Biscuit tins are utilitarian or decorative containers used to package and sell biscuits (such as those served during tea) and some confectionery. Invented by Huntley & Palmers in 1831, [1] they are commonly found in households in Great Britain, Ireland, and Commonwealth countries, [2] but also in continental Europe and French Canada. Popularity in the United States and English Canada spread later in the 20th century. Over 60% of UK households own a biscuit tin. [3]
Because of their attractive appearance, biscuit tins have often been used by charities and by some visitor attractions as fundraising devices since many customers will happily pay more for a tin of biscuits than it is worth. [4] [5]
Biscuit tins are steel cans [6] made of tin plate. This consists of steel sheets thinly coated with tin. The sheets are then bent to shape. By about 1850, Great Britain had become the dominant world supplier of tin plate, through a combination of technical innovation and political control over most of the suppliers of tin ore. Biscuit tin manufacture was a small but prestigious part of the vast industry of tin plate production, which saw a huge increase in demand in the 19th century was directly related to the growing industrialisation of food production, by increasingly sophisticated methods of preservation and the requirements made by changing methods of distribution.
The British biscuit tin came about when the Licensed Grocer's Act 1861[ dubious ] allowed groceries to be individually packaged and sold. Coinciding with the removal of the duty on paper for printed labels, printing directly on to tinplate became common. The new process of offset lithography, patented in 1877, allowed multicoloured designs to be printed onto elaborately shaped tins.
The decorative biscuit tin was invented by Huntley & Palmers in 1831. [1] A decorated biscuit tin was commissioned in 1868 by Huntley & Palmers from the London firm of De La Rue to a design by Owen Jones. Early methods of printing included the transfer process (essentially the method used to decorate porcelain and pottery since about 1750) and the direct lithographic process, which involved laying an inked stone directly on to a sheet of tin. Its disadvantage was that correct colour registration was difficult. The breakthrough in decorative tin plate production was the invention of the offset lithographic process. It consists of bringing a sheet of rubber into contact with the decorated stone, and then setting-off the impression so obtained upon the metal surface. The advantages over previous methods of printing were that any number of colours could be used, correctly positioned, and applied to an uneven surface if necessary. Thus the elaborately embossed, colourful designs that were such a feature of the late Victorian biscuit tin industry became technically possible.
The most exotic designs were produced in the early years of the 20th century, just prior to the First World War. In the 1920s and 1930s, costs had risen substantially and the design of biscuit tins tended to be more conservative, with the exception of the tins targeted at the Christmas market and intended to appeal primarily to children. The designs generally reflected popular interests and tastes.
The advent of the Second World War stopped all production of decorative tin ware and after it ended in 1945, the custom did not enjoy the same popularity as before.
Vintage biscuit tins can be found in various museums and on the market have become collector items.
Biscuit tins have always been more than just containers. The manufacturers aimed to make products which would be enjoyed beyond the life span of the biscuits themselves.
Tins shaped like actual objects began to be made in the late 1890s. The earlier tins were shaped like baskets but gradually a whole range of fine art objects appeared. Biscuit tins were no longer aimed merely at children at the Christmas market. They had become useful and decorative parts of the middle class home.
Replicas of Chinese vases could be used as such when the biscuits had been eaten. Boxes imitating porcelain, Wedgwood china or fine wooden boxes mimicked the wonderful objects found in grand houses or in museums.
The First World War saw a break in the supply of decorated biscuit tins. Many manufacturers hesitated to resume production of "fancy" tins once the restrictions had been lifted. Children however had a strong influence on the market and ensured the survival of well designed, elaborately shaped tins.
British biscuit manufacturers supplied grocer's shops with biscuits packed into large tins, typically containing seven pounds (3.2 kilogrammes). These would be displayed in the shop, and the shopkeeper would weigh out the required amount of biscuits into a paper bag for each customer. Some tins had a glass panel in the lid, so that customers could see the biscuits inside. [7]
A cookie, or a biscuit, is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, nuts, etc.
Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The earliest known form of printing as applied to paper was woodblock printing, which appeared in China before 220 AD for cloth printing. However, it would not be applied to paper until the seventh century. Later developments in printing technology include the movable type invented by Bi Sheng around 1040 AD and the printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century. The technology of printing played a key role in the development of the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution and laid the material basis for the modern knowledge-based economy and the spread of learning to the masses.
Flexography is a form of printing process which utilizes a flexible relief plate. It is essentially a modern version of letterpress, evolved with high speed rotary functionality, which can be used for printing on almost any type of substrate, including plastic, metallic films, cellophane, and paper. It is widely used for printing on the non-porous substrates required for various types of food packaging.
