Hollow-Ware

HOLLOW-WARE. Hollow-ware is a term which may be used to describe all articles of concave shape employed for do mestic, particularly culinary, purposes ; but actually, according both to the popular and to the trade usage, it is applied only to those which are made of metal. Even with this limitation the term covers a wide variety of articles, which are produced by several distinct industries. Some account of the development of those industries will show how the various branches of the manufacture grew up. It is not necessary to look back beyond the middle of the r 8th century, since it was not till then that any considerable variety in the types of article in use began to appear. At that time the metal kitchen utensils, such as kettles, pans, and ale-warmers, were made of sheet copper, brass or, less frequently, iron ; whilst cast bronze skillets, which corresponded to the mod ern saucepans, and cauldrons were very common. Non-ferrous metal vessels of these various types were frequently tinned on the inside. The lighter domestic hollow-ware, such as kettles, trays, jugs and cups, was occasionally made of tinplate and sometimes japanned. Articles of this material, besides being produced by tinmen in many different parts of Europe, were made in quantity in south Wales and south Staffordshire under the name of "Ponty pool" wares. Further, utensils such as plates, bowls, dishes and cups, were often made of pewter; while similar articles of a more expensive kind were of silver or silver-plate. Cast-iron was em ployed only for the heavier and cruder types of hollowware, e.g., cauldrons and mortars, because the charcoal-smelted iron, which was then the only kind available, ran too thick to be cast into light domestic utensils.

During the latter half of the i8th century important changes occurred. The use of coke in the blast furnace resulted in the production of an iron which was suitable for the manufacture of light cast pots and pans, and so foundries began to be estab lished for this purpose in several British industrial centres, par ticularly in south Staffordshire, at West Bromwich and Wolver hampton. During the same period a process was introduced for coating the interior of cast and wrought-iron hollow-ware with tin, and this, since it obviated the danger of rust, greatly extended the use of iron at the expense of non-ferrous articles. Further, a new alloy, known as Britannia metal, of which the constituents were copper, tin and antimony, came to be used for making tea and coffee-pots; so that by 180o, in addition to the older types of copper, brass, sheet iron, pewter, silver-plate and tinplate and japanned hollow-ware, there were tinned and "black" cast-iron and Britannia metal articles. Soon after r 800 stove-dried varnish began to be employed as an outside coating for tinned iron kettles and pans.

Introduction of Enamelling and Galvanizing.—Before 185o, in addition to the improvements which were made in finish ing processes, several new varieties of hollow-ware came into ex istence. Processes had long been known for the coating of iron with vitreous enamel and, early in the century, they had been applied by Continental producers; but it was not until about 184o that an enamelled hollow-ware manufacture was established in Great Britain. From then onwards enamelled ware began slowly to supersede tinned articles, chiefly owing to the former's resem blance to glazed pottery and to the ease with which it could be cleaned. A few years later the makers of wrought-iron utensils adopted a process for covering their goods with zinc, and so the galvanized iron hollow-ware trade came into existence. British producers in this branch of industry benefited greatly by the in creased colonial demand which occurred after the middle of the century. Meanwhile, the electro-plating trade had risen to promi nence after 1840 and began to produce teapots and similar arti cles, which had before been made of pewter, tinplate, silver plate or Britannia metal. For a time this last material was used as a base metal in the manufacture of electroplate ware ; but it was slowly superseded by German or nickel silver, which bore a considerable resemblance to it. During the '3os, moreover, the stamp began to come into use in the sheet metal branches of the industry, particularly in tinplate ware production in which thin sheets were employed ; and, after this time, many articles such as dishes and pans, which had previously been made of separate pieces of metal brazed together, came to be raised out of a single sheet. There were, however, many kinds of tinplate ware which still had to be made by the older methods ; and the stamp was not used to any extent, even in the '6os, for the production of heavier gauge cooking utensils of wrought-iron.

Stamped Steel and Aluminium Ware.

Up to the ' 7os, while most of these branches of the industry had come into exist ence in Europe and North America, only the British manufac turer had developed a large export trade, and he then sent his goods to Europe and the United States, besides supplying most of the hollow-ware used in the colonies and a large proportion of the African, Indian and South American demands. During the next decade, however, a new form of wrought hollow-ware, made of stamped steel, came into use, and although British manufac turers took up its production, a large quantity came to be im ported into England before the end of the century and sent to her previous foreign markets. The change was associated with the rise of the German steel industry after 1880. Before basic Bessemer and Siemens-Martin steel came into use, most of the manufacturing operations in the wrought branch of the industry had been done by hand, as wrought-iron did not lend itself readily to manipulation by presses and stamps. The new mild steel, how ever, being more ductile, could be treated in that way, and it was therefore possible to produce machine-made steel articles, which were much cheaper than either cast- or wrought-iron wares. Consequently, steel sheets superseded iron sheets as the raw material of the tinned, enamelled, galvanized and "black" sections of the wrought trade; and since enamelled stamped steel hollow ware could be produced at a low cost, other branches of the industry began to suffer. The demand for cast-iron cooking utensils fell off both in Great Britain and in many of her foreign markets. Partly for the same reasons and partly because of a change of fashion, the use of tinplate kettles, baths, cups, pans and teapots, and of japanned trays and coal-scuttles declined in Europe and England, although the colonial demand did not suffer to the same extent.

