Midwinter Toadstool by Jessie Tait

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Jessie Tait’s Toadstool design for Midwinter is one of the most distinctive and sought-after patterns of 1950s British tableware. With its bold red and black toadstool motifs and unmistakably mid-century appearance, it remains immediately recognisable more than sixty years after it was produced.

Many post-war pottery patterns can still be bought for relatively modest sums, but Toadstool is different. Good pieces are not particularly common, substantial services appear only occasionally at auction, and documented sales show that collections can command several hundred pounds.

Toadstool is also particularly interesting because Jessie Tait’s design was not confined to ceramics. Original Toadstool textiles produced by Rosebank have appeared at auction and can themselves command significant prices.

Jessie Tait Midwinter Toadstool Design Items — *A selection of Jessie Tait Midwinter Toadstool pieces including plates, trios, cups and saucers. This collection sold for £600 at Unique Auctions in Lincoln in 2013.*

Jessie Tait and Midwinter Toadstool

Jessie Tait was one of the most important British ceramic designers of the post-war period and is particularly associated with the transformation of Midwinter tableware during the 1950s and early 1960s.

Rather than relying on traditional floral decoration, Midwinter embraced the new forms, colours and patterns that appealed to a generation furnishing homes after the Second World War. Tait’s designs were central to this new identity.

Toadstool dates from 1956 and has become one of the patterns most closely associated with Jessie Tait’s work for Midwinter. Its stylised toadstools, strong red and black colouring and deliberately modern appearance are typical of the more adventurous designs being produced by the company during this period.

Collectors interested in Tait’s wider career can also see our Jessie Tait and Midwinter Pottery collecting guide, which looks at more of her important patterns and designs.

Collecting Midwinter Toadstool

Toadstool can be found across a range of Midwinter tableware including plates, bowls, cups and saucers, trios, jugs, serving pieces and coffee wares.

The pattern works particularly well on the flowing shapes of Midwinter’s 1950s tableware. Rather than appearing as a small conventional decoration in the centre of a piece, the Toadstool motif becomes part of the overall design, giving plates, cups and serving pieces a strong graphic quality.

This is one reason the pattern continues to appeal beyond traditional pottery collecting. Toadstool sits comfortably within the wider market for 1950s and mid-century modern design.

Collectors attempting to assemble a service should look carefully at the size and shape of pieces and at the positioning of the printed decoration. Cups in particular can occur in different forms, so apparently similar pieces may not necessarily make a correctly matched set.

Fashion and Stylecraft Toadstool

Much Toadstool tableware is associated with Midwinter’s Fashion shape, one of the company’s defining modern forms of the 1950s. Toadstool is also encountered on Stylecraft pieces.

A particularly useful example appeared at Ewbank’s in 2018, where a Stylecraft Toadstool coffee service comprised a coffee pot, milk jug, sugar bowl, six cups and six saucers. The existence of different shapes and forms is worth remembering when buying individual pieces to complete a service.

Jessie Tait Toadstool Fabric

One of the most interesting aspects of the Toadstool story is that the design is also known on textiles.

Original Jessie Tait for Rosebank Toadstool fabric has appeared at specialist design auctions. These textiles are important in their own right and demonstrate how Tait’s distinctive graphic style extended beyond the ceramic surface.

The survival of original fabric is particularly interesting for collectors because it allows the Toadstool design to be seen on a much larger scale than on a plate or cup.

A 1950s Rosebank sample in the red Toadstool colourway measuring 77 x 118cm was offered by Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood in February 2022. Another vintage Toadstool textile measuring 103 x 95cm, mounted on a stretcher frame, was offered by Burstow & Hewett in 2021.

The auction results for these textiles show that interest in Toadstool is not restricted to Midwinter pottery and that original Jessie Tait textile designs can be highly collectable.

How Much Is Jessie Tait Midwinter Toadstool Worth?

It is difficult to give a simple price for Midwinter Toadstool because the pattern does not appear on the market as frequently as many other Midwinter designs. Value also varies considerably according to the type of piece, condition and whether several correctly matched pieces are offered together.

Substantial services, coffee sets and groups containing desirable forms can command considerably more than individual plates or cups.

Because Toadstool is comparatively scarce, significant groups do not appear at auction regularly. The following documented results span several years and are included as historical market evidence rather than fixed current valuations. Differences in condition, composition and completeness should be considered when comparing prices.

Midwinter Toadstool Auction Results

Approximately 10 Pieces of Toadstool Tableware – £360

A collection of Midwinter Toadstools pattern dinnerwares designed by Jessie Tait

A collection of approximately ten pieces of Midwinter Toadstool dinnerware designed by Jessie Tait was sold by TW Gaze on 28 March 2023. The group included soup bowls and plates, with the largest pieces approximately 22cm in diameter.