A biscuit, in most English speaking countries, is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. Biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be savoury, similar to crackers. Types of biscuit include sandwich biscuits, digestive biscuits, ginger biscuits, shortbread biscuits, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate-coated marshmallow treats, Anzac biscuits, biscotti, and speculaas.
A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, bagels, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who wish to consume the baked goods on the premises. Confectionery items are also made in most bakeries throughout the world.
A steel can, tin can, tin, steel packaging, or can is a container for the distribution or storage of goods, made of thin metal. Many cans require opening by cutting the "end" open; others have removable covers. They can store a broad variety of contents: food, beverages, oil, chemicals, etc. Steel cans are made of tinplate or of tin-free steel. In some dialects, even aluminium cans are called "tin cans".
Offset printing is a common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat (planographic) image carrier. Ink rollers transfer ink to the image areas of the image carrier, while a water roller applies a water-based film to the non-image areas.
A cookie cutter in North American English, also known as a biscuit cutter outside North America, is a tool to cut out cookie/biscuit dough in a particular shape.
Photoengraving is a process that uses a light-sensitive photoresist applied to the surface to be engraved to create a mask that protects some areas during a subsequent operation which etches, dissolves, or otherwise removes some or all of the material from the unshielded areas of a substrate. Normally applied to metal, it can also be used on glass, plastic and other materials.
Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process.
A tea caddy is a box, jar, canister, or other receptacle used to store tea. When first introduced to Europe from Asia, tea was extremely expensive, and kept under lock and key. The containers used were often expensive and decorative, to fit in with the rest of a drawing-room or other reception room. Hot water was carried up from the kitchen, and the tea made by the mistress of the house, or under her supervision.
A tin box is a tinplate container. Tinplate metal is primarily steel with a very thin tin coating. Tin-free steel is also used. In some cultures, these boxes or cans are referred to as "tin boxes" or sometimes even "tins". Many “tin boxes” have hinged or removable lids or covers. Some people collect tin boxes as a hobby.
Huntley & Palmers is a British company of biscuit makers originally based in Reading, Berkshire. Formed by Joseph Huntley in 1822, the company became one of the world's first global brands and ran what was once the world’s largest biscuit factory. The biscuits were sold in elaborately decorated biscuit tins. In 1900, the company's products were sold in 172 countries; further, their global reach saw their advertising posters feature scenes from around the world. Over the years, the company was also known as "J. Huntley & Son" and "Huntley & Palmer".
Transfer printing is a method of decorating pottery or other materials using an engraved copper or steel plate from which a monochrome print on paper is taken which is then transferred by pressing onto the ceramic piece. Pottery decorated using this technique is known as transferware or transfer ware.
Tinning is the process of thinly coating sheets of wrought iron or steel with tin, and the resulting product is known as tinplate. The term is also widely used for the different process of coating a metal with solder before soldering.
A decorative box is a form of packaging that is generally more than just functional, but also intended to be decorative and artistic. Many such boxes are used for promotional packaging, both commercially and privately. Historical objects are usually called caskets if larger than a few inches in more than one dimension, with only smaller ones called boxes.
A tin ceiling is an architectural element, consisting of a ceiling finished with tinplate with designs pressed into them, that was very popular in Victorian buildings in North America in the late 19th and early 20th century. They were also popular in Australia where they were commonly known as pressed metal ceilings or Wunderlich ceilings. They were also used in South Africa.
A tube, squeeze tube, or collapsible tube is a collapsible package which can be used for viscous liquids such as toothpaste, artist's paint, adhesive, caulk, & ointments. Basically, a tube is a cylindrical, hollow piece with a round or oval profile, made of plastic, paperboard, aluminum, or other metal. In general, on one end of the tube body there is a round orifice, which can be closed by different caps and closures. The orifice can be shaped in many different ways: plastic nozzles in various styles and lengths are most typical. The other end is sealed either by welding or by folding.
Novar plc was an international building supplies group based in the United Kingdom. Novar was formed in 1921 as Metal Box Company from the coming together of several businesses and trades, including canning and printing. By the 1970s, it was a market leader in these fields. In the 1980s the company diversified into building supplies and at its peak consisted of 30 companies supplying products to the construction and DIY industries.
China painting, or porcelain painting, is the decoration of glazed porcelain objects such as plates, bowls, vases or statues. The body of the object may be hard-paste porcelain, developed in China in the 7th or 8th century, or soft-paste porcelain, developed in 18th-century Europe. The broader term ceramic painting includes painted decoration on lead-glazed earthenware such as creamware or tin-glazed pottery such as maiolica or faience.
Media related to Biscuit tins at Wikimedia Commons