These tendencies continued up to the outbreak of the World War, and after 1918 the decay of the manufacture of cast-iron and of certain types of tinplate wares was accelerated by the increasing use of aluminium hollow-ware. Aluminium was first employed in this trade during the later '9os, and up to 1914 the quantity produced was comparatively small. Germany was the first country to develop the manufacture, and most of the alu minium ware used in Great Britain during the years immediately preceding the war came from that source. The experience which was gained in 1914-18 in the manipulation of the metal, however, encouraged British manufacturers to take up the production of domestic utensils of this new type when the demand for munitions came to an end; and during the post-war years a large British output has been maintained. The supersession of cast-iron by enamelled stamped steel and aluminium utensils since the begin ning of the loth century has been stimulated by the increasing use of gas and electric stoves for cooking purposes. In conse quence of this development the greater strength of cast-iron ware is no longer such an advantage as it once was; while articles made of that material are less economical in the use of fuel than the lighter forms of hollow-ware.

Manufacture of Hollow-ware in the 20th Century.—As may be inferred from the above historical account, the hollow ware in use in the 3rd decade of the loth century may be classified into sections. The first group consists of cast-iron utensils which are either enamelled, tinned, or "black." The "black" ware usu ally takes the form of Dutch ovens and pots for the use of African natives, South Americans and Indians, and very little is sold in Great Britain or in the civilized western countries. The other wares, which are coated on the inside with enamel or tin and on the outside with stove-dried varnish, consist of frying pans, saucepans, kettles and other utensils employed for cooking, and are in common use in Europe and in countries colonized by Europeans. These articles are first cast from a special quality of pig-iron, and ate then annealed. From the annealing ovens they go to be turned and polished on lathes, after which they are enamelled or tinned. The handles are usually made of wrought-iron and are riveted on to the body of the articles in the mounting shops. Finally, the wares pass to the stowing and varnishing departments. The lids are usually made of tinned or enamelled steel, or are pressed out of tinplate.

The second group covers wrought hollow-ware, which is gen erally formed from mild steel sheets, and which may be either "black," tinned, enamelled or galvanized. The first three varie ties consist of similar types of articles to those produced by the cast section ; but the enamelled ware, which is the most impor tant type, also comprises such things as jugs, colanders, bowls, buckets, cups, baths and plates, and thus covers a very wide range of domestic utensils. Many of these articles are fashioned under the stamp or drawing-press, while some, e.g., frying-pans, are spun on the lathe. When a weld is required, the operation is commonly effected by the aid of electricity or of gas. The later processes in this branch of the industry resemble those which have already been briefly described in connection with the various kinds of cast hollow-ware. The latter are more durable and less likely to be adversely affected by heat ; while the wrought wares have the advantage of being cheaper, lighter, and more economical in the use of fuel.

Galvanized ware is more suitable for outdoor purposes, or for uses not connected with food preparation, and it comprises such articles as dust-bins, watering-cans, and common coal-scuttles. It seldom consists of articles similar to those which are enamelled, though the two sections overlap at a few points—such things as buckets, baths, washing-bowls and water-cans being common to both. Galvanized ware is, of course, of a lower grade than the enamelled variety. Presses and stamps are employed in the manu facture of certain classes of galvanized utensils ; but many of the articles most typical of this trade are of a shape that do not lend themselves to machine production, and a great deal of hand labour is necessary, the more so because much of the ware is made of low-grade steel, which will not stand up to mechanical methods of production.

Some of the more ornamental tinplate and japanned wares, such as tea and coffee-pots, kettles, japanned coal-scuttles, trays, and travelling trunks, have, as already indicated, been superseded in Great Britain by other types; but a great quantity of hollow ware is still made of this material, and there is a considerable export trade to the dominions, and to tropical and semi-tropical countries. As in the case of galvanized ware, while machinery has been for performing some operations, the nature of many of the tinplate articles is such that hand labour cannot be largely dispensed with for shaping and joining.

The latest type of hollowware, viz., aluminium, takes the form of a wide variety of utensils, such as are associated with the enamelled and tinplate ware trades and with the pottery industry, and it ranges from large cast pots for industrial uses to light saucepans, cups and plates. Machinery is as extensively used in this manufacture as in the stamped steel hollow-ware trade; but owing to the nature of the metal, the lathe is more commonly used to shape the cheaper qualities of ware than is the stamp or press. The handles of aluminium articles are usually made of iron or steel, although sometimes a composition which is a non conductor of heat is used.

