A Bryant and May Ltd. tin plate box

When Bryant & May were established in 1861 they probably made their own metal boxes to hold matches, but by about 1875 boxes were made for them by various companies. One of their many boxes was made to their Registered Design, No.222 of January 12, 1884 by Huntley, Bourne & Stevens of Reading, Bryant & May having purchased the patent for color lithography on tin and provided Huntley, Bourne & Stevens with the equipment and permission to use the patent.

The Registered Design was for "a box with rounded ends and a spring lid, the back of the box serving as a spring". The design drawings are shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1. The main body is made in one piece with the sides, front and back edge bent up. The lid, with a curled front lip, is bent down along the back edge and curves over to form a hinge pin, the ends extended outwards and passing through holes in the main body. When the lid is raised its back its back edge applies pressure to the back edge of the main body, which serves to hold the lid upright when open, and down when closed.

These boxes were offered in the Bryant & May catalogues and almanacs from 1884 until at least 1894 as "Oval Spring Boxes", with a wide variety of decorative illustrations and advertisements. They were marked on one end "REG.No.222", the final "2" often lost in the hinge pin hole.

Bryant & May exhibited at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 showing various size boxes, all decorated with views of the buildings at the Fair. An example is shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2. A Bryant & May tin plate box made to Registered Design No.222 of January 1884 for the Chicago World's Fair.