Cream Crackers

The British biscuit tin gained popularity after the Refreshment Houses Act and the Treaty of Commerce in 1860 brought about the use of printed paper labels on food and drink packaging. The two Acts increased the sale of bottles of wine, which needed labels to identify it. This normalised the idea of creating labels for food and drink and led to developments in printing processes. It was only a short step to the idea of printing directly on to tinplate. The new process of offset lithography, patented in 1877, allowed multicoloured designs to be printed on to eccentrically shaped tins. The most unusual designs were produced in the early years of the 20th century, just prior to the First World

Biscuit tin manufacturer's sample · England · ca.1928. Offset litho printed tinplate. By W. & R. Jacob and Co.. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.