The business began modestly during the Great Depression but developed a recognisable Australian identity through fluid glazes, expressive hand-painted decoration and applied motifs drawn from native flora and fauna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, early pottery marked PPP<\/strong>, together with later Remued pieces, is keenly collected and represented in important Australian public collections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Premier Pottery Preston was established in 1929<\/strong> by experienced potters David Dee<\/strong> and Reg Hawkins<\/strong>. Production appears to have commenced during 1930 from rented premises at 52 Oakover Road, Preston<\/strong>, in Melbourne\u2019s northern suburbs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The premises had previously been used for curing bacon. Its location was especially suitable for pottery manufacture because a substantial clay pit stood close by, near the corner of Oakover Road and St Georges Road. This indicates that clay was readily available locally, although surviving sources do not establish that every clay body used by the pottery came exclusively from that pit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Premier Pottery was unusual among Australian manufacturers of the period. Many larger potteries treated decorative ware as a sideline to the manufacture of pipes, tiles, electrical insulators or building products. Premier Pottery concentrated primarily on hand-thrown art pottery<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The early division of labour was straightforward:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because it was a small local enterprise, Premier Pottery also provided skilled employment to people from Preston and the surrounding northern suburbs. It never operated on the scale of a large industrial ceramics factory; its success depended heavily upon a relatively small number of highly productive potters and decorators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The initials PPP<\/strong> stand for: Premier Pottery Preston<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pieces marked PPP were produced principally between 1930 and 1934<\/strong>. Most early PPP pieces were not given formal shape numbers, because the factory\u2019s organised numbering system was not introduced until 1934. Numbered PPP examples are therefore considerably less common than unnumbered examples. <\/p>\n\n\n\n PPP marks may appear as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The circular mark on the TMC Emporium jug is an excellent example of the early PPP monogram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n PPP pottery was produced in a wider variety of decorative styles than many people realise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most recognisable PPP styles features irregular areas of colour applied by brushing, sponging or spraying. These areas were frequently defined by loose black outlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The result can look remarkably modern, with overlapping fields of ochre, red, blue, brown and black. The PPP jug in the TMC Emporium collection is a strong example of this abstract colour-patch technique. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reg Hawkins also decorated pieces with cottages, landscapes, figures and hand-lettered sayings. Some of this work was influenced by English Torquay pottery, which commonly combined rustic scenes with humorous or sentimental mottoes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n PPP also produced drip-glazed pottery. This technique depended upon coloured glazes running and merging during firing rather than relying solely on painted surface decoration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These early experiments foreshadowed the rich flowing glaze effects that later became closely associated with Remued pottery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The early PPP range included both decorative and practical forms. Known examples include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The factory\u2019s later Remued production expanded this vocabulary to include baskets, wall pockets, lamp bases, ramekins, posy rings, tableware, kitchenware and a broad variety of ornamental vases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because most PPP pieces were made before the formal numbering system was introduced, the full early range cannot be reconstructed with complete certainty. Surviving examples remain an essential source of evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Remued name had begun to appear by the early 1930s, but 1934<\/strong> was the decisive year in the factory\u2019s development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n David Dee died in March 1934 at the age of 57. Reg Hawkins then assumed control of the business. Shortly afterwards, Hawkins married Noni Deumer<\/strong>, whose financial contribution helped stabilise the pottery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The name Remued<\/strong> is Deumer spelled backwards<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hawkins introduced a more systematic range of numbered shapes. Existing PPP and Pamela forms were brought into what collectors now call the Early Series<\/strong>, but the PPP and Pamela names were soon discontinued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By the end of 1934, production was being marketed under the Remued name, and the young Allan James had become the principal thrower. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is therefore most accurate to explain the relationship this way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n PPP was the early factory mark of Premier Pottery Preston. Remued was the company\u2019s best-known later art-pottery range.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Remued was not a completely separate pottery that purchased PPP. It was a product name developed and manufactured by the same Preston business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The middle and later 1930s are widely regarded as the golden period of Remued production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Characteristic features included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Applied gum leaves, gumnuts, koalas and twig handles gave Remued an unmistakably Australian decorative identity. Pieces with elaborate applied decoration are now among the most desirable examples. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n David Dee<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n David Dee was Premier Pottery\u2019s co-founder and original principal thrower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He had earlier pottery experience and had attempted to establish an insulator works in 1912 before working for other Melbourne potteries. His throwing skill formed the technical foundation of early PPP production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of his output was produced commercially for Premier Pottery rather than individually signed. Pieces bearing his personal name are rare and are believed to have been made mainly for family use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dee died in 1934, only five years after the pottery was established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reg Hawkins<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Reg Hawkins was an English-born potter and decorator who co-founded Premier Pottery with David Dee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the PPP period he was principally responsible for painted decoration, including abstract, pictorial and motto designs. Following Dee\u2019s