Two Tins

Collecting vintage printed tins is an expensive business but these two examples are not among the most sought after despite their decorative character. Each is typical of the decade to which it belongs. The musical still-life is brought to life by an oft-repeated mid-century pictorial device – the swirl of the ticker tape with musical notation. There are ribbons and bows, and crisply contoured instruments making their own music with unstoppable energy. The Carnival Assortment tin is home to a harlequin and partner, stock characters in the repertoire of poster designers of the inter-war decades. French poster artist, Jean d’Ylen introduced these characters in the service of Mackintosh’s in a 1926 poster. A pleasing touch here is the inclusion of a tin within a tin held aloft by the harlequin as he tempts his feminine muse with the delights of Carnival Assortment.