Bowl
  • Cream Soup Bowl
  • Dessert Bowl 6″
  • Footed Salad Bowl
  • Fruit Bowl 11 3/4″
  • Fruit Bowl 5 1/2″
  • Fruit Bowl 4 3/4″
  • Individual Salad Bowl
  • Mixing/Nesting Bowls, #1-7
  • Lids for mixing/nesting bowls
  • Nappy Bowl 9 1/2″ (open serving bowl)
  • Nappy Bowl 8 1/2″ (open serving bowl)
  • Unlisted Salad Bowl
  • Bulb Candle Holder
  • Tripod Candle Holder
  • Carafe
  • Casserole Dish
  • Coffeepot
  • Demitasse Coffeepot
  • Footed Comport
  • Sweets Comport
  • Individual Creamer
  • Ring Handled Creamer
  • Stick Handled Creamer
  • Demitasse Cup, Stick Handled
  • Egg cup
  • Mixing Bowl Lid
  • Marmalade bowl
  • Tom & Jerry Mug
  • Lidded Mustard Jar
  • Disk Pitcher, juice
  • Disk Pitcher, water
  • Ice Pitcher
  • Two Pint Pitcher
  • Cake Plate
  • Chop Plate 15″
  • Chop Plate 13″
  • Deep Plate
  • Divided Plate 10″
  • Divided Plate 12″
  • Plates, 6″, 7″, 9″, 10″
  • Oval Platter
  • Salt & Pepper Shakers
  • Sauce Boat
  • Sugar Bowl
  • Figure 8 Tray, Sugar, & Creamer Set
  • Syrup Pitchers
  • Teacup & Saucer
  • Teapot, large
  • Teapot, medium
  • Relish tray
  • Utility tray
  • Juice tumbler
  • Water tumbler
  • Bud Vase
  • Flower vase, 8″, 10″, 12″

Find the Masterlist of  Product Checklists Here

 

 

Sources: CollectorsWeekly, DrivingWithDeco, HappyHeidi, Vintage American Pottery

Colors, Colors, Colors (Vintage)

Original Eleven

original 11
Left to Right, Top to Bottom: Forest Green, Cobalt Blue, Chartreuse, Gray, Rose, Yellow, Light Green, Old Ivory, Red, Turquoise, Medium Green

Original Six

Original Six
Pottery Coffeepot: Original Green, Old Ivory, Radioactive Red, Cobalt Blue, and Yellow

The original five colors (shown above) and turquoise make up the ‘Original Six’ lineup, as show below.

original six2
Relish Tray: Old Ivory Tray (Pie Plate), Turquoise, Light Green, Cobalt Blue, and Yellow Inserts (Trays), and Radioactive Center (Coaster)

These colors were very carefully picked. Once red and cobalt blue were settled on, green was an obvious choice, but what shade of green? It was decided that a minimum of blue dye was the perfect balance, and thus, light green was born. Yellow was the next obvious choice, and it had to talk. With a minimum of green in it, this bright yellow was perfect. Ivory was chosen to off-set all these colors. The next year, turquoise was introduced, and is one of the brightest glazes in Fiesta history.

Fifties Colors

50s colors
Dessert Bowl: Forest Green, Gray, Chartreuse, and Rose

Say hello to these fabulous colors, and goodbye to blue, green, and ivory! That means, along with these four colors, HLC kept turquoise and yellow, radioactive red having been discontinued in 1943 due to WWII.

The Sixties

The 1960’s heralded a slump in Fiesta history, and in 1959, Fiesta retired almost all of their colors, except for yellow and turquoise. They reintroduced radioactive red, and introduced medium green. However, sales were limited, due to a turn in popularity to earthenware dinnerware.

1960s
Teacup and Saucer: Medium Green, Turquoise, Yellow, Radioactive Red

Eventually, all four of these colors were discontinued due to lack of sales

Ironstone Era

ironstone
Misc Products: Antique Gold Disk Pitcher, Mango Red Cup & Saucer, Turf Green Oval Platter

From 1969-1972, Fiesta gave one last try in the form of three Ironstone colors, Mango Red (essentially radioactive red, also made with depleted uranium), antique gold, and turf green. The shapes changed slightly as well, but eventually, HLC gave up, and closed it’s doors in 1972.

Sources: TexasCooking, VintageAmericanPottery, HLCCA

A Brief History of Fiestaware Colors

all fiestaware tom and jerry mug colors

History

1936-1973

Fiestaware comes in nearly fifty colors, if you include the three Ironstone firings and original and post-86 colors as separate colors. While most people say there are six original colors, Homer Laughlin only put five colors into production in 1936, and only added turquoise in 1937, bringing the total to six. The first five are: original (radioactive) red, blue, green, yellow, and ivory. Collectors call the blue cobalt, the green light green, and ivory old ivory, in order to differentiate between the many different firings of similar colors. Yellow is the only color to survive the entire original four and a half decades.

