Restoring Tinplate, article (Chris Littledale)
Chris Littledale, on the subject of tinplate restoration:
Chris Littledale (Museum Founder and Director). Restorer for forty years.
Antique and Vintage tinplate toys: "To restore or not to restore" that is the question.
If an "Old Master" painting was in poor condition and damaged there would be no question it would be restored and at great expense. Many old toys are in their way works of art and because of their purpose in being made were played with and all too often with less than careful little hands.
Tinplate is simply thin steel sheet with a light coating or plating of tin. This material lent itself well to the making of metal toys and a host of other things besides. It is very easily worked, pressed and solders together with various metals, thus it becomes very strong when formed into an object, it has also always been one of the cheapest metals to buy and holds paint well. All too often however old toys have been disregarded and relegated to attics, damp sheds or cellars. Such storage conditions have frequently caused far more harm to these tinplate treasures than any of the enthusiastic handling they originally received.
Before we consider the nature of conservation let us understand some basic construction methods and types. Much of the best material in this field came from the German tinsmiths and toy makers. During the 19th Century these toys were entirely handmade and painted in very small numbers, for instance an early clockwork floor train (one that did not run on rails) might have been made in a batch of no more than six, with a possible follow-on if they sold well.
Later in the 19th Century tinplate toys became a great industry with an almost infinite variety both in types and price ranges, and in the lower price range a different production method was developed still using tinplate. In this case the metal was printed in the various colours and to an accurate layout or series of templates that incorporated all the details the manufacturer desired for their toy. For example one might have windows with curtains, doors and so on. This printed metal was then pressed and cut to the desired shapes, which were in turn fitted to each other by means of small slots and corresponding tabs which were subsequently folded to hold the object together.
Unlike the stronger, soldered and painted toys these printed or lithograph versions had a much thinner paint coating and were usually constructed from rather light tinplate. Poor and damp storage could be ruinous to such toys rendering them irretrievable. Taking first the hand painted or lithographed toy: If it has some chips and minor paint loss, small abrasions or dents and slight discolouring the object should really be left as it is, just carefully cleaned using small brushes, cotton buds, and paper towel as wipes, and having carefully removed all dust and grit damp clean the surfaces and detail with cold water (never warm as this can cause blooming or milking to the finishes) and a little detergent in the water in a great help and harmless. However one should never soak the material unless a good professional drying enclosure is to hand.
Serious paint loss, flaking, corrosion, damage and missing parts are a very different problem and can only be addressed by a professional restorer. "Ouch that sounds expensive"! It is, and all too often the value of the object does not justify the labour intensive expertise in conservation and the inevitable cost. Restorers come in many types, always specialising in certain areas and above all their standards of quality vary from someone who can repair, paint-strip and repaint an old toy to look nice and bright to the other extreme where the expertise requires an almost psychic insight into the very creative mind of the original "tin masters" and painters of, say, 100 years ago. In the latter case the restorer must have a great empathy with the subject and a feeling for its life and ageing. The restorer must also use great judgement in where and when to stop, exactly how to colour match, build paint thickness, patinate and match age and wear, after all – however perfect a colour match is, it will look out of place without age – blending into the original. Often before this stage has been reached it has been necessary to repair, re-solder, and even make in the original style missing parts, for instance early German tinplate ships from such manufacturers as Märklin and Bing had a compliment of detachable parts, funnels, masts, lifeboats, flags and so on, inevitably some of those parts are lost from even the best examples. One must then decide whether that three-funnel ship looks good with only one remaining funnel and one rear mast, most people would rather have those missing parts faithfully made in the right material and faithfully painted to match. Naturally many would say this is faking or deceiving the would-be purchaser of such an object. In the interest of conservation this work should be documented, and if professionally carried out will not make a significant difference to the value.
Lets us remember these old toys were always made to please, let them continue to do so.
Chris Littledale
Restorer to clients in UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, Holland, U.S.A., Australia, Republic of Ireland, Italy.
