Milady Tin Box

This tin box I found yesterday at a thrift store. At first I didn't take it. The cross stitch theme looks a bit odd on a tin box. On the other hand, it does stand out from the rest. And the motif is pretty. So, I went back and bought it. Now I am glad I did.

The tin was made for the sweets company Waller & Hartley Toffee Works in Blackpool in the 1950s. Their brand name was Milady. It seems that the company closed around 1990.

Yellow Flowers on Tin Box from Daher

This is a beautiful tin biscuit box from the American tin maker company Daher. It was situated on Long Island, New York but had its products made in England or Holland. This tin was made in England. I don't know exactly how old it is, but some time between the 1940s and the 1970s when the Daher company was in business.

I really like this tin box, that I only recently acquired. It has a very beautiful shape and the floral pattern is quite unique in its choice of color.

What I Look For When Buying a Vintage Tin Box

I look for three things when I purchase a vintage tin box:

Design
The design is of course the first thing that determines whether or not I want a tin box in my collection. My only criteria is-  do I like it or not.

Can I remove the lid?
I never buy a tin box without testing whether or not the lid comes off. Sometimes the lid will have rusted shut - or be REALLY hard to get off. It would be like buying one shoe. It may be pretty but the functionality has completely gone.

Odor
I never buy tin boxes or cans that have a bad odor. Coffee and tea smells are okay - as is a smell of sweetness from the home baked cookies they once contained. Other than that - no thank you. Although decorative I want to be able to use the tins boxes as the containers they are.

Black Tin Box with Red and Yellow Roses

This tin box was made in Denmark by the Danish company Ira. They made their last tin box in 1974. Ira was situated in Copenhagen and the designers were primarily Danes, Swedes and Finns. I think the Ira company was only active in the 1960s and early 1970s. It was jointly owned by the British company Metal Box England founded in 1921 and the Danish retail chain C. Schous Factories founded in 1888.

It do not know who made the design, but I think it must be from the early 1960s. This tin box looks nice on the outside with a bit of rust and scratches a tin of this age will inevitably have. On the outside it is decorated with flowers and bumblebees. The inside looks quite worn. The lid closes tight enough and the tin box has no bad odor.

Baby Blue Tin Box with Flowers

This tin box I bought recently at a thrift store here in Denmark. It looks like it is from the 1950s - but really it could be 10 years older or newer. It has no maker's marks on it, but it might be Danish. The tin box is really cute, with flowers in pretty colors and a lovely baby blue base color.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog on vintage tins - boxes and cans.

For many years I have been buying vintage tins. Both at home and abroad. Some of my favorite ones are inherited tins from my grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Mostly I have no clue as to how old a tin box is, who manufactured it and for what intent. I am hoping that I - with a bit of research - can find some information on the boxes and cans that I post on this blog. If anyone knows more than I have written about any one tin I would appreciate feedback :)

Some of the tins I will put up for sale - possibly on Etsy or via PayPal.

Anyway, if you like tins as much as I do, I am sure you will find something you like on this blog :)