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British Biscuit Tins
Although originally created for the middle-class consumer, 19th- and early-20th-century British biscuit tins now turn up as showcased antiques in some very stylish homes. The clever themes and superbly executed artistry seen in these vintage containers, which once held the British equivalent of cookies, make them hotly pursued collectibles.
Beginning in the Victorian era, bakeries such as Huntley & Palmers and Peek Frean commissioned production of elaborate tins to stimulate sales. It worked: From the 1890s, customers clamored for tins shaped like cars, trains, boats, planes, houses, stacks of books, baskets, and clocks. Those shaped like luggage and handbags, which realistically simulated materials like straw, snakeskin, or embroidered linen, were popular gifts for women. Tins resembling wheeled playthings were given to children for Christmas.
The golden age of biscuit tins ended when World War II halted the use of metals for non-military products, and biscuits had to be packaged in cardboards boxes. It wasn’t until the 1984 release of M.J. Franklin’s British Biscuit Tins, 1868-1939 that Americans were able to readily identify the curious tins sometimes seen in London markets.
Reproductions are uncommon, so collectors will confidently pay huge sums for rare examples in excellent condition. Biscuit sample tins offer a more affordable alternative to their full-sized relatives. These desirable miniatures, usually cubical, are lithographed exactly like the large bins that sat on turn-of-the-century grocery counters for dispensing biscuits in bulk. These “minis,” containing about three biscuits, were given out as free samples.
How do you display these precious collectibles? Where can those of us who are just beginning find Biscuit Tins? Share your antiquing secrets.
Beginning in the Victorian era, bakeries such as Huntley & Palmers and Peek Frean commissioned production of elaborate tins to stimulate sales. It worked: From the 1890s, customers clamored for tins shaped like cars, trains, boats, planes, houses, stacks of books, baskets, and clocks. Those shaped like luggage and handbags, which realistically simulated materials like straw, snakeskin, or embroidered linen, were popular gifts for women. Tins resembling wheeled playthings were given to children for Christmas.
The golden age of biscuit tins ended when World War II halted the use of metals for non-military products, and biscuits had to be packaged in cardboards boxes. It wasn’t until the 1984 release of M.J. Franklin’s British Biscuit Tins, 1868-1939 that Americans were able to readily identify the curious tins sometimes seen in London markets.
Reproductions are uncommon, so collectors will confidently pay huge sums for rare examples in excellent condition. Biscuit sample tins offer a more affordable alternative to their full-sized relatives. These desirable miniatures, usually cubical, are lithographed exactly like the large bins that sat on turn-of-the-century grocery counters for dispensing biscuits in bulk. These “minis,” containing about three biscuits, were given out as free samples.
How do you display these precious collectibles? Where can those of us who are just beginning find Biscuit Tins? Share your antiquing secrets.
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Latest page update: made by kjacobso
, May 24 2007, 12:53 PM EDT
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| Anonymous | antique biscuit tin | 0 | Mar 9 2009, 12:16 PM EDT by Anonymous | ||
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Thread started: Mar 9 2009, 12:16 PM EDT
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i have a 1907 huntley&palmers field glass case biscuit tin for sale
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