For an overview of pink lustre plaques with religious subjects, click on the Pink religious heading above.

'Prepare to meet thy god' is the most common verse found on plaques.  It was used by Maling from 1817, and by Dixon, Austin & Co from the early 1820s. Click on the Maling plaques and Dixon plaques pages to see examples from these ownerships, which are outside the scope of this page. 

The earliest plaques tend to be circular (though Maling also made small rectangular versions), and sometimes the text is hand painted. Cornfoot, Colville and Co, 1829–c1832, made a transferred version with the verse 'In thee O Lord do I put my trust: let me never be Confounded: PSA: XXXI Vir. I.', above a trumpeting angel. 

In the 1830s, an enterprising engraver appears to have copied the C., C. & Co design and made at least 4, almost identical transfer plates, to sell to various Sunderland potteries (including Newbottle, Scott and Moore). The differences between the transfers, which I've labelled  'Sunderland plate 1', 'Sunderland plate 2', 'Sunderland plate 3' and 'Sunderland plate 4', are miniscule. To confuse matters further, Scott acquired at least three of the transfer plates, and used them simultaneously on plaques between c1830s–c1870s. The Moore & Co version (Sunderland plate 4) also appears on Scott-marked bowls. (We know from Baker that Scott sometimes supplied Moore with items for decoration.)

Dixon, Phillips & Co, c1834-1865, were also prolific in their production of plaques with the text. In the Dixon versions, the angel flies in the opposite direction (i.e. facing left). Scott appears to have purchased the Dixon transfer plates when the Garrison Pottery closed in 1865. The transfer plate was used well into the 1870s on orange lustre plaques, on a form associated with Moore & Co.  N.B. it wasn't uncommon for Scott and Moore to share transfers. Other factories copied the Dixon transfer.  So at least two other versions with the angel facing left exist.

John Carr used the text under an all-seeing eye on later plaques, c1850s–c1870s. 

It is possible that Ball's Deptford Pottery continued production of this verse right into the 20th century, on orange-bordered plaques.

All except the top right plaque have the 'C. C&Co' impressed mark, which could have been used by either Cornfoot, Colville & Co (1829–1832) or Cornfoot, Carr & Co (1832–1838). Above the floral wreath and trumpeting angel is the verse 'In thee O Lord do I put my trust: let me never be Confounded: PSA: XXXI Vir. I.'. The words 'PREPARE TO MEET THY' are horizontally shaded. Whereas the word 'GOD', is diagonally shaded. The detail is from the plaque to its left. The plaques are 167mm diameter. The top right plaque has hand‐painted initials 'J.A.S'.  The bottom right plaque has no verse above the angel. All except the top right have the 'C. C&Co' impressed mark. See other similar plaques on the C, C & Co page.

None of the above plaques has an impressed mark. They are attributed to Southwick on the basis that the Wesley transfer associated with Scott appears on most of these plaque forms. The first two plaques are small and fine, and have a chamfered edge on their rear side. All the plaques above share the same transfer which has an easily distinguishable fault. Instead of the verse at the top reading 'In thee O Lord...', it begins 'In the O Lord...' (see top left detail). The word 'PREPARE' is diagonally shaded. Whereas the words 'TO MEET THY GOD', are picked out with a single row of pips (see top centre detail). The first two plaques could be as early as c1830, and the last plaque as late as c1870.

The plaque above, although unmarked, is attributed to Scott.  It is thinner than its C C & Co counterpart and has a chamfered edge on its rear side.  The Wesley transfer associated with Scott appears on this plaque form, as do several Charles Wesley verses.  Scott also used the 'plate 1' transfer with 'In the O Lord' on this plaque form (see above).  So both plates 1 and 2 were used simultaneously on this plaque form c1830s.

Though the above plaque forms are attributed to Scott, none of them is marked. The first plaque is of a smaller rectangular form, which appears with other transfers associated with Scott, e.g. Mariner's Compass'. The second is more finely potted than the brown-bordered plaques commonly associated with Scott. It has copper lustre and white edges that can be seen from the front (read more here). The third plaque has typical brown borders.

Note on the details in the third column of photos, in each case, that the leaves on the left of the sprig are more heavily shaded on their left side. This transfer plate has an easily identifiable flaw – a small horizontal mark to the right of the third flower.

The first two plaque forms above also appear with the 'plate 3' transfer (see next section below). So it looks as if Scott used 'plate 2' and 'plate 3' simultaneously between c1840-c1850. 

Below are further examples of plaques with the plate 2 transfer. The first might be as early as c1845. The rest are c1850s-c1870s.

The c1830's plaque above is attributed to Newbottle on the basis of its similarity to a 'Praise Ye the Lord' plaque presented to the V&A by descendents of the owners of the Newbottle 'High' Pottery. Click here to read more about the attribution. The Newbottle 'Prepare' transfer plate appears to have been acquired by Scott sometime c1845.

The above plaques are c1840s–50s, and from the same transfer plate as the plaque attributed to Newbottle 'High' Pottery. Though these plaque forms are attributed to Scott, none of them is marked. The first plaque is of a smaller rectangular form, which appears with other transfers associated with Scott, e.g. Mariner's Compass'. The second is more finely potted than the brown-bordered plaques commonly associated with Scott. It has white edges that can be seen from the front (read more here). Below are some more examples of plaques with this transfer. N.B. the transfer has not yet been recorded on brown-bordered plaques.

The verse at the top reads 'In thee O Lord...'. Note in the third column of photos, in each case, that the leaves on the left of the sprig are more heavily shaded on their right side. Note also, the two circles to the right of the flowers are not joined to the sprig by stalks. The imprint is fainter than the c1830s 'Newbottle' plaque.

