A Tale of 5 Tins

My 2014 Fortnum and Mason’s Tommy Tin arrived today which means I have now collected all that I wanted to collect after my brother bought me an original Princess Mary Tin for Christmas.

In case you missed my earlier posts on the subject, in 1914 Princess Mary, daughter of King George V and Queen Mary, decided that she wanted to send a Christmas gift to all British troops on active service on the Western Front. When it was shown to her that she couldn’t afford it, the idea was to have a publicly funded appeal to raise the money to do so which was so successful that, eventually, the gift was given to everyone in the British and Empire armed forces, including nurses. The gifts were presented in a very fetching brass tin and these tins eventually became known as Mary tins.

Now, through a combination of things I have developed an interest in the First World War. For Christmas 2025 my younger brother bought me a Mary tin. I absolutely love it. Even without the history behind it I think it is a lovely object.

Being the kind of person that I am, if I’m interested in something I want to know more about it. So I found out that, in the 1920s variations of the tins were made commercially available. Being as the Royal Family objected to their image being used for commercial purposes in this way, the cameo head of Princess Mary was replaced by the date 1914. Copies of this ‘commemorative tin’ are available today and I bought this one, pictured with my original tin :-

Top - original Mary Tin. Bottom - Reproduction 1914 Commemorative tin

The lettering is the same as the original with one exception. The words in the top central plaque – Imperium Britannicum (British Empire) – are omitted. The lid is slightly larger than the original, and the brass effect is much darker.

In 2014, to commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, the Daily Mail newspaper offered readers a replica Mary tin as part of a promotional offer. These are much easier to obtain than the replica commemorative tins.

My two Daily Mail 2014 reproduction Mary Tins

I ended up buying two of these. In terms of dimensions and details they’re a pretty decent replica. However the modelling and embossing on the lid is noticeably cruder than the original, and they’re much, much lighter than the original as well. The lids don’t open as far as the original, and to be honest I can’t see that you would ever mistake either of these for an original.

After I’d bought these replica’s I then discovered that these were not the only tins inspired by the original Mary tin to be produced in 2014. Posh London grocers, Fortnum and Mason’s, made their own version of the Mary tin to commemorate the centenary and as with the original, they gave the tins, containing chocolate and mini playing cards, to members of the Armed Forces. That was well done. I wanted one. There did not seem to be anything like as many of these on the market as the replica or indeed the original Mary tins, but patience brought its reward and I was able to buy an empty tin for about the same price as I paid for the first Daily Mail replica.

2014 Fortnum and Mason's Tommy's Tin - inspired by the Mary Tin

It’s fair to say that the Fortnum and Mason’s Tommy Tin is a homage to the Mary tin rather than a reproduction like the Daily Mail tin. The design is obviously inspired by the original – with the border work, and the circular motif surrounded by laurels. Instead of the profile of Princess Mary, or the date, the circular motif shows a helmeted head, possibly Britannia. I’m not sure if this is specifically Fortnum’s logo or not. This motif is flanked not by two capital M’s, but rather an F and an M, as in Fortnum and Mason’s. There is no other writing on the tin where the original said Imperium Britannica and the names of the UK’s allies. However, where the original tin says ‘Christmas 1914’ the Fortnum and Mason’s tin says, in very small writing ‘Tommy’s Tin 1914 – 2014’.Unlike the original or the Daily Mail reproductions, the lid removes and isn't hinged, and you can see the embossing from the back.

The size of the tin is similar in length to the original, but it’s noticeably thinner. It is also much, much lighter, possibly even a bit lighter than the Daily Mail replica. That’s not the only similarity between them. The quality of the modelling and embossing on the Fortnum tin is comparable to the Daily Mail tin and not as fine as the original. Well, Fortnum and Mason’s were giving them to the Armed Forces so let’s not moan too much about that.