According to Belle Kogan, she designed both the Fancy Free shape and the Desert surface decoration. When introduced to the market in 1952, the design was advertised as suitable for both modern and traditional homes. A sixteen-piece service for four retailed for $12.

[1] Kogan interview, 1997.

[2] Crockery and Glass Journal 151:3 (Sept.1952): 44; Desert Red Wing sales brochure, Jan. 1952.

Adapted from

Charles L. Venable, Ellen P. Denker, Katherine C. Grier, Stephen G. Harrison, China and Glass in America, 1880-1980: From Tabletop to TV Tray (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2000), 460, cat. 169.

• U.S. glassmakers and potteries decorated wares with stereotypical images of the American Southwest and Mexico in the 1930s and 1940s. "Mexican" (Mexican) ware was a popular form of casual dinner ware in the 1950s.