A few traps lie in wait when reading base inscriptions, such as semi-legible numbers, wrong numbers, imitations and outright fakes.

Obscured by glaze; the number is actually 119/8M not 19/8M

Replicas of Early Series 169 M. Origin unknown. Misleadingly incised 'Remeud'!

Badly written; this scrawl is 235. The eBay vendor of this piece read it - not unreasonably - as 'ZJ5'

Badly written;  matching with other pieces of similar shape identifies this as 313/9.

Ground away; grinding the base has almost obliterated part of 315/5.

The suffix letter 'S' (for Small) and the number '5' (5 inch) are frequently confused, particularly when the result looks like a date, eg '1925' for '192S' and '1945' for 194S'.

It's usually easy to tell the difference though. The letter 'S' is incised in a single stroke whereas the top of number '5'  is clearly a separate stroke. Also, a number suffix always has a slash or dash separating it from the shape number, whereas a letter suffix usually has no separator.

Dated 1935?  No - numbered 193 s.

Premier Pottery Preston was not a relaxed workplace. The pressure was on. Incising signatures and shape numbers was commonly done late in the day, by anyone available, and mistakes happened. Such mistakes present a problem for cataloguing. An unexpected or anomalous number cannot necessarily be dismissed as a 'mistake', and while some shapes are sufficiently plentiful and well-documented that a mistaken example can be confidently recognised, that's not always the case.

Pieces with wrong numbers were typically stray one-off errors, but there was also the occasional bungle in assigning numbers when the numbering was first being set up. Two shapes would be inadvertently assigned the same number, then when the mistake was realised one of them would be given a new number - but not before a few pieces had been made. For example, number 28 was assigned to two Early Series shapes, one of which (the popular 'ginger-jar' vase) was promptly re-numbered 42.

Mis-spelt (both in the same handwriting) -  'Remed' and 'Remeued'.

See Early Series 262

The shape is Pamela 1 but this piece is numbered 3.

Pamela 3 is similar but round-mouthed. The two were probably hard to tell apart when standing upside-down.

Caught in time - '57' corrected to '56' while still on the pottery bench.

For a more significant alteration see Pamela 14.

       Remued's characteristic glazes are hard to reproduce convincingly but it's been attempted.

This piece is not Remued, despite the signature, yet perhaps it is not a deliberate fake either. The name Remued has become so identified with its characteristic drip-glaze style that it is often taken to be a generic name. Items are offered for sale as 'Pates remued', 'Diana remued', and even in the US 'van Briggle remued'. Maybe the maker of this piece was merely striving for a characteristic style (and maybe not, too!).

Imitation.  A replica of

Base stamped

Premier was by no means the only pottery to use applied decoration of gumleaves and twig-handles. Here are two fine examples by Florenz. Such pieces are usually signed 'Florenz', but not always, and they are sometimes mistaken for Remued.

Even more suspicious. A bad copy of a Remued koala, plus a Remued signature and an incised shape number similar to the 'Alphabet' series. It came to light, surprisingly, in Ohio, USA. If genuine such a piece would be worth thousands.

Early Series 405/5, incised 485/5

Two such examples are recorded, both in the same handwriting, probably both done at the same time.

Premier Pottery Preston is not the only pottery to have used the letters 'PPP'. Several others are known. Their styles of pottery are quite different however, as is the style of the PPP insignia.

This is the PPP brand most frequently confused with Premier Pottery Preston. Here the initials stand for Pacific Pottery Products, of Long Beach, California, USA.

Items have shape numbers in the same range as Remued and PPP. Base inscriptions however are impressed not incised. The glaze is usually a plain single colour but examples are found with sponged glazes, not unlike some of Premier's sponged glazes.

A range of tableware, made in Japan and marketed in the US.

The Premier Pottery Preston stamped monogram.

Studio pottery from New Zealand (Personalised Pottery Products, Nelson)

Pates Potteries, Sydney

Imitation. A replica of Early Series 178.  Base stamped (faint) 'Australac Ware'

These Remued stickers are real enough but the items they're attached to are not Remued. The stickers have been peeled off Remued pieces and re-applied. The manner of damage to the sticker is usually a giveaway in such cases - not merely worn (as is common) but torn and crinkled.

A few early pieces from Premier Pottery are recorded signed by David Dee, co-founder of the pottery. Other pieces signed 'Dee' however, in particular souvenir ware from the Sunraysia district, are sometimes mistakenly supposed to be by him or his son Walter Dee. The Dee signature on this souvenir ware is actually the initials of the potter, Doris Evelyn Ezard (1912 - 1993).

Ezard's studio was located at the Rosemont Guest House in Mildura, Victoria. During the 1960s and 1970s her pots were sold through the guest house and other local tourist-oriented outlets. Pieces usually feature decoration of oranges, grapes, or the historic gaol in the nearby town of Wentworth.

Oranges & "Mildura"

Height; 6.5 cm.

Base incised Dee.

Brick pattern & "Wentworth Gaol".

On some examples also "1879-1979".

Diameter; 10 cm. Base incised Dee

Some Ezard pieces are signed Dee Rosemont but most are simply Dee.

For comparison - from Premier Pottery,

signatures by David Dee and son Walter Dee.

A range of small hand-painted cast pottery from the UK. Stamped, and impressed Wales.

See also; Question-marks & Mysteries

Fake gumleaves.  These pots are genuine Remued, but somebody set out to enhance their monetary value by adding gumleaves. The fake gumleaves may not be easy to spot but there are some tell-tale signs to watch out for;

Who are the culprits? These fakes vary in quality, implying that they may not all be the work of the same person. Although applied to Early Series pots, the materials used indicate a more recent origin.

The two pieces shown here with leaves removed were treated with paint-stripper by their owners. The third piece looks highly suspicious but hasn't suffered such drastic treatment - its owner quite likes the idea of having an intact fake in the collection. Re-examination of images has turned up further suspicious examples and one has been deleted from this website. We now have misgivings too about our interpretation of the unusual 42s 'ginger-jar' vase shown under 'Modelling & Painting" on the One-offs page. 

Studio pottery from NSW; Penny's Peace Pottery

Premier Pottery Products of Illinois USA.Not a maker, just a distributor. Not marked PPP.