The products of Premier Pottery Preston were not mass-produced. Everything was hand-made. In such an environment, inevitably pieces were produced that were not intended for the retail market but were family gifts, experiments, or simply giving rein to the potter's creative spirit. Although perhaps not strictly 'Remued' many such pieces are nowadays amongst the most interesting and sought-after.

They are often incised with the potter's name or initials. Quite a few are signed by the principal throwers at Premier, David Dee and Allan James. Others were involved too; industry potters, sometimes moonlighting from jobs at bigger potteries; and studio potters, notably Margaret Kerr, Una Deerbon and John Castle-Harris.

'Workman's piece'; a one-off item made by a pottery worker at the end of the day, which would then be glazed and fired along with the rest of the production.

Ashtray, signed D.Dee and Margaret Kerr.  Length 19 cm.

Height 22 cm. Base incised

Vase with applied grapevine, signed D.Dee 1933. 

Height 18.5 cm.

Early-looking glazes and gumleaves.

Height; 14 cm

Signed P.E.Horsley

Pierced decoration never featured in Premier's commercial production but some pieces were made.

Base incised A.James  1935  Melbourne

Height; 32 cm.

Base incised A.James  1934

Lidded bowl.

Unsigned. 

Attributed to R.Hawkins

Bowl with two dragons. Attributed to Margaret Kerr. Base incised Remued  PPP  1933.

Both names were current in 1933 & 34 but this is the only known piece that carries both. 

Diameter 32 cm.

Extravagantly decorated with gumleaves, gumnuts and blossom, and a goanna surveying the interior.

Base incised Remued  Hand Made. Height; 40 cm.

Bowl with creature

(Bunyip? Loch Ness monster?)

Base incised 1933

Vase with applied grapevine, signed A.James 1933. This piece is the earliest recorded with a branch-handle on a vase (ie not a jug)

Vase with applied grapevine, incised D.Dee  Premier pottery.

'Remued' signatures, and sometimes named signatures too, were incised by anyone given the task. The D.Dee signatures at left are unquestionably by David Dee but this one is less certain.

Ashtray, signed D.Dee and 'Mrs.Remued'!

Three pieces signed A.James, with press-moulded koalas modelled by John Castle-Harris. Elaborate modelling of wood grain and shapes.

Three-handled jardiniere

by Allan James.

Incised  Mum  Alan 1941

Height 41 cm.

Workman's pieces 

A workman's piece was a one-off item made by a pottery worker at the end of the day, which would then be glazed and fired along with the rest of the production.

None of the pieces shown here is signed Remued but all display glazes that strongly suggest Premier Pottery origins ('suggest' but not necessarily 'prove'). Nothing is known about the potters but for at least two of them (ALN and P.E.Horsley) other pieces are recorded that are not from Premier.

Trough vase in the form of a galleon's hull.

Dimensions; 17 cm long, 6 cm high.

Unsigned, base incised  ALN.

Slab-built square lidded box.

Height excluding lid; 7.3 cm.

Signed Lea (or Tea?) Biggs

Base incised Remued 42 s

These gumleaves and gumnuts differ from the usual. Thought to be by a worker at Premier, trying his hand at the Remued style using a standard Early Series 42 s 'ginger jar' vase. No other decorated 42 s is known.

Premier sold - or gave away - small quantities of unglazed blanks that could be used by china painters. These two pieces, however, both have the shape number painted on the base (not incised) which suggests they were painted at the pottery, or at least by someone with a connection to the pottery. It is hard to imagine any other reason why the painter would even know the shape number let alone mark it on the base. The piece on the left also has a painted name; R.Rangan.

These jugs are Early Series 119. Other shapes too are sometimes found painted.

Jug with modelled and painted tree and landscape.

Base incised Remued 1934

Height; 14.5 cm.

Jug with modelled and painted tree.

Base painted (not incised) Remued

Height; 16 cm.

Detail from an exceptional pair of PPP floor vases

(see Tall vases)

Signed; left R.Hawkins, right T.Evelyn Woodrow.

Hand-modelled basket with unusual twist handle.

Unsigned. Base incised 53 (the year perhaps?)

Vase with finned reptilian creature. Base incised Remued Hand Made. Height; 28 cm

Height 17 cm. Base incised WJD - Walter Dee.

Length; 12 cm. Bases signed Nile.

Height; 19 cm. Base incised Margaret Kerr, Melbourne

Generously sized, with a cork stopper in the base.

Height; 10.8 cm.

Signed A Sutherland

Bases incised Remued and signed Stella Moore (painted).

Not standard Premier shapes. Note the unusual feature of incised or impressed decorative swirls.

Heights; sphere 17 cm, cylinder 20 cm.

We have been unable to find any information about Stella Moore (can you help? - contact us)