death, Hawkins directed the company and organised the shape-numbering systems associated with Remued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His marriage to Noni Deumer also led to the creation of the Remued name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hawkins remained associated with Premier Pottery until the business closed but did not join Allan James in the subsequent Kerryl Pottery venture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Walter Dee<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Walter Dee, David Dee\u2019s son, helped build the pottery\u2019s original coal-fired kiln using second-hand bricks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He worked as a glazier and kiln firer and developed additional glaze knowledge after the death of his father. His technical contribution was important because David Dee\u2019s original glaze recipe book became the subject of a dispute following Dee\u2019s death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Allan James<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Allan James joined Premier Pottery as a teenager and trained under David Dee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His speed and proficiency at the wheel allowed the small factory to produce a surprisingly large volume of pottery. After Dee\u2019s death, James became the principal thrower and was responsible for most subsequent Remued forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n James also developed decorative skills after instruction from Margaret Kerr. His painted leaves could be more detailed than earlier examples, often showing multiple veins rather than the simpler single-veined leaves found on some early pieces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n James later became a co-owner of Premier Pottery. When the factory closed, he acquired Reg Hawkins\u2019s interest and established Kerryl Pottery<\/strong> at 53 Banbury Road, Reservoir. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Margaret Kerr<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Margaret Kerr was a trained artist and clay-modelling instructor who became involved with Premier Pottery during the early 1930s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She was responsible for much of the Australian floral and animal decoration associated with Remued. She may also have created moulds for gum leaves, gumnuts and koalas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kerr initially used the pottery to fire and glaze her own pieces. In return, she contributed to the factory\u2019s decorative work and taught Allan James painting and modelling techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She retired from Premier Pottery around the beginning of the Second World War. <\/p>\n\n\n\n John Castle-Harris<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Modelled animals attributed to John Castle-Harris<\/strong> appear within parts of the Remued Early Series, particularly around shape numbers in the 330\u2013340 range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His work helped broaden Remued\u2019s range beyond vases and vessels to include sculptural and modelled animal forms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ted Angleton<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n During the immediate post-war years, junior potter Ted Angleton<\/strong> threw some of the smaller Remued shapes while Allan James continued to make the larger forms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Much less biographical information is readily available about Angleton than about Dee, Hawkins or James. His importance lies in his contribution to the later production of the factory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is no strong evidence that Premier Pottery\u2019s glaze recipes were sold as a complete body of intellectual property to another unrelated pottery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After David Dee\u2019s death, his widow reportedly refused Reg Hawkins access to Dee\u2019s glaze recipe book. Hawkins offered \u00a3100 to resolve the dispute, but the offer was declined. Walter Dee subsequently developed or adapted glazes that entered the Remued range. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Later Premier Pottery glaze books and production records survived in part, and some knowledge appears to have passed naturally to Allan James through his long employment and eventual part-ownership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Premier closed, James continued related production at Kerryl Pottery. It is therefore more accurate to describe this as a continuity of working knowledge and selected designs<\/strong> rather than an outright sale of the entire Remued glaze archive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The statement sometimes encountered that another manufacturer \u201cbought the Remued glaze recipes\u201d should not be repeated without documentary evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Wartime restrictions had a major effect on Premier Pottery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Decorative production was curtailed, and the factory received government work producing utilitarian wares. These included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Allan James was reportedly the only employee who remained continuously at the factory during part of the war. Decorative output largely ceased between 1942 and 1945. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The wartime shape books also record specialised pieces such as an \u201cArmy salad bowl\u201d and a \u201cMigrant Camp\u201d mug, although surviving physical examples of some forms have not yet been identified. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Decorative production resumed after the war, but styles gradually changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later Remued pottery generally became:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The factory also produced agate wares using contrasting coloured clays to create a marbled effect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By this stage, larger Remued pieces were commonly signed, while many smaller pieces were left unsigned or retained only a paper or foil label.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Premier Pottery ceased production around 1955\u20131956<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two principal factors are cited:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is therefore better to say the pottery closed<\/strong> rather than dramatically \u201ccollapsed.\u201d It faced commercial and property pressures that made continued production at Preston unviable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kerryl Pottery: The Continuation of Allan James\u2019s Work<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n After Premier Pottery closed, Allan James established Kerryl Pottery<\/strong> at 53 Banbury Road, Reservoir<\/strong>, in 1956.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The name Kerryl was derived from his son Kerry. James transferred production of the Premier Pottery A Series<\/strong> to the new factory and continued to develop additional shapes and glaze styles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kerryl used:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kerryl operated for more than twenty years, giving Allan James one of the clearest independent post-Premier careers among the factory\u2019s workers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reg Hawkins did not become part of Kerryl Pottery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n PPP Marks, approximately 1930\u20131934<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n Look for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because most PPP was made before systematic numbering, an unnumbered PPP piece is entirely consistent with early production. