(Public Service Announcement)

 

There are a few fakes tiles around, here are a few we have come across. They are quite obvious really especially once having seen a few they become instantly recognisable, what seems to fool a lot of people is that they are old plain tiles with recent tubeline decoration so the versos are recognisable as original.

Most people look at the verso, see it's original and don't think much more about it even though when asked almost everyone admits that the tile "didn't look right" or words to that effect. Once aware that such tiles exist, the purpose of this page, the reasonably astute collector will easily get the feel that the tile is 'wrong' and a specialist dealer should be able to detect them easily. But often they don't, maybe that glimpse of a profit is too tempting, some dealers have knowingly sold them as originals, one appears on the front cover of a book on art nouveau tiles written by two dealers, there's no excuse for that especially when that original design is well known as an embossed tile.

They are seen at auction, both in salesrooms and on eBay, sellers mostly ignore it when they are advised, a few honourable people withdraw from sale or add it to the description.

Anyway here's a few images, there are a few more here: www.tile-collector.co.uk/fakes.htm

 

A Rhodes registered design on a Boote blank of similar date c.1905

 

On a Craven Dunnill tile back from around 1915 - 1920

 

On a H & R Johnson tile back from around 1915 - 1920