ABOUT TYPEWRITER RIBBON TINS

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If you think typewriter ribbon tins are fun, you've come to the right place. They come in a fantastic variety, they're found everywhere, and they're becoming more and more popular. To get the basics, read the following article, adapted from a 1998 cover story which appeared in the "Antique Trader Weekly."

Collecting Typewriter Ribbon Tins

by Darryl C. Rehr

About 125 years ago, a little group of tinkerers headed by Christopher Latham Sholes was putting the finishing touches on a machine that they dubbed the "Type Writer." It placed on a page in a way that was distinctively different than the printers who turned out books and newspapers. Instead of the strong, firm pressure of the printing press, it utilized the quick percussive tap of a piece of type mounted on the end of a swinging arm. The type struck the paper through an inked ribbon, something quite new to the world of the 1870's, and the source for a growing field of today's collectibles: typewriter ribbon tins.

When Remington began manufacturing Sholes' typewriter in 1874, the company told users to return the ribbons to the factory for re-inking. You can guess how long that lasted. Ribbons were later sold over the counter, and tins were the natural containers. At present, however, we can't confirm the sale of ribbons in tins before 1892. We say 1892, because that is the date of the earliest known datable tin.

It comes from the Rogers Manifold and Carbon Paper Co. of New York, and it is imprinted with enough patent information to allow us to date it precisely between May 2 and November 2, 1892. A very different tin for the Remington typewriter issued by Mittag & MacLagan may well be even earlier, since that company became Mittag & Volger in 1891.

Another early ribbon maker has a name more famous for typewriters themselves: Underwood. That family, however, was originally a ribbon manufacturer, its enterprise dating back to 1874. Alongside Rogers and perhaps other firms as well, they contracted with Remington to make its ribbons. We're told that when Remington decided to make its own ribbons, it dropped Underwood's contract, and the ribbon maker decided to make its own typewriter to seek revenge. It was Remington's mistake, since Underwood quickly became the nation's dominant typewriter manufacturer.

The earliest Underwood ribbon tin we can date goes back to the mid-1890's, from all appearances. It and the Rogers tin were blocky in shape (usually called "tall" tins by collectors), because they held ribbons which were about 1-1/2" wide, the standard width for typewriters before 1895. In that particular year, Underwood introduced its famous typewriter, fitted for a 1/2" ribbon. The Underwood Typewriter set the new standard in the industry for the next 60 years, and so the vast majority of ribbon tins we find today are square or round, and more or less flat in shape, made to hold 1/2" ribbons.

It appears the first tins that the Remington Co. made for itself were very flat in shape (measuring 1/4"x1-1/2"x3-1/2"), because they held their ribbons with no spools. At the time, ribbon spools were permanently mounted to typewriters and not interchangeable. The spools on which some of these wide ribbons were sold were not meant to be used on the machines, but were included as conveniences, to make installing the ribbon a little easier. Companies other than Remington also sold ribbons in flat tins. It's tempting to say that these are the "earliest" tins we know of, but so far, we've been unable to confirm it.

Altogether, ribbons were packaged in tin containers until about the 1960's, giving us 70 years or more of interesting products to collect and study. The diversity of ribbon tins is truly staggering, with thousands of different varieties now documented. They are colorful, artistic and intriguing, reflecting the advertising of the many periods through which manufacture of the product passed: all the way from late Victorian through Art Nouveau to Deco and up through the Nifty Fifties and Jet-Age Sixties. Yes, there are even some ribbon packages which feature Boeing 707's and B-52's!

To get a grasp on the scope of ribbon tin manufacture, it's helpful to note the major national ribbon makers. They were:

Kee-Lox (Rochester, NY); Carter's (Boston); Mittag & Volger (Park Ridge, NJ); Miller-Bryant-Pierce (Aurora, IL); Webster (Boston), Manifold Supplies (Brooklyn, NY), known for its famous Panama tins and Underwood (various locations).

The Major Makers	Kee-Lox	Carter's	Mittag & Volger
Miller-Bryant-Pierce	Manifold Supplies	F.S. Webster	Underwood

There are a number of lesser national brands frequently seen and known for their distinctive tins. A.P. Little of Rochester, NY is known for its "Satin Finish" brand, featuring the picture of a little black boy, giving these tins a premium price for their value to "blackobilia" collectors.