Though these plaques are unmarked, they are identical in form to others with Moore & Co impressed marks. The rectangular moulds are smaller than their Scott-attributed counterparts above, and the transfer, although almost identical, comes from a different transfer plate. Note that the leaf under the letter 't' in 'thee' is most heavily shaded on the left side.

The bowl above has a Scott impressed mark, and yet the Moore & Co 'Prepare' transfer. It is late, and might even post-date the closure of Moore's in 1882 (so perhaps Scott acquired a fourth set of transfer plates). But we also know from Baker (p54) that Scott sent items to Moore's for decoration. The Scott-attributed plaque above shares all the features of the Moore & Co transfers, except that there is a space between the words 'thee' and 'O'.  So perhaps there is yet another set of transfer plates.

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None of these plaques is marked. The Wesley transfer that appears on these plaque forms, also appears on a plate with the impressed mark 'J.&P' for Jackson and Patterson of the Sheriff Hill Pottery, Gateshead, 1830–45 (R C Bell's 'Tyneside Pottery' book states the firm was run by Jackson & Patterson 1833–8, but records in the Sunderland Museum say 1830–45). Click here and here to read more about this attribution. Unlike the C. C. & Co and Scott plaques, the transfer includes the bible reference 'Amos  IV.. 12'.

The first two plaques have the Dixon, Phillips & Co anchor impressed mark, which appears to have been used from c1834–c1850. The second two plaques have the Dixon Co impressed mark, which was likely used from c1851 until the Garrison Pottery closed in 1865. Unlike the majority of 'Prepare' plaques, on the plaques above, the angel faces left and the source of the verse is given. However, Henrywood points out that the bible reference is incorrectly transcribed as 'Amos VI. XII.' (see detail). Whereas it should read 'Amos IV. XII.'.

The transfer has a unique flaw, which I've circled in red on the second two details: a small black dot hovering about 1cm above the first 'R' in prepare. This fault on the transfer plate reproduces every time a transfer is printed.

It appears that Scott purchased the transfer plates for Dixon's common religious verses, when the Garrison Pottery closed in 1865.  The first two plaques below, although unmarked, are attributed to Scott of Southwick. The first plaque emulates a form used by Galloway and Atkinson, who took over the Albion Pottery in 1864. So Scott recycled an old Dixon transfer, on a brand-new plaque form.  The third (orange) plaque is a form associated with Moore & Co. Scott transfers often appear on plaques from moulds associated with Moore.  Note in each case, the positioning of the black dot above the letter 'R'.

Though this transfer shares similar attributes to the Dixon transfer (including the incorrectly transcribed bible reference), it is from a different transfer plate, with some easily identifiable flaws. There is a small dot just beneath the first 'P' in Prepare (click on the images to enlarge), which reproduces on both plaques. The engraver appears to have slipped while drawing the serif on the first letter 'R', which lurches upwards. 

The first plaque above is from an unidentified pottery. The second is from John Carr's Low Lights Pottery, North Shields, and has an impressed mark (see below).  The second plaque below, also marked but without lustre, was probably a factory second.

York Museums have a similar 'For man dieth...' plaque with an impressed mark (below), that has been attributed to Middlesbrough (see Bell's comment, below right). The transfer comes from the same series with elongated leaves, and the plaque is of the same form as the Carr-impressed plaques above. The lustre on the plaque, although more purple, has rubbed and discoloured in the same way as the first Carr plaque above. John Carr is known to have used 'LONDON' impressed marks. The Dorman Museum in Middlesbrough has no record of Middlesbrough ever producing lustreware, so it seems more likely that the plaque below was also made by Carr.

As with the Dixon version, the verse reference is incorrectly transcribed as ''Amos VI .. XII .". However, unlike the Dixon version, there are two full stops after the numeral 'VI ..'. The transfers are easily distinguishable from others with left-facing angels because the word 'GOD' is shaded horizontally.

The plaque above has identical decoration to a pictorial plaque, titled 'La Polka', with the printed mark 'B. & Co.'.  Ian Sharp has identified the mark as the Tyneside company J Burn & Co from the Stepney Bank Pottery, Ouseburn, 1852–1860.

The plaque above has a different transfer, without the garland or verse reference. Note the different position of the angel, relative to the lettering.

Click here to read more about this attribution.

The plaque on the right has an impressed mark of the Stockton coat of arms – an anchor and cable impaling a castle. Henrywood (Poor Man's Pictures: Part 1) identifies a similar plaque with an impressed mark as being from the Stockton Pottery of Thomas Ainsworth. The pottery was founded in the 1840s and closed in 1901.

The two plaques above come from an as yet unidentified Tyneside pottery – Maling perhaps. They come from the same transfer plate as the larger of the plaques attributed to Carr below. However, they were made at an earlier date c1840s. Maling used similar plaque forms around that time.

The above plaques are attributed to John Carr's Low Lights Pottery, North Shields, and were made c1860s.  The transfer is very similar to that in the section below, except the word 'Prepare' is block shaded and has rows of white pips, and the corners don't have 'twirls' (see below). 

The first plaque has a rare 'LONDON' impressed mark, known to have been used by John Carr. It was probably used on items destined for a London distributor. The plaque is certainly Tyneside (not Thames side!).  Click here to read more about the London impressed mark.

The transfer is very similar to those in the section above, except that there are some added 'twirls' in each corner. The lettering is also different, e.g. the word 'Prepare' is diagonally shaded.