Product tins - Canned tape?

[RetroToday]

Even though I've been collecting old product tins for over ten years, I still discover things that I didn't know existed before.

I was given this vintage tin by a friend of mine yesterday. It's about 3inches diameter 3/4 inches thick. I believe something like today's scotch tape was in this.
My friend is older than me by over 30 years - to him, tape in tins seemed like it was once a commonplace item.

Before I saw this, I had no idea that tape was commonly put into metal containers - feel kinda' ignorant now!

Turns out, the Sellotape brand is still around too - never heard of them before either.
Well, then again, I wasn't on the lookout for tape cans....

 

[KilroyCD]

I was given this vintage tin by a friend of mine yesterday. It's about 3inches diameter 3/4 inches thick. I believe something like today's scotch tape was in this.
My friend is older than me by over 30 years - to him, tape in tins seemed like it was once a commonplace item.

I've seen a number of those tins at antique shops. Now that I think of it, there might even be one of those kickin' around the ol' homestead. I'll have to take a look.

 

[The Wolf]

I still have an old tin of Scotch brand cellulose tape. It was 1 roll of 1/2 by 1296 inches transparent tape.
Why was it called Scotch? Because you could be "thrifty" and mend things with it instead of throwing them away.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Flivver]

When I was a kid in the 1950s, that's how celophane tape came. I don't think it was until the early 1960s that the tin was replaced with a box.

 

[The Wingnut]

I've got a few Scotch brand tins, some with tape still in them. The tape has degraded to the point of not being usable, but the funny thing is that it's colored, not clear...I think it's a dark green...I might have a roll of orange, as well.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

I still have an old tin of Scotch brand cellulose tape. It was 1 roll of 1/2 by 1296 inches transparent tape.
Why was it called Scotch? Because you could be "thrifty" and mend things with it instead of throwing them away.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

History of "Scotch" Tape

The 3M Company trade magazines "The Office" (around 1975) had an article with the heading "The tale of the tape---50 years of innovation at 3M" in which they told the story of how Scotch tape was named. Here is what they said (forwarded to me by a Professor at the University of Utah).

In 1921 the 3M Company hired a Mr. Richard Drew as a lab technician and put him to work in improving their products. One day Drew watched a painter spraying a car on which he had used gummed Kraft paper to cover up details he didn¬?t want painted. However, when the painter attempted to remove the gummed paper, it stripped the paint away with it.

Drew promised the painter that he¬?d work on an adhesive which would leave a clean demarcation line. In time he produced a 2 inch wide masking tape with adhesive on each edge which he delivered to the auto painter. To quote the article:

While testing Mr. Drew¬?s first product. . . the painter watched it fall off as he was preparing to apply the second color of a two-tone car. The tape came loose because it was not fully coated with adhesive. It had only a 1/2" wide strip of adhesive along each edge, a money saving measure. The painter angrily told Mr. Drew, "Take this back to your stingy Scotch bosses and tell them to put more adhesive on it." This ethnic slur regarding Scottish thrift may have been unjustified, but it eventually got him the stickier tape he wanted. The name "Scotch" has "stuck" ever since.

 

[CharlieH.]

Neat graphics on the tin. I have a mid 50's Scotch electrical tape tin, which is currently housing what's probably the family's only home movie.

 

[The Wolf]

Dear Mr. Stovall,
In reference to your correspondence of Sept. 10: ooops. Well, that's what I heard was the reason.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[J. M. Stovall]

No worries, I'm just a trivia nerd. I actually think I heard that story on NPR once.