Crunch time: dedicated auction of novelty biscuit tins at McTear's

The single owner, single subject sale is titled The Art of the Biscuit Tin: The Lewis Collection.

Estimates across the 293 lots being offered at the auction on August 28 range from £10 to £500-plus for some of the desirable novelty tins fashioned as planes, trains and automobiles.

The late 19th century occasioned the birth of modern advertising. In 1861 the Licensed Grocer’s Act allowed grocery items to be packaged and sold individually while a duty on paper used for printed labels was lifted. A decade later, the invention of offset lithography meant complex, full-colour designs could be printed directly onto tinplate at only modest cost.

William Crawford aeroplane biscuit tin c.1930 with original box, estimate £500-800 at McTear's. View the catalogue entry for this lot.

DB ‘Barrie’ Lewis, a Midlands wholesaler of cakes, biscuits and confectionary, assembled his collection between 1980-2014. His first tins were of the everyday cuboid and cylindrical variety but – increasingly selective in his purchasing – he later sought out the ‘figurals’ made for firms such as William Crawford and W&R Jacobs in the 1920s and 30s that dominate the collecting field.

William Crawford Flying Scotsman biscuit tin c.1930, estimate £500-800 at McTear's. View the catalogue entry for this lot.

He bought several choice examples at auction in London, displaying the collection in a dedicated space in his home he called The Tin Room. The collection later passed to his daughter and was moved to East Lothian, Scotland.

Crumpsall Cream Cracker delivery van biscuit tin c.1920, estimate £500-800 at McTear's. View the catalogue entry for this lot.

Marsh’s Biscuits tinplate advertisement, estimate £30-50 at McTear's. View the catalogue entry for this lot.

W&R Jacobs Romany caravan biscuit tin c.1937, estimate £100-200 at McTear's. View the catalogue entry for this lot.