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Early Remued Marks, approximately 1934\u20131941\/42<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Typical marks include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These dated examples are especially valuable because they help researchers establish the chronology of individual shapes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Later Remued Marks, approximately 1941\/42\u20131955<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Later pieces may have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Collectors should not assume that an unsigned piece is not Remued. Shape, glaze, clay body and recorded number must all be considered together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Premier Pottery used several overlapping numbering systems:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The numbering can be confusing because numbers were sometimes reassigned, and a single shape could receive different numbers under different systems. Conversely, the same number can occasionally appear on more than one shape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Remued.com<\/a><\/strong> Online Catalogue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The most useful online collector resource is Remued.com<\/strong>.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Its catalogue includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The site\u2019s catalogue incorporates surviving shape books, wholesale catalogues, museum collections and privately recorded examples.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Collector and Auction Research<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Auction databases such as Carter\u2019s Price Guide<\/a><\/span><\/strong> and Antiques Reporter<\/a><\/span><\/strong> are useful for reviewing historical sales, shape variations and base inscriptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Important auction catalogues include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Auction results should be treated carefully. Value can vary enormously according to form, glaze, rarity, condition and the quality of applied decoration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Museum Collections<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Premier Pottery and Remued are represented in public collections including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The NGV, for example, holds a Remued earthenware vase dated broadly to 1935\u20131950. The Powerhouse describes Premier Pottery as an important operation occupying the space between individual studio potters and large industrial ceramic factories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n An important scholarly publication is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gumnuts and Glazes: The Story of Premier Pottery, Preston 1929\u20131956<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The exhibition catalogue was published by Bundoora Homestead Art Centre in 2005 and includes essays by Catherine Webb, Gregory Hill and Noris Ioannou.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other important references include Catherine Webb\u2019s research on Premier Pottery and the Premier Pottery chapter in Australian Ceramics<\/em>, published by Shepparton Art Gallery in 1987. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n PPP and Remued pottery appeal to several overlapping collector groups:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Collector demand is generally strongest for pieces combining several of the following attributes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Early PPP wares are often scarce because they were produced for only a short period and many were unnumbered. Remued wares vary from relatively common post-war forms to extremely scarce Early Series pieces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Collectors should inspect for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fine glaze crazing is common in earthenware of this age and does not necessarily indicate structural damage. It should nevertheless be accurately photographed and disclosed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most important distinction is between natural ageing and actual damage or restoration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n TMC Emporium is developing a reference collection of Australian pottery, including examples from both the early PPP period and the better-known Remued range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our first catalogued PPP example is a small hand-painted jug dating from approximately 1930\u20131934. It bears the circular PPP mark and is decorated in ochre, muted red, brown, blue-black and freely painted black outlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The decoration belongs to the abstract colour-patch<\/strong> group associated with early Premier Pottery production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n View our Premier Pottery Preston PPP hand-painted jug \u2192<\/strong> Premier Pottery Preston PPP hand-painted jug<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n View our<\/strong> Remued pottery \u2192<\/strong>\u00a0Remued Australian pottery<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Foundation of Premier Pottery Preston<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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What Does PPP Mean?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Early PPP Decoration<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Abstract colour-patch decoration<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Figurative and motto ware<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Early drip glazes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What Types of Pottery Did PPP Make?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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From PPP to Remued<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Golden Age of Remued<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The People Behind Premier Pottery Preston<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Did Anyone Buy the Premier Pottery Glaze Recipes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Premier Pottery During the Second World War<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Post-War Production<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Why Did Premier Pottery Close?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Identifying PPP and Remued Marks<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Circular](\"https:\/\/themccorrycollection.com\/m\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/premier-pottery-preston-ppp-makers-mark-circa-1930-1934.jpg\")
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Shape Numbers and Collector Research<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Where to Research PPP and Remued Shapes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Essential Published Reference<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Collecting PPP and Remued Pottery<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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What Makes a Piece More Collectible?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Condition Issues<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The TMC Emporium Premier Pottery Collection<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n