Albion metal is a form of metal foil produced by rolling tin onto a lead 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 who was also a comic actor at the Theatre Royal in Birmingham, 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
- ^ The Monthly Magazine. R. Phillips. 1805. pp. 250–.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham. Cornish Brothers. 1885. p. 5.
- "Albion metal – rupertharris". Rupert Harris Conservation Ltd. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
- The Mechanics' Magazine. Robertson, Brooman, and Company. 1857. pp. 607–.