Ye Olde UK Tins --- The Orphans And The Obscure

[misterlowercase]

Good stuff Jazz,

I'm always delighted when something triggers a memory and some true real-life experience can be shared - I appreciate it!
I'm coming at this from a remote and alien angle,

and I admit I sometimes get over-enchanted by it all,

it's really really great to hear from people who were actually there!
Found this interesting tidbit...

There is a

remarkable little town here with a rock harbour which, in-

stead of getting less picturesque every year, like other

Anglesey coast places, gets more so. In the hill above the

town an immensely rich find of copper was made in the

early nineteenth century. In fact it proved to be the richest

mass of copper known at that time. An important mining industry quickly grew out of it and several subsidiary indus-

tries formed round that nucleus. Amongst these was a manu-

factory of twist and shag tobacco for the consumption of the

workmen. So busy were things at Amlwch that the harbour

would not hold the shipping that was needed. There was, in

fact, a queue, and it had to ride at anchor in Holyhead Har-

bour and wait turns. Then, just a few years before the War,

the supply of ore gave out.
One by one the subsidiary industries closed down till

there was nothing left except the making of tobacco. There

were three such factories. In a few years Amlwch became

as derelict as an old battlefield. Its depressing appearance

kept summer visitors away. It was the twist and the shag

which saved the situation in the end. These factories never

closed down, as every Anglesey farmer and rabbit-catcher

had come to swear by bacco Amlwch. By now, the worst ruins

have been cleared away and the rest have got to look as

picturesque as the relics of mediaeval feudalism. And the

rejuvenated cottages by the old rock harbour are coming into

favour in short, the place is being "discovered."
from:

http://archive.org/stream/seasshoresofengl00valerich/seasshoresofengl00valerich_djvu.txt

And,

a poem,

perhaps?
The Welsh language is almost as wild looking as Finnish!

Ond codi fy mhac—dyna'r gamp,

Wrth gofio y gwleddoedd a fu,

A'r crem aeth i lawr y Ion goch, A'r mefus fwytawyd vn llu,

Ond eto 'roedd hi'n oer wrth y drws,

Mi hoffwn fynd mewn at y tan,

(Roedd Gwladys—mae'n awr yn hens: ferch Pryd hynny i'w gweled yn lan.)
'Roedd digon o dan gyda hon, Ond nid oedd dim mefus a chrem,

A thorodd hen adgof 'run chwant,

A chododd tan oer erioed stêm.

'Roedd Annie cyn hyn, wedi mynd

Gan adael y llanc ar ei hol,

(Pryd hynny deallais y gair

Am syrthio yn fflat rhwng dwy stol.)
Mae mefus yn flasus o hyd,

Ag hufen sydd gampus mewn te Ond mae Annie yn byw yn y Llan,

A minau yn byw yn y dre,' Arhosed y mefus lie maent

A rheded yr hufen yn ffri, (Rhowch gattiad-wrth ganu yn iach,

A mwg 'bacco Amlwch i mi.)
- UN O'R DRE.
http://cymru1914.org/en/view/newspaper/4108601/5/ART23

 

[kcvet67]

Another great presentation! Keep 'em coming.

 

[thefalcon]

Great job as usual Troy, Thanks for keeping the past alive my friend!
Cheers,--Eric

 

[jkrug]

Excellent photo presentation of all those great old tobacco tins!
The very first tin says "As smoked by the Rt. Hon. Stanley Baldwin." on the front. I'm willing to bet no politician in todays day and age would be caught dead endorsing a tobacco product. ::

 

[lonestar]

Makes you second guess the whole "We're in the Golden Age of Tobacco" theory. :D

Of course, finding this wide range of blends in one shop may have been difficult over the years.

 

[misterlowercase]

Rothmans of Pall Mall isn't exactly obscure, but I doubt they'll get an edition of Antiquarian Nicotiana Brittanica,

so I'll put a few of their tins here...

And,

here's a few more tinny, foiled, packeted, litho'd, enamel'd, print'd, and other such stuff scattered messes more...

 

[philobeddoe]

Thanks again MLC, I really enjoy these pieces of tobacco history.

 

[misterlowercase]

Thanks again MLC, I really enjoy these pieces of tobacco history.

No probbo,

I love this stuff and I like sharing it so it stays alive somehow,

or at least acknowledged in some way.

::
A few more from Rothmans...

...and,

I forgot about this old corded plug I was lucky enough to stumble across and was way stoked about finding such a thing...
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/an-amazing-artifact-a-true-roped-navy-plug

:
And once more,

a scattering assortment:

 

[snagstangl]

What would you do without Ebay to get all these pics from, wait maybe thats not where you get them. That is just where I see pics of tins. Thanks for sharing and compiling.

 

[misterlowercase]

Ebay has been a treasure trove for unearthing a lot of this stuff,

you're right, probably 50% overall are ebay, another large chunk from various auction houses who list their catalogs online, quite a few from regional museums, and a vast amount of these right here, the ultra-rare birds in this thread, which are hardly ever seen and not many people even know actually exist, were all mostly sourced from a great little shop in England:

http://www.oldshopstuff.com/Shop/tabid/1248/Cat/8/Default.aspx
::

I love that place.

 

[misterlowercase]

The bad thing about Ebay is that many times the sellers take horrible photos, it's beyond me why someone wouldn't take the time to try and maximize profit, but stuff like this rare Dunhill tin never make it into my image archive because it simply isn't worth saving a blurry pic,

no matter how scarce the item may be...
Vtg "My Blend" DunHill London Cannister Humidor metal tin & cigarette pack 1910
btw

in that link, top of page, should pop up a "pipe tobacco tins, John Cotton, Baby's Bottom" under the More chances to get what you want --- it is an unopened Smyrna cutter top, hopefully someone here will see it and outbid me for it, I threw a bid in on crazy impulse even though I really have no desire for it, this affliction that I have causes me to do such things, :roll: :crazy: :lol:

my top bid is $77.07.

::

 

[misterlowercase]

Direct link to the John Cotton's Smyrna...
Pipe tobacco tins, John Cotton, Baby's Bottom
I really don't want it,

please help a brother out and outbid me!

LOL

:D

 

[misterlowercase]

 

[zack24]

Troy,
I have a top-secret project I'm working on that requires some hi-resolution pictures of either square or rectangular tins...and they have to be at least 75 years old to avoid copyright issues...
Any idea on where to find such a thing or have any pics they could share?
Thanks,

Zack

 

[misterlowercase]

Hey Zack,

pm sent.

::

 

[jpmcwjr]

"None genuine without our facsimile signature" Love it! And the Fryer claim of originality- first blended tobacco in England in 1856, or first at Smithfield Bars in that year?

 

[misterlowercase]

 

[didimauw]

That's really interesting stuff! Makes me want to keep every tin I smoke, just so my grandkids can ooo and awe over them in 50 years!

 

[python]

I love tin art, especially on the older tins. I used to save my empties but they were just getting to be clutter around the house. I am really trying to break my hoarding habits :lol: .

 

[skraps]

I always think that I would like to start collecting tins like this, and display them in my den.
Then I realize that I might not have a den available to me after I get kicked out of the house. 8O
So I will settle for enjoying Troy sharing these bits of history with us here.