The advocate., 1897-09-22
USES OF TINPOIL.

USES VI TINEUlL,
The ever-growing extent and variety
OF the use of the substance known as
tinfoil, as well as the many ornamental
forms in which it is now supplied, must
have attracted the attention of large
numbers of persons, most Of whom, how
ever, know nothing Of its origin, his
tory or mode OF manufacture. Only per-
sons past middle age, as rule, are
aware that this article is the product Of
the last half century. and few of these
recall the fact than It is practically an
American invention, and was first intro
duced in this city
The invention was made in 1852 or
1853 the writer's informant being un-
able to tell the exact year without a
search through old business papers.
Vast quantities Of the foil are used for
the packing Of domestic LimburgeT
cheese, the material being sent to the
Northwestern States by the carload for
that purpose. The wrapping of cigar
cites In tinfoil is a comparatively new
development, the Importance Of which
is manifest when the extent of cigarette
manufacture is considered. About one
half of the output of the Crooke factory
ls rolled In pure tin, as the proprietors
always insist that only this shall be
used when the foil wrapping is to be
directly in contact with food Large
amounts are taken for the packing of
yeast cakes and also for fancy cheeses
and other 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 q
machine for packing tobacco was in
vented which required tinfoil and paper
TO be fed into 1t together, a process was
devised by which the tinfoil was fur
nished already backed with thin 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 wrap
per Of paper. Besides, It is probably
thought that nothing could hurt Linn
burger, anyway.
The embossing of the foil in various
ornamental designs is branch Of the
business which has gradually developed,
until now highly artistic results are OBJ
tanned. In the fancy patterns the sill
very 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 pat
terms being produced by putting sheets
of foil through a process Of regular cyl
lnder printing. Other specimens are
Iacquered with gold and embossed in
various forms, presenting beautiful ap-
pearance, and still others are brilliantly
lacQuered in colors. ConfectiOners, drug
gists, cigar manufacturers and cigar box
makers use quantities Of these fancy de-
signs, many Of which are specially made
for particular firms and serve as sort
\ cf trade mark. The thickness, or rather
the thinness, of the foil runs from one
half of one-thousandth Of an inch and
upward, the thinnest being the most eX-
pensiye, as representing the most labor.
IL Is rolled in sheets which on the aver
age are fifty inches long and five and
One-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 tinfoil manufacturers,
as these caps are not made Of the regular
FOIL, but are spun on lathe from mix
ture OF lead and tin. Besides the Crooke
concern, there are now four tinfoil fac