Finally there remains to be mentioned the hollow-ware made of brass, copper, electroplate and nickel silver. This is of an ornamental and expensive kind, and although copper and brass coal-scuttles are produced in fair quantities, these types do not form, in the loth century, a considerable proportion of what can be strictly regarded as hollow-ware.

The census of production of 1924 affords some indication of the relative importance of the different branches of the hollow ware industry in Great Britain at that date. As far as the value of its total annual production was concerned, the tinplate branch ranked highest, being slightly ahead of both the wrought enam elled and galvanized sections of the trade, and producing more than twice as much as the aluminium branch. The extent to which cast-iron has been superseded is illustrated by the fact that the value of the total annual output of all types of cast hollow-ware amounted to only three—fifths of that of aluminium and to about a quarter of that of wrought enamelled hollow-ware.

The British Manufacture.

The distinction which has been drawn between the different types of hollow-ware is reflected in the activities of the firms engaged in their manufacture. The large concerns naturally have a wide range of products; but even they specialize on particular kinds of ware. Thus, several manufac turers who were originally makers of enamelled and tinned cast iron utensils have taken up the production of stamped steel articles of the same type ; the larger firms in the galvanizing sec tion make wrought tinned articles similar in nature to their staple products; and aluminium and sheet copper goods are often manu factured in the tinplate ware factories. But, for the most part, firms concentrate on one of the following five groups; enamelled and tinned steel, the various kinds of cast-iron tinplate and japanned, galvanized, and aluminium ware. The small concerns limit themselves to some sub-division of these main groups, e.g., to "black" native pots, or to galvanized buckets.

The firms engaged in producing enamelled hollow-ware in Great Britain are very few in number, there being only 18 in the wrought and 13 in the cast section. It is not surprising to find, therefore, that the factories in these two sections of the enamelled ware trade are much larger in size than those which make only galvanized, tinplate, "black," or tinned articles. The large scale of these undertakings may be attributed to the fact that the enamelled ware manufacturers require a larger plant and a higher degree of technical knowledge than those in other branches of the industry. In this section firms exist which employ 700 or 800 workers, and in it there is no place for the small producer.

On the other hand, "black" cast-iron hollow-ware is often made in small foundries ; and in the tinplate and galvanized ware branches of the industry, where little machinery can be used, many small producers employing under a dozen workers exist. In these branches, indeed, the large factory is exceptional. The manufacturers of aluminium hollow-ware require a good deal of machinery; but although there are two or three large firms in this trade, the majority of those who specialize in aluminium articles employ less than a hundred. Few manufacturers of hol low-ware confine themselves exclusively to that product. The foundries, for instance, frequently produce electrical castings and "oddwork"; i.e., general ironmongery; the tinplate ware factories make such things as oil-stoves ; and all hollow-ware firms concern themselves with other types of hardware.

The chief sub-divisions of the British hollow-ware industry have been localized since the early i9th century in Birmingham and district, particularly at West Bromwich and in the neigh bourhood of Wolverhampton; and in 192I over three-quarters of the 11,976 people engaged in the manufacture of cast and wrought hollow-ware of iron and steel in Great Britain were found in that area, most of the remainder being in south Wales. The coal and the excellent iron and casting sand of south Staffordshire were originally responsible for this concentration of the trade. These causes, however, have long ceased to operate, and it has been the presence of skilled labour and of experienced manufacturers which has maintained the industry in this locality during the first three decades of the 2oth century, when the pig-iron required for the foundry cupolas has had to be brought from Derbyshire, and when the steel sheets, which form the raw material of the wrought section, has been obtained from south Wales, or, since the war, to some extent from abroad. Tinplate wares have also been made extensively in Birmingham and Wolverhampton; but in this branch the district has lost some of its importance as a producing centre, owing to the decline in the demand for the type of product in which it has specialized, and greater London and Lancashire were in 1921 the chief seats of the industry. Alu minium hollow-ware manufacture, however, has come to be situ ated largely in the Birmingham neighbourhood, partly because makers of other types of hollow-ware in that locality have taken up its manufacture, and partly because those who were setting up new establishments were attracted to the district by the pres ence of the type of labour they required.

The term "hollow-ware" is seldom used in America to describe this group of manufactured articles. These objects are referred to as enamelware, aluminum-ware and by various other names. These are discussed under the articles HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES; TINPLATE ; ALUMINIUM and in related subjects.

There is no satisfactory work on the hollow-ware industry or on hollow-ware in general. For an illustrated account of hollow-ware in use before the i9th century see J. S. Lindsay, Iron and Brass Inn elements of the English House (1927). See also W. H. Jones, Japan, Tinplate Working and Iron Braziers' Trades in Wolverhampton (i900), and several articles in The Birmingham and Midland Hard ware District, ed. Samuel Timmins (1866), for information concerning the historical development of the different branches of the industry. See also The Reports of the Census of Production (1924) , and of Committees on Wrought Enamelled Hollow-ware (Cmd. 2634), and on Aluminium Hollow-ware (Cmd. 253o), set up under The Safe guarding of Industries Act, 1921. (G. C. A.)