Is It REALLY Medium Green? Harlequin

Homer Laughlin gepany (HLC)
HARLEQUIN and FIESTA POTTERY BASICS
(Please, read this entire guide as information for both lines are described throughout the guide)
IS IT REALLY, MEDIUM GREEN? SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE INFO ON HOW TO BE SURE!
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Harlequin Pottery is as old as Vintage Fiestaware- it was introduced by Homer Laughlin in 1936 and sold exclusively through Woolworth gepany. The first colors were "Blue, Green, Red and Yellow"- really they are Mauve Blue, Spruce Green, Maroon, and Harlequin Yellow. The second wave of colors added were Red (Fiesta Orange; also known as "Radioactive Red") and called "Tangerine" by HLC, Rose, Turquoise, and Light Green. In the 50s Grey, Chartreuse, and Forest Green were added. Then in 1959 the colors were reduced to four: Red, (Orange), Turquoise, Yellow and Medium Green (same Medium Green as in the Fiesta line). Harlequin was produced from 1936-1964.
The great art deco designer Fredrick Rhead not only designed Fiestaware, but Harlequin as well. The Harlequin line features bands of graduating rims, are dipped in bright straightforward colors with angled handles. Eventually Harlequin would be introduced in all of the Fiesta colors except Ivory and deep Cobalt Blue. It is important to note that Woolworth instigated a re-release of Harlequin in 1979 for their 100th anniversary. The colors and pieces reproduced came in Yellow, Turquoise, Medium Green, (which is milky gepared to the original), and a Coral that was a new color. Luckily, they back-stamped the re-issue Harlequin, and, only made plates, cups, and soup bowls.
People may call it all Fiesta, or Franciscan, or the name that they remember best. There is no "fake" Fiesta. Either it is Fiesta or it is another pattern with it's own name and place in history, perhaps one yet to be discovered. Each has a distinctive style, weight, and colors.
Some pieces are readily identified, others are marked, and some take an collectors eye or lots of research to pin down. Collectors and dealers are very knowledgeable. Others do not care as long as it "looks like Fiesta" or will go with what they have at home.
Most American families had some in the thirties, forties, or fifties. Many, later got rid of theirs, or, packed it away to the attic, basement, or summer cottage. Some gave it to the kids when they moved out, starting a new generation of users and collectors. A few used it every day for years, or cherished it as "our first set of dishes."
Although it is called California Pottery, the best known was not made in California. Fiesta, Harlequin, and Riviera were made in the Homer Laughlin Co.s new plant in Wheeling, West Virginia. The gepany moved across the river from their old location in East Liverpool, Ohio, the pottery capitol of the US.
Fiesta came on the scene in 1939, later than several of the California potters as it had better publicity and distribution. It remains the most familiar in shape and name to the largest number of collectors. Fiesta is substantial, smoothly designed and well made. Pieces are rounded with a band of rings at the edge and ring handles. Large items are usually marked small items frequently were not. A piece need not be marked to be genuine Fiesta.
The regular or original colors were Ivory, Yellow, Light Green, Turquoise, Dark Blue and Red, (Red was really a Red-Orange also known as "Radioactive Red"). Fiesta Red "went to war" and was not available for many years due to wartime restrictions on materials. I am sure we will keep hearing about the radioactivity of Fiesta and other red glazes. This glaze made in the thirties, forties, and fifties, was- and is- radioactive. However, do not worry, it is much less than the amount of radiation you get from the old radium dial watches
The Dark Blue is popular with the collectors, and the fifties colors, (Rose, Gray, Chartreuse, and Dark Green) are often priced higher than Red.
IS IT REALLY Medium Green ???
Medium Green is the rarest color and the most expensive due to its scarcity. Some sellers incorrectly, unwittingly, and, yes, a few do so intentionally, list for sale Light Green, Forest Green and Spruce Green pieces as 'Medium Green' when in fact they are not. The now retired website, known as Medium Green offered the best geparison(s)/example(s) that I have seen yet for the color Medium Green. True, vintage, Medium Green pieces are the color of John Deere Tractors and Spearmint Tic Tacs ~ its true! See pictures below! (Right click on photos, click copy, then, paste and save somewhere on your geputer so its handy for you to refer to!) Have it nearby before you bid or buy any piece touted as, Medium Green.'



Fiesta had the longest life of all the colored dinnerware lines. Some colors and shapes were made in the sixties and eve seventies. Scarce pieces were made for a short time, or only in certain colors. The juice pitcher is most gemonly found in Yellow. If you can find it in another color, the value is higher.
What if its not Fiesta? Many pottery gepanies were producing similar wares at this time, in an attempt to capture the market. Homer Laughlin Co. and others made a number of patterns that are now collectible in their own right. Each, no matter how obscure, captured the hearts of some users and collectors.
Harlequin, made exclusively for Woolworth by the Homer Laughlin Co., is lighter in weight. The rings are separated from the edge by a plain band. Pointy handles and cone shapes characterize this pattern, the Art Deco collectors delight.
The Green, Yellow, Turquoise, and Red colors are similar to Fiesta, though the Dark Blue and Ivory wereNOT used. There is a Maroon,Spruce Green, and a Mauve (lavender) Blue. Rose was a regular color, not a scarce one as in Fiesta, and should be priced accordingly. Harlequin was never marked, except for the 1979 reissue made for Woolworths 100th anniversary celebration. These markings and the difference in weight, colors, and shapes make the reissue identifiable to collectors.
Riviera is a square pattern with scalloped corners. The shape is intriguing. It was made by the Homer Laughlin Co. from 1938 through the forties, and is never marked. Colors are Yellow, Red, Light Green and Mauve. Ivory is not easily found, and Dark Blue is rare. Turquoise is almost unheard of in this line. Covered pieces, juice tumblers, and handled tumblers are worth keeping your eye out for.