Columbia Carbon of Dayton, Ohio produced charming tins featuring a pair of twin ladies named "Clean" and "Good." Columbia Ribbon & Carbon of Glen Cove, NY (association to the Dayton firm unknown) made a line featuring its fancy logo as well as other very colorful tins, M.B. Cook, of Chicago sold Beaver ribbons and later merged with Panama.

	Aside from the national brands, there were also the house brands of the typewriter companies themselves. Remington used the "Paragon" and "Remtico" brand name on its ribbons; the American Writing Machine Co. sold "Invincible" ribbons.
	Corona sold "Pigeon" ribbons; L.C. Smith sold "Type-Bar" ribbons and Oliver sold "Revilo" ribbons (Revilo is Oliver spelled backwards).

There were also hundreds, of regional brands and custom labels for individual retailers. "Herald Square" was sold by Woolworth, "Kreko" by Kresge, and the list goes on.

-Decorated Metal stamp--seen on tin's inside lip-

The best of the typewriter ribbon tins were manufactured by a firm called "Decorated Metal" in Brooklyn, NY. About half of all tins you'll find were made by DM. Look for their legend on the lip of the tin base.

-J.L. Clark logo--on tin reverse-

Number two in the tin field was J.L. Clark, of Rockford, IL. This firm is still in business, and though it confirms its foray into the typewriter tin industry, it is able to provide only scant details. Clark started out in 1904 making flue covers. Tins were stamped out of the leftover metal, and were first made to hold medical ointments. Later, they made them for ribbon manufacturers.

Clark tins are identified by the company's logo: a capital C superimposed over an inverted T. The logo is usually very tiny and is found on the lip of the base, or at the extreme edge of the base bottom surface.

It's also interesting to find the names of the very early tin makers on wide ribbon tins. Some of these to look for are Mersereau (Brooklyn, NY), Somers Bros. (Brooklyn, NY) and Colonial Can Co. (Boston).

The various numbered factories of the American Can Co. give us one way to date tins. A large group of older tin makers consolidated to form American Can in 1901, so no tin with an American Can mark can be older than that.

-Anchor Hocking logo--printed on bottom's vertical wall-

A few modern tins carry the logo of Anchor Hocking, the famous glass company. They were made by the firm's metal closure division between the 1940's and 60's.

-F.S. Webster tin--with printed spool-

Many typewriter ribbon tins still carry ribbons inside, although the majority of these are used ribbons placed in the tin after being taken off the machine. Even if the ribbon inside is unused and original, there is little to interest a collector unless it is enclosed in some sort of decorative wrapper. In some early tall tins, the spools inside are lithographed in addition to the tin itself, and these spools, along with any ribbons they hold, should be preserved.

The other things you'll find in some tins are the little doodads people stored inside them after the ribbon was used. Traditionally, ladies in the office used tins for paper clips, thumb tacks, hairpins and such (the inside of some Panama tins are even printed with those objects, as if to suggest a use for the tin, showing little trust that the user could figure it out for herself!). I have found tins filled with war ration tokens, bingo markers, sequins, transistors, one packed solid with grease and another with a partial set of false teeth!

England	Finland	France	Germany	Poland

Apart from tins made in the United States, there is an equal (perhaps greater) number of attractive tins from all over the world. Although some American collectors shun foreign tins, others eagerly gather them, somewhat akin to stamp collectors with their "World" albums. It becomes a challenge to accumulate tins from as many different nations as possible. Foreign tins, of course, are less easy to find in this country than home-brew tins.

As to desirability and price, it depends on whom you talk to. Some collectors like to brag about how cheaply they bought their tins, while others make careers out of promoting high prices so they can market what they've acquired. Occasionally, some eyebrows will be raised as a particular item creates an auction spike, but collectors with the same item will shrug, knowing they acquired it at a far lower level.

Ribbon tins still seem to be something of the "poor relations" in the tin collecting field, with items such as tobacco, coffee and talc tins maintaining their higher-status positions. The number of collectors seeking ribbon tins is relatively small, but they're enthusiastic and may one day see their interest move into the mainstream among antique advertising tins.