The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-05
MANY USES OF TINFoIL
IT'S INVENTION, MANUFACTURE AND
ORNAMENTAL FORMS.
Growth of an Important Industry
nous Output, but No Exact Figures.

New York Post.
The ever-growing extent and variety OF
the use of the substance known as tinfoil,
as we'll as the many ornamental forms in
which 1t is now supplied, must have at
tracted the attention of large numbers of
persons, most of whom. however. know
nothing of it's origin, history or mode of
manufacture. Only persons past middle
age. as a rule, are aware that this article
is a product of the last half of the century.
and few of these recall the facts that it is
practically an American invention and was
first introduced in this city.
The invention was made in 1852 or 1853,
the writer's informant being unable to tell
the exact year without a search through
old business papers. There was then living
in New York a young man named John j.
Crooke. who had been connected with the
drug and chemical trade but whose inven-
tive faculties led him to experiment in lines
outside his own vocation. The East river
front. in that neighborhood of which
Seventh street was one of the busiest
points, was in those days alive with the
industry OF the ship carpenters, and young
Crooke had opportunities for observing
many details in the construction of ves-
sells. According to the recollection of an
old friend of his, he conceived the idea of
OVERLAPPING iron bolts with copper, so as to
provide cheap but good substitute for the
bolts of pure copper used in shipbullding,
and as a sequel of this attempt, which was
not successful devised the plan of combin-
ing two metals for the production of tim
foil. The same narrator says that the in
ventor associated two or three other young
men with him in the enterprise. and, with
a little borrowed capital, secured some sets
of secondhand rollers at the price of old
iron. with which he began the manufacture
of tinfoil in a small building in Stanton
street. Robert Crooke. president OF the
John j. Crooke Company, and nephew OF
It's founder, had not before heard of this
account when ii was mentioned TO him the
other day, and said he had understood that
tinfoil was an Independent invention. not
led up to by any other. He also believed
that new machinery had TO be devised for
the production of the article. The state
ment of the man who knows most about
be obtained, as he is now living. at ripe
old age, in Colorado giving his, attention to
large mining and smelling interests, OF
which he is the proprietor.
MADE OF LEAD AND TIN.
Prior to Mr. Crooke's invention, the only
tinfoil known was pure tin. beaten thin by
the same process that is applied to gold
leaf OF course, this was expensive, and it
was liable to be easily torn, so that 1t was
used chiefly for the wrapping of small ar
ticles which it was desired to put up in
ornamental shape. 1t was made only in
England, and little was imported to this
country. Mr. Crooke hit upon the idea Of
rolling tin upon sheets of lead and welding
the two metals together, lead being the
cheaper of the two, while tin has more ten
sive strength and is more pleasing to the
&c fret rolli mill ct Nos
and 337 Stanton street, where the rolling
method was applied both to the new foil
and to pure tin. A business card of this
establishment has been preserved which
bears the inscription Foil Rolling-MillS
and Metallic Cap Works; tobacconists' foil.
plain or embossed; tin sheet-foil for drug
gists and bottlers, superior to the imported
article" The new foil was first used for
previously been wrapped in paper only. It's
advantages for this purpose were obvious.
including its slightly appearance and its
noted John Anderson was among the first
of the tobacconists to use the foil ex-
lowed by the Lorillards and others. The
printing or stamping of names and designs
upon the foil was q speedy outgrowth OF
er the imposition of internal revenue taxes
in war times by the printing of the IN
ternal-revenue stamp directly upon the to-
bacco wrappers. A contract for this work
was obtained by Mr.. Crooke from the
United States government, after many
=
nue. through difficulties connected with the
use OF paper stamps.
TO WRAP CHEESE
Vast quantities of the foil are used for
the packing of domestic Limburger cheese,
the material being sent to the Northwest
ern States for that purpose by the carload.
The wrapping of cigarettes in tinfoil is a
comparatively new development, the impor-
lance of which is manifest when the ex.
tanf of ri r,oonufoctvro ;s corefSare5
About one-half of the output of the Crooke
factory is rolled in pure tin, as the pro-
prietors always insist that only this shall
be used when the foil wrapping is to be
directly in contact with food Large
an cunts are taken for the packing of yeast
cakes and also for fancy eheeses and other
food products of the delcatessen" order.
A great demand for the pure tin comes
from the manufacturers of plug tobacco,
who use 1t for the wrapping of the separate
plugs and also in sheets between layers OF
the tobacco. When a machine for packing
tobacco was invented, which required tin
foil and paper to be fed into II together,
a process was devised by which the foil
was furnished already backed with thick
paper and firmly adhering to it. The pure
tin, by the way, is not used for the Linn
burger cheese wrappings, but the foil Of
tin and lead, as there is an inner wrapper
of paper Besides, it is probably thought
that nothing could hurt Limburger anyway.
The enclosing of the foil In various or
namental designs is branch of the busi-
now highly artistic results are obtained
In the fancy patterns, the silvery surface
is diversified. in bright and dead effects
by stars, plaids flowers, bars, diagonal
lines, etc. Many samples are printed IN
colors, such as pink blue and red both
the colors and the patterns being. produced
by putting the sheets of foil through a
process of regular cylinder printing. Other
specimens are lacquered with gold and en-
bossed in various forms, presenting beau
tiful appearance. and still others are bril-
liantly lacquered in colors. -Confectioners,
druggists, cigar manufacturers, and cigar
box makers use quantities OF these fancy
for particular firms and serve as sort or
trade mark.
DIFFERENT GRADES.
The thickness. or rather the thnness, of
the foil runs from one-half of one one-thou-
sandth of an inch upward, the thinnest be-
ing the most expensive as representing the
most labor 1t is rolled In sheets which on
the average are fifty inches lon~ and FIVE
and a half inches wide (some also being
rolled as wide as twelve inches) and is then
cut into the lengths desired.
The makers of bottle caps are not classed
with the tinfoi manufacturers as these
caps are not made of the regular foil, but
are spun on a lathe from q mixture of lead
and tin. Besides the Crooke concern, there
are now four tinfoil factories In this coun-
try, two being in this city, one In Philadel-
pfia and one in ST Louis These four
were started after the expiration OF the
original Crooke patent The foil is also
made i'm England, France. and Germany,
last-named country. Owing to the impossi-
hfiitv Of connecting with foreign labor In ffg