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From: Larry Roschen/redwinglr@aol.com/Coon Rapids MN/
Date: 13 May 1999
Time: 10:25:17
Kathleen's question is the perfect answer to the earlier discussion on the RWCS' desire to protect the old pottery names. This is exactly why the RWCS Board went to the effort to protect and "control" the names that hadn't already been claimed. There is no desire to create a "fiefdom" --- this was done to protect the naive and uninitiated.
As Kathleen observed, the original Red Wing Stoneware Company ceased as a business decades ago. This name (and other names used over the years by the Red Wing pottery industry) had gone unused and unclaimed for many years. Nobody maintained registration of these names with the State of Minnesota, so they were available to anybody willing to pay a few $$$ to register the name. John Falconer registered the Red Wing Stone Ware name for his pottery in the late 1980's or early 1990's. The name was available, and he had every legal right to claim the name and use it on pieces made at his pottery. Unfortunately, this company chooses not to date their products. This easily (and predictably) confuses novice collectors, who believe these modern pieces are from the old Red Wing Stoneware Co. Personally, I have an ethical problem with this issue but it is perfectly legal. To my knowledge there is no direct connection between this new pottery and the original Red Wing Stoneware Co. To me, the company's promotional material claims the Red Wing tradition and heritage rather than implying a direct lineage, but I suppose it could be interpreted both ways.