• Postcard Souvenir Tin with Gnome Band - 1930s - Advertising Tin - The Vintage Tales
  • Postcard Souvenir Tin with Gnome Band - 1930s - Advertising Tin - The Vintage Tales
  • Postcard Souvenir Tin with Gnome Band - 1930s - Advertising Tin - The Vintage Tales
  • Postcard Souvenir Tin with Gnome Band - 1930s - Advertising Tin - The Vintage Tales
1 4

The Vintage Tales

Postcard Souvenir Tin with Gnome Band - 1930s

Postcard Souvenir Tin with Gnome Band - 1930s

CHF 32.00
CHF 32.00
Sale Sold out
Shipping calculated at checkout.

This petite tin borrows the look of a multilingual carte postale: a merry line of gnomes marches across a snowy scene, complete with faux stamps and “Ein glückliches Neues Jahr”.

Unlike printed-direct litho tins, the image here is a postcard-style paper lithograph sealed under varnish on the lid - a popular novelty in the 1920s - 30s.

The body is tinplate with a galvanised interior and a neat lift-off/slip-in lid fixed by tiny side pins. A lovely cross-over collectible for advertising, Christmas/Winter décor, and postcard ephemera.

  • Material: Tinplate body; paper litho image under clear varnish; galvanised interior
  • Maker: Unknown (trade/novelty production)
  • Motif: Marching gnome band; “Carte Postale” layout with New-Year greeting
  • Style: Interwar novelty; Art Deco era typography
  • Place of Origin: Germany (prob.)
  • Mark: Unmarked (image with printed “Carte Postale” and German greeting)
  • Date of Manufacture: c.1920s–1930s
  • Condition: Age-consistent wear with scattered scratches, small paint losses, and mellowed varnish to the lid image; light oxidation/rust speckling; clean, galvanised interior; lid fits well, and box is sound.
  • Worldwide Shipping
  • Secure Packaging
  • Loving Curation
View full details

Origin & Maker

From the late 19th to mid-20th century, lithographed tinplate was the star of shop counters.

Brands commissioned reusable tins for tea, cocoa, biscuits, coffee, tobacco, and remedies, supplying grocers, chemists, and tobacconists with eye-catching point-of-sale display.

Brilliant colour printing, crisp typography and period styling - Art Nouveau swirls, Deco geometry, later mid-century bolds -turned everyday containers into miniature billboards. Airtight lids kept contents fresh while the tins lived on in pantries, so the advertising lingered in homes for years.

Produced across Britain and Europe (notably France and Germany) as well as the USA, these sturdy survivors now carry gentle wear and patina that testify to honest use - exactly the authenticity collectors cherish.

Blog posts

View all
1 3
View all