Some condition issues were present, including crazing and damage to individual pieces. Despite this, the group sold for a hammer price of £360. This is a particularly useful relatively recent result because it demonstrates the value that can be attached to even a fairly small group of Toadstool tableware.

35-Piece Midwinter Toadstool Service – £580

A Jessie Tait Midwinter Toadstool part service thirty-five pieces

A much larger 35-piece Toadstool part combination service designed by Jessie Tait was offered by Jones & Jacob on 14 November 2018. The service was not perfect and included pieces affected by condition issues. Nevertheless, the group sold for £580. The result is useful when considering the value of a substantial assembled service. Condition is important, but the difficulty of assembling a large group of Toadstool pieces can itself make a collection attractive to buyers.

Stylecraft Toadstool Coffee Set – £700

Jessie Tait for Midwinter a stylecraft toadstool design coffee set

A particularly strong result was achieved by Ewbank’s on 25 October 2018 for a Jessie Tait for Midwinter Stylecraft Toadstool coffee set. The set comprised a coffee pot, milk jug, sugar bowl, six cups and six saucers and was accompanied by a 1950s picnic case. It was catalogued in generally good condition, with no cracks, chips or detectable restoration. Slight staining was noted to the base of the sugar bowl and faint staining to one cup. The set sold for £700, illustrating the premium that a good and relatively complete Toadstool coffee service can achieve.

Jessie Tait Rosebank Toadstool Fabric – £220

Toadstool’s appeal beyond ceramics was demonstrated at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood on 15 February 2022.

The lot consisted of a sample of 1950s Jessie Tait for Rosebank Toadstool fabric in the red colourway, measuring 77 x 118cm. The design was striking enough to be used as the cover image for the auction catalogue.

The fabric sold for £220.

Rosebank Toadstool Fabric Panel – £750

Jessie Tait For Rosebank Vintage Toadstool Design Fabric Panel Mounted On Stretcher Frame

An even stronger textile result came at Burstow & Hewett on 26 February 2021. The auction house offered a vintage Jessie Tait for Rosebank Toadstool fabric panel measuring approximately 103 x 95cm. It had been mounted on a stretcher frame and was catalogued as being in good condition. The panel sold for £750, a remarkable result which underlines the collectability of Jessie Tait’s textile work as well as her Midwinter ceramics.

Midwinter Toadstool Collection – £600

An earlier result recorded by World Collectors Net came from Unique Auctions in Lincoln in 2013. The collection contained a selection of Jessie Tait Midwinter Toadstool pieces including plates, trios, cups and saucers and sold for £600. Although this is now an older result, it provides another useful historical indication of the long-standing collector demand for the pattern.

What Affects the Value of Midwinter Toadstool?

Condition is particularly important. Collectors should check carefully for chips, hairline cracks, crazing and staining. Surface scratching and wear to the decoration can also detract considerably from a piece whose appeal depends heavily upon its bold graphic pattern.

Cups should be checked particularly carefully around handles and rims, while plates and bowls should be examined for scratches to the central decoration.

Completeness also matters. A single plate may be relatively easy to find compared with the challenge of assembling a complete coffee set or substantial dinner service. Correctly matched groups can therefore attract considerable interest.

Scarcer forms can also command a premium. Coffee pots, serving pieces and other substantial forms tend to make a stronger visual impact than individual side plates and saucers and can be especially desirable.

Original Jessie Tait Toadstool textiles should be considered separately from the pottery. Their rarity, size, condition and importance as examples of British mid-century textile design can result in values considerably above those achieved by individual ceramic pieces.

Is Midwinter Toadstool Still Collectable?

Toadstool remains one of the Jessie Tait designs that has retained a strong identity in the collecting market. Its appeal is helped by the fact that it looks unmistakably of its period without appearing old-fashioned.

It also crosses several collecting areas. A Midwinter collector may want it because of its place in the company’s history; a Jessie Tait collector may seek examples of her most important designs; and collectors of post-war British or mid-century modern design can appreciate it simply for its strong visual character.

Perhaps most importantly, Toadstool is not a pattern that appears in large quantities at auction. The relatively small number of substantial groups coming to market makes documented auction results particularly useful.

World Collectors Net will continue to add significant Jessie Tait Midwinter Toadstool auction results to this price guide as further examples come to market.

For more information about the designer and her other important patterns, see our Jessie Tait and Midwinter Pottery – Designs and Collecting Guide.

Originally published in 2013. Updated September 2026 with additional research and auction results.