Evening star., 1901-07-05
THE TlNEeiLs -l.NDUSTRY
ITS GROWTH rr1q n THIS HIS COUNTRY HAS
BEEN VERY RAPID.
Improvement Shown i'm Process and in
Results Obtained Every Year-Is
Now Acknowledgements
From the Scientific Americans


Recent ornamental novelties made Of pure
tinfoil, lacquered with geld and embossed
in various forms. manufactured for the
drug, confectioners' and tobacconists
trades, serve to call attention to an inven-
ton and industry that are purely Of Amer
lean origin and growth. Before the in
ventor of tinfoil hit upon the idea of roll
Ing tin upon sheets Of lead, the two met
ais being previously welded together, the
only tinfoil known to the world was that
OF pure tin beaten by a process similar
TO that followed by gold-leaf beaters.
This beaten tin was made in England. only
small quantities were imported into this
country. Its use was limited because OF
its expense and it's liability to tear.
The first tinfoil rolling mill was estab-
lished in New York city about half CEN
tury ago, and it was started on such a
modest scale that the rollers were obtained
as secondhand iron. The Enlish-beaten
tinfoil was found to be so expensive In
this country that a cheaper method of
making it was tried and proved successful.
The business of this early, but now ex
tinct, tinfol factory was thus announced:
Foii Rolling Mill and Metallic Cap
Works; tobacconists foil plain or en-
bossed, tin sheet-foil for druggists and bot
tiers superior to the imported article"
In the half century which has followed
this modest beginning of an Industry great
strides nave been made in manufacturing
tinfoil and in applying it to manifold COM
mercial uses. New machines have been
made to work it up into handsome orna-
mental forms, and considerable capital
has been invested to extend it's usefulness.
There is very little export trade in tinfol,
as the foil is also made extensively in
England, France and Germany, but the
home trade Is adequately supplied by the
four tinfoil factories in this country-two
in New York, one in Philadelphia and
another In ST. Louis. After the expiration
of the original patents these four factories
started almost simultaneously. and they
have controlled the output of the material
ever since.
Improved Machinery.
New machinery and processes for I'M
proving the tinfoil are being invented near
ly every year, and the quality of material
produced today Is infinitely better than
that Of dozen years ago. A good deal
Of the new machinery is made to enhance
the ornamental effects OF the foil, but not
a little of 1t is made to increase the
strength and wearing quality Of the ma
terial. In the druggist and confectionery
trades the demand for very highly orna-
mental tinfoi effects is especially urgent,
and artists Of considerable ability are en-
gagged to produce fancy patterns The sill
very surface Of the tfnfoil is made more
effective by fancy patterns of stars, fig
ures and fine lines, which are stamped or
embossed in the sheets by special machin-
cry Recently machinery was made to
print the patterns on the sheets Of foil
in colors. In order to do this the sheets
Of foil are put through regular printing
cylinder presses, which not only color the
patterns but stamp in the dead effects
Of various figures and lines. The machin-
cry required for this delicate work Is quite
elaborate and represents part of the in
vested capital of the plant.
The tinfoil Is also lacquered handsomely
with gold which, in connection with the
embossing and printing in colors, produces
remarkably artistic effects. Many large
firms employ these fancy effects as trade
marks which are stamped or printed on all
the foil they use as wrapping for their ar
ticles. Tinfoil Is growing rapidly in use
Tor wrapping purposes where food and
other articles must be kept from the air
as much as possible. Its first use was for
tobacco wrapping, and the demand in this
trade stands first today. Fine cigars, plug
tobacco and cigarettes have the fine aroma
of the tobacco and the natural moisture
retained indefinitely by this process. Most
prepared foods are wrapped In tinfoil, and
now that the manufacture of these has
grown tremendously the demand for tin
foil has increased also to remarkable pro-
portions. Cheese, yeast cakes and other
products Of the delicatessen order require
annually tons of pure tinfoil. Confection-
ers have also resorted to the use of tin
foil for wrapping their choice candles in
has found infinite uses for the foil because
of it's air-tight qualities, which keep the
goods from direct contact with the atmos-
phere.
It's Many Uses.
Perishable goods shipped to warm, tropi-
cal countries are frequently wrapped in
tinfon to exclude the air and to retain the
natural moisture. combination of thin
paper and tinfoil Is considered better for
food products than the foil alone. 1t was
considered better not to have the foil come
In direct contact with the food, and conse-
quently machine was made by which the
sheets of tinfoil and paper were firmly ad-
hered together These double sheets are
used so that the paper alone comes in con-
tact with the food, while the tin serves all
the purposes Of excluding the air. There is
considerable labor of folding saved by this
process, and only one instead of two fold
ings is required for each separate article.
Some foil Is brought into direct contact
with certain classes of food, which by it's
nature could not well absorb any poison
such foil wrapping from pure rolled tin
There is no lead mixed with this foil to give
occasion for reports OF poisoning from
goods wrapped in tinfoil. This foil is more
expensive to make, and the combination Of
tinfoil and thin paper Is becoming more
popular.
Bottle caps are manufactured largely out
Of tinfoil but they are Of a different quality
foil. The sheets for this work are spun on
a lathe from a mixture Of lead and tin.
There is more lead in this foil than In the
finer quality for general use. The foil is
thicker and coarser, and as it never comes
In contact with the contents Of the bottle
the amount Of lead in 1t Is immaterial, from
the consumers point Of view. The thick
ness of the tinfoil in common use runs from
one-half Of one-thousandth. Of an inch up
to almost any thickness required by special
trades. The thinner the foil Is rolled or
spun the more expensive it is. The foil is
rolled usually in sheets fifty feet in length
and in varying widths. Some machines are
made to roll 1t twelve inches wide but
most OF them have only half this width, as
trade demands favor the narrower widths.
After the sheets are rolled they are stamp
ed. printed and embossed in suitable sizes
and patterns, and then cut up In lengths
desired Millions Of pounds are required
for the trade in this country, and the mar
ket price runs from rseventy-five cents per
pound for the handsome embossed and
lacuuered foil down to a few cents a pound
for the cheaper grades
A New Food Fad.
From the London Globe
Metanhors are an excellent form Of lam