Maroon? What would that color be especially in context of its day? I was curious as to the actual color described in the Landreth 1884 publication.
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Probably a shade of pink Tom for back then the word purple was also used to describe pink tomatoes, and it's a fine line between maroon/pink/ purple as I see it and as others in the past saw it. Our choice of color adjectives today is not always what it was in the past.
I had typed out the description of Large Red Fejee from the Michigan State Bulletin, with references going back to 1863, and the color was described as pink, but lost the whole darn thing when that PM message popped up and I went to read it.
And it turns out there are two Fejees, one from the island and one from Italy, and I have other references to share, but it's been a long day here and I'm going to bed.
Again, my assumption is that anything from that time period that says improved doesn't mean a color change, just selections for earliness or less blemishes, or the like, again based on info in the Michigan State Bulletin as well as current terminology. I haven't researched Fejee Improved, which as I said above, if described as maroon probably was pink/
I think Craig has something at his website about Fejee if I remember correctly, and maybe he'll pick up here where I've left off..