The tin canning process was conceived by the Frenchman Philippe de Girard, who had British merchant Peter Durand patent the idea in 1810. Everyday Aesthetics 6 The Tin Can.
Where would we be without the tin can? It holds my beer, my baked beans, canned veg and fruit. Apparently like frozen food, the contents are just as fresh (almost) as newly harvested veg and fruit owing to the speedy transfer from fisld to canning.
It’s undoubtedly one of the most valuable everyday essential convenience.
The canning concept was based on experimental food preservation work in glass containers the year before by the French inventor Nicholas Appert. Durand did not pursue food canning, but, in 1812, sold his patent to two Englishmen, Bryan Donkin and John Hall, who refined the process and product, and set up the world’s first commercial canning factory on Southwark Park Road, London.
By 1813 they were producing their first tin canned goods for the Royal Navy. By 1820, tin canisters or cans were being used for gunpowder, seeds, and turpentine.
Early tin cans were sealed by soldering with a tin–lead alloy, which could lead to lead poisoning.
In 1901 in the United States, the American Can Company was founded, at the time producing 90% of the tin cans in the United States.
Canned food in tin cans was already quite popular in various countries when technological advancements in the 1920s lowered the cost of the cans even further. In 1935, the first beer in metal cans was sold; it was an instant sales success.
Everyday Aesthetics 6 The Tin Can
Source: Wikipedia
Art tales is designed to encourage people to enjoy the arts – for start, to become more involved and for greater fulfilment. It is all about enjoyment, nourishment, a deeper understanding of works and primarily an examination of values. What do I see in that? What is it saying to me? What questions does it raise in my mind? Why? What is it saying about me?
It is also about the social, political and economic histories behind works as well as religious beliefs and convictions. So art works as stand alone or as seen, viewed and maybe judged within the context of their times and also maybe against our contemporary times and how we view things.
I am an art historian, I do a little painting and drawing, but not as much as I would wish but that’s my determination. In recent years I have given talks locally on a range of art matters as well as art practice classes.