As a dealer, time and again we come across Hull Pottery that does not look right. Either the colors are too bright, or the piece is done in colors that cannot be contributed to Hull. Many Hull collectors know what colors Hull used, and what the variances are in those colors. The average person looking to get into collecting though may not be as aware. A good idea is to purchase a guide on Hull Pottery that gives information not only on the company, but also shows good photos of the vaious colors used. One current trend in reproduction Hull is to use the  blue colors used by Hull. I have come across one piece that was a dark blue, that was never used in that particular line of pottery. It was listed as 'Rare', but was in fact a fake. The other was a WaterLily vase, that was a very vibrant light blue, giving the blue a 'wet paint' look. Further inspection proved it to also be a fake. Be aware of any seller that lists their auctions hiding the buyer's identity. This is often a clue that the seller is passing off reproduction pieces as being original.

I wanted to add a note to this guide based on a recent purchase I made. I bought the piece knowing it to be reproduction, but wanted it for my business so that I could show my customers how to tell real Hull from fake Hull. The piece I bought was a ewer in the Magnolia pattern. It seems there are a lot of these showing up on the market. The color on the ewer appeared to be air-brushed on, and you could see where the color was not uniform. A look inside the ewer showed "sag lines" where it was oversprayed. A look along the mold lines did not show the normal smooth finish, but looked as if it had been done with a power grinder, with flat spots and gouging.