The Shelley group the leading UK club for Shelley and Wileman china and pottery collectors

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Shelley Fakes

Over the past few years a number of items have been listed on eBay as being Shelley whereas they have been made to deceive. These may be either, deliberate fakes where Shelly style backstamps have been applied to other manufactures items or, Shelley items, usually whiteware, have had decoration applied to them by hand or by use of transfers.

We try to keep our members informed, as we become aware of such items, but would urge intending purchasers to seek advice if in doubt.

Recently listed on eBay, this must rank as one of the worst fakes ever to have the Shelley name applied to it. Described as follows -
"A very early set of Shelley. An art deco large pitcher jug & 6 handled beakers. Jug stands approx. 10" tall."
Only one beaker was shown marked Shelley in black, but the seller confirmed that all seven pieces bore the same mark. Fake Shelley marks are being applied to a variety of china wares. Buyers be very aware! Consult us if you have doubts about a "Shelley" item being offered for sale.

It came to our notice in 2010 that a number of items had been appearing on eBay which were referred to as rare patterns or out of factory decoration. The last statement is in a way correct but when we think of out of factory patterns we normally assume that they were contemporary with the production of the factory. In most cases from this dealer they had been decorated in the last few months and in a large number of cases the pattern was applied to restored items of china. The procedure seems to work along these lines. A chipped or hairlined piece of Dainty White is purchased cheaply, the imperfections restored expertly and a unique pattern is applied. It can be a hand-painted or lithographed

design onto what is an original piece of Shelley china complete of course with a genuine backstamp, usually from the 1925 to 1940 period. The only number that is occasionally found on the base of the pieces is the Dainty Registered Design Number 272101, to date no other number has been added.

So what to look for; on the hand-painted & lithographed designs the colours and style are modern and were not around during the Shelley production period.

The moral of this tale is that if you see a rare unknown pattern it is probably correctly described but it has no connection whatever with anything produced by the Shelley factory before its closure in 1966 but is more likely to be something dreamt up by a smart operator in the last year or even last month.

If you are looking to buy something which you are not quite sure of, the services of several very knowledgeable people are available, so check before you buy.

Seen offered on eBay a couple of years ago was this Shelley fake. Unlikely to fool any but the newest of collectors but an example of yet another piece of china having a fake Shelley backstamp applied to a shape never produced by Shelley. This time note also the phony pattern number and painter's letter. Buyer beware as always.

Shelley - Hilda Cowham Fakes

Shelley marked and Hilda Cowham signed items were offered for sale by a UK auction house but withdrawn before sale day.
Unfortunately we are unable to show a picture of the pieces but they are described as follows.

Teapot, milk jug and covered sugar box in the form of "crooked" thatched cottages. The body colour is cream with blue window frames, brown doors and red doorsteps. The removable lids are orange with black chimneys for handles. They appear to be completely hand painted with no transfers/lithos/prints used.

The green backstamp shows SHELLEY inside the shield with CHINA above and ENGLAND below. (This combination is not listed as a genuine Shelley mark.)

Signatures on the pieces show HILDA COWHAM in full. (Capital letters.)
The genuine Shelley pieces and all the known postcards and prints are signed
H. COWHAM in capitals.

We do not know if these are newly made or earlier fakes that have only now come to light.

See also the latest Shelley Mabel Lucie Attwell fakes.

Shelley - Mabel Lucie Attwell Fakes

Shelley fakes continue to appear on the collectors markets. The latest batch are once again targeting the nursery collectors and continue to use the same MO as the recent Mabel Lucie Attwell fakes; original Shelley items which have had additional decoration.

Many of those seen recently have the lithograph illustrated (right) added and are put in to internet auctions where people may not be able to see the hoax as easily.

Faked hand-painted Mabel Lucie Attwell illustrations continue to appear on original Shelley banded ware.

The situation is made more confusing to the unsuspecting by the production of fake Mabel Lucie Attwell items but using pots, cups, mugs, vases etc in shapes never produced by Shelley and MLA designs which appear to have come from her postcards or books and again, never used by Shelley. (see illustrations below).

There are also reports of other chintz patterns which have also been applied to original Shelley china. Collectors of nursery and chintz wares should be cautious of previously 'unknown' patterns and shapes.

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