‘May Contain History: Tinplate boxes from the Twentieth Century’
Tinplate boxes first began to be sold from ports in the Bristol Channel around 1725, with tobacconists in London packaging snuff in metal-plated canisters from the 1760s onwards.
Many of the items in this exhibition are biscuit tins, which came about after the passing of the Licensed Grocer’s Act in 1861 allowed groceries to be individually packaged and sold. Also represented is the local biscuit manufacturer Peak Frean, established in 1857 by James Peek and George Hender Frean. Initially based in a disused sugar refinery on Mill Street in Bermondsey, the business expanded into new premises in Drummond Road in 1865.
Tinplate boxes were also popular with confectioners, including Mackintosh’s which is famous for manufacturing Quality Street. Rather than having each chocolate separated in the box, Quality Street were individually wrapped in coloured paper and put into a decorative tin.
In addition to advertising and decoration, the surface of tinplate boxes made them highly suitable for commemorative purposes. As we see in this exhibition, Royal events, such as coronations and weddings, were popular subjects for commemoration.
Today, many tinplate boxes from the twentieth century have outlived their original retail purposes by being repurposed as handy storage for all manner of items, including jewellery, keys, stationery, screws and nails, old coins, buttons, first-aid materials, and various other ‘bits and bobs’. Who doesn’t have a tin like that lurking somewhere amongst their possessions?
Dates: 23 June – 17 Sept 2025
Open: Every day from 9.00am to 9.00pm apart from Bank Holidays
Location: Goldsmiths Library Foyer (Rutherford Building), London, SE14 6NW
Entry: you do not need a library card to access the foyer and the exhibition is free and open to the public