The "Colorful Meals" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Cleaning some of the shelves in our living room for something to do to avoid the boredom of being confined to the house during this stressful time of fighting the coronavirus.  As I cleaned the shelves above our small sink in the living room, I admired once more the many pieces of vibrant Fiesta Ware that my mother had given to us over the years.  Carol and I very rarely use the plates and dishes since they are more valuable sitting on the shelf than they are sitting on the table full of food.  Fiesta Ware was designed by Frederick Hurten Rhead for the Homer Laughlin China Company in Newell, West Virginia.  It was first introduced to the public in 1936 at the Pittsburgh China and glass Show.  

A variety of colors of plates, saucers and cups.

Some of the original colors were red, yellow, cobalt blue, green and ivory.  One of my favorites, turquoise was introduced a year later.  What made the pottery interesting was that you could buy all the different plates and dishes in just about every color, therefore the chances of your neighbor having the exact same collection was rather slim.  And, being that most people in the mid to late 1930s weren't wealthy, you could buy a few pieces at a time instead of having to buy an entire set all at once.  Mr. Rhead's art deco design made it look as if pieces had been formed by hand on a potter's wheel instead of being mass-produced.  In my hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, my mom was able to buy her collection of Fiesta Ware at the downtown Woolworths which was the first Woolworths to open in the United States.  

A gravy boat sits in a celery dish.  On the right rear of the
photo is a set of three mixing bowls while a serving
bowl is on the left rear of the photo.

She could buy individual pieces as well as a 24-piece place setting which sold for about $11.  The Homer Laughlin China Company produced more than 1 million pieces of Fiesta by 1938.  In the 1950s many of the pieces could be bought in soft pastel colors while brighter colors were made in the early 1960s.  But, there was some talk about the old orange-red glaze that was used.  It was called by many "radioactive red" and was made in the early 1940s.  One of the key ingredients of the glaze was uranium and was restricted to government use for nuclear bomb research.  At that point, red Fiesta disappeared, but did eventually make it's way back on the shelves in 1959.  The pottery reached it's peak in 1948 when 10 million pieces were purchased.  Fiesta Ware was retired in the early 1970s.  

This photo shows the serving bowls with a
serving platter.

But, in 1986, when it became popular with collectors, Bloomingdale's partnered with Homer Laughlin to reintroduce the colorful pottery.  The new line became known as Post 86 and is lead-free and safe to use in the microwave and dishwasher.  The Fiesta Ware that Carol and I now have is always hand-washed and is never placed in the microwave for fear it may cause sparks.  We still use a few of the pieces we have from my mother at special occasions such as Christmas and Easter dinners.  Didn't happen this Easter, since we didn't celebrate the holiday with our family due to the coronavirus.  Check out some of the pieces we have stored in our cabinet in the living room.  They still are beautiful and heavy.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

My favorite piece is this serving bowl that has handles and a knob on the
top.  Original casseroles featured details such as these hand-applied handles
and knobs that added to the value of the piece.