After fifteen years, Homer Laughlin decided to change up their color line, marking the beginning of what is known as the 50’s colors. These 50’s colors are forest green, original rose, chartreuse, and gray. Several of the original six colors were cut, including blue (cobalt), green (light), and ivory. The 50’s colors are generally softer and more delicate than the original six. Rose and chartreuse have been recreated in the post 86 era, and while you can generally tell the difference between original rose and new rose, it takes a sharper eye to compare original and new chartreuse.

All of the 50’s colors were ended in 1959, and medium green was introduced in 1959, a color darker than original green and lighter than forest green. At this point, the color line up is original red, yellow, turquoise, and medium green. Production is down due to a trend in earthenware tones, and all colors except original red are retired in 1969. The three Fiesta Ironstone colors are introduced – Mango Red, Antique Gold, and Turf Green. Mango Red is essentially the same as original red, and Turf Green was similar in color to avocado green, which was popular at the time. Antique Gold matched a similarly popular color, but sales did not increase. In 1972, Fiesta closed it’s doors.

Of the original colors, original (radioactive) red and medium green are the two most coveted colors. While the amount of radiation in the ‘radioactive red’ isn’t dangerous to humans, it still makes an exciting piece and thus a coveted piece. As for medium green, while it was produced for a decade, Homer Laughlin produced a fewer number of pieces during that decade, so medium green (similar in color to John Deere green, so watch out for fake ‘medium green’ sales!) is the most valued of original and post 86 colors.

Post-86

In 1985, Bloomingdale’s approached Homer Laughlin about recreating an old dinnerware line, and decided that Fiesta was the most promising. They introduced new colors with the added benefit of being lead-free, something that most other dinnerware lines hadn’t embraced yet.

Post-86 Fiesta was an instant success. The first colors to be fired were white, black, rose, apricot, and cobalt blue. Colors were added and removed all the time, and occasionally, Homer Laughlin did limited runs of colors. The first limited run was Lilac, from 1993 to 1995. Lilac is the most sought after post-86 color. Sapphire was the shortest fired color, from 1996 to 1997, and was a Bloomingdale’s exclusive. Chartreuse was fired from 1997-1999, and is just a little bit brighter than the original color. Juniper were fired only from 1999-2001. The latest limited firing was marigold in 2011, and was fired for only 75 weeks for the 75th anniversary of Fiesta. Homer Laughlin produced “no more than 10,000 individually numbered pieces” of marigold.

In 1997, to commemorate their 500 millionth piece produced, Homer Laughlin produced five hundred raspberry presentation bowls, which were numbered. These are extremely rare, and can go from five thousand dollars to twenty thousand dollars or more, depending on the auction. They originally came with a certificate authenticating them, and the box top had the signature dancing lady. This is probably the second rarest piece in Fiesta production, with only the original turquoise onion soup bowl being rarer.

At this point, Homer Laughlin introduces one new color of Fiesta every year, and generally retires one (or two) colors at the same time. In 2018, the new color is a new purple: mulberry, and retired tangerine and claret, which will end production at the end of 2018.

Color Lineup

Original Colors

Post 86

  • White: 1986-
  • Black: 1986-2015
  • Rose: 1986-2005
  • Apricot: 1986-1998
  • Cobalt Blue: 1986-
  • Yellow: 1987-2002
  • Turquoise: 1988-
  • Periwinkle: 1989-2006
  • Sea Mist: 1991-2005
  • Lilac: 1993-1995
  • Persimmon: 1995-2008
  • Sapphire: 1996-2008
  • Raspberry: 1997 (limited to 500 presentation bowls)
  • Chartreuse: 1997-1999
  • Pearl Gray: 1999-Dec 2001
  • Juniper: 1999-Dec 2001
  • Cinnabar: 2000-2010
  • Sunflower: 2001-
  • Plum: 2002-2015
  • Shamrock: 2002-
  • Tangerine: 2002-2018
  • Scarlet: 2004-
  • Peacock: 2005-2015
  • Heather: 2006-2009
  • Evergreen: 2007-2009
  • Ivory: 2008-
  • Chocolate: 2008-2012
  • Lemongrass: 2009-
  • Paprika: 2010-2017
  • Marigold: 2011-2012 (75 Weeks)
  • Flamingo: 2012-2014
  • Lapis: 2013-
  • Poppy: 2014-
  • Sage: 2015-
  • Slate: 2015-
  • Claret: 2016-2018
  • Daffodil: 2017-
  • Mulberry: 2018-

Find the Masterlist of Color Checklists Here

Sources: TexasCooking, FiestaFactoryDirect (2)(3), Wikipedia, The Little Round Table, Happy Heidi