Albion metal is a form of metal foil produced by rolling tin onto a lead base, or sandwiching lead between two sheets of tin.[1]

An alternative method of production was to cast tin onto an ingot of recently-cast, congealing, lead.[2]

Albion metal is used for decorative rather than load-bearing purposes, such as coffin adornments, toys, and costume jewellery, [3][4] and for protecting foodstuffs and drinking water from contact with lead.[1]

It was introduced and patented in 1804, by Thomas Dobbs, an inventor from Kings Norton who was also a comic actor at the Theatre Royal in Birmingham, England.[1][3]

The patent was the subject of a legal dispute in 1857, when a failed attempt was made to use it to invalidate another later patent.[2][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c The Monthly Magazine. R. Phillips. 1805. pp. 250–.
  2. ^ a b Ellis, Thomas Flower; Blackburn, Colin Blackburn Baron (1865). Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of Queen's Bench and the Court of Exchequer Chamber on Error from the Court of Queen's Bench: With Tables of the Names of the Cases Argued and Cited, and the Principal Matters [1852-1858]. T. and J.W. Johnson & Company. pp. 923–937. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  3. ^ a b Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham. Cornish Brothers. 1885. p. 5.
  4. ^ "Albion metal – rupertharris". Rupert Harris Conservation Ltd. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  5. ^ The Mechanics' Magazine. Robertson, Brooman, and Company. 1857. pp. 607–.
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