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The thrill of the chase is everything when it comes to collecting and hunting down biscuit tins will invariably lead you from auctions and car boot fairs to specialist dealers. Auctioneers frequently sell tins in mixed lots and you might find an interesting job lot for sale with a selection of tins from different companies.
served coach and railway travellers. When cross-Atlantic travel to the Americas increased in the early 1900s, a demand for imperishable food items soared. Biscuits were the rage, whether Garibaldi currant-biscuits, digestive or cream-cracker style. For travel-wary explorers, these twice-baked breads were filled with memories from home and the tins themselves delivered an impression that lasted after their contents were gone.
Tins came in all sizes and shapes and as the trend progressed, became increasingly more elaborate, from miniature replicas of vehicles to reusable tins engraved with intricate still-life tableaux to street-scene designs inspired by impressionist art. Some of the most ornate shapes appear after 1900 and the 1920s-30s were the heyday for innovative tins. Indeed, by this time, the name Huntley & Palmers was so synonymous with a quality product and innovative selling that the brand was usually relegated to the base or the inside of the lid, giving designers free reign over the decoration of the exterior, which could resemble anything from a motor car to a Chinese vase.
It is generally these shaped novelty tins that are most admired by collectors today. Condition is naturally of paramount importance. Lithographed metal tins suffer badly when poorly stored (damp conditions are particularly problematic) and many a good tin is rendered valueless by rust or loss of the printed design. Many also become worn or dented, however this does give the novice collector an opportunity to acquire interesting examples relatively cheaply.
For collectors today, transport related tins remain the most sought after with the William Crawford & Sons airplane fetching upwards of £2000, while the Huntley & Palmers delivery van, with brown livery, gold lettering and a hinged roof to allow access to the biscuit compartment, is a must for tin plate collectors fetching well in excess of £1000. One of the ultimate examples however has to be the Huntley & Palmers double decker bus which has fetched in excess of £3000 at auction.
So before you send that decorative tin off to the recycling, just stop for a moment! That humble little printed tin could become a future collectable for generations to come and until such time, what better place to keep your custard creams fresh? Though if your anything like me…well that won’t be for long!
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BUYERS GUIDE THE BI SCUI T T IN
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