Albion metal is a form of metal
foil
Foil may refer to:
Materials
* Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine
* Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal
* Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food
* Tin foil, metal foil ...
produced by
rolling
Rolling is a type of motion that combines rotation (commonly, of an axially symmetric object) and translation of that object with respect to a surface (either one or the other moves), such that, if ideal conditions exist, the two are in contact ...
tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal.
Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
onto a
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
base, or sandwiching lead between two sheets of tin.
An alternative method of production was to cast tin onto an ingot of recently-cast, congealing, lead.
Albion metal is used for decorative rather than load-bearing purposes, such as
coffin adornments, toys, and
costume jewellery,
and for protecting foodstuffs and drinking water from contact with lead.
It was introduced and patented in 1804, by
Thomas Dobbs, an inventor from
Kings Norton
Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council ward (politics), ward within the Government of Birmingham, Engl ...
who was also a comic actor at the
Theatre Royal in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
, England.
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.
References
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Food packaging