| From the very beginning all
Pilkington's tiles were marked. Initially
with a single letter "P" impressed into hand made (plastic bodied
)
tiles and then from about c1900 with 2 letter "Ps" on the
opposite
side of a tile with a 5 bar back. Numerous other types of back were
produced which we can identify from a comprehensive database. However that is not the
exciting part. Some of the best tiles were
designed by famous artists, Lewis F.Day, Walter Crane, C.F.A.Voysey, A.
Mucha, L.Solon, etc. these tiles are relatively speaking valuable.
Some, like the giant panels by Mucha, are very rare. Walter Crane's
tiles are similarly scarce. The problem is that with some rare
exceptions they are not signed. But there are clues. On occasion a tile
might have a Pilkington reference number written on the back of it
e.g..
R.23 or M233 or even E433. These numbers can be in pencil, in paint or
ink. In our research we have been able to link these numbers
with
certain artists.
So this is the deal. If you have a Pilkington tile with one of these numbers on the back send us an image of back and front and we will tell you if it is a known design. We cannot value them except to say if they are scarce or not but we can help you identify the artist. To send an image it is best if you lay the tile gently on a scanner and send us a screen image. This is better than a photograph which will do but can miss detail. There is no charge for this - but we will use the image if it is interesting. E mail to  |
Click on the
tile to return to the home page.