RE: 'The Churchill pieces were offered as premiums in supermarkets...' My preliminary reading indicates that Blue Willow basically from its inception was always a line intended for broad consumption at reasonable, if not budget, prices. Eventually it caught on across the board and fancier and pricier pieces were devised, however the fact that Churchill might be sold in supermarkets, etc. should not necessarily be a mark against it. Back in the middle of the last century Royal Blue Willow was sold in IGAs on more modernist style pottery that I find interesting and am happy to collect. Also, if you notice a lot of Allertons on eBay the reason that it is common is that it was sold by Sears back around the first half of the last century. Blue Willow's broad appeal to all comers is one of the features that makes it special, IMHO.
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