B2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 9,1982
Tin type gallery offers treasures
BY BETH HEMBHNGER
Staff Correspondent
NEWBURG Patricia
Wenger’s Tin Type Gallery at
Newborg' is a true photographic
reproduction of the past. But
making it more than a mere
image, Patricia has reproduced
the fine quality of handcrafts of
yesteryear for today.
As the name Tin Type implies,
Patricia is a collector of tin type
photographs as well as Civil War
relics, quilts, useful antiques and
much more. But predominately the
Tin Type Gallery is noted for
Patricia’s bandboxes and por
celain dolls.
Today, we know these bandboxes
as the all-purpose dull gray card
board box. Nevertheless,
Patricia’s handmade reproduction
bandboxes can make one wonder
why they ever disappeared from
the marketplace.
Patricia first saw the unique 18th
century bandboxes at the Penn
sylvania Farm Museum in Lan
caster County where a lady was
demonstrating how to construct
the old-time utility box of the
home.
Patricia said she was inspired by
the demonstration at the museum
and shortly after began making
her own. She makes her boxes in
the same manner as the 18th
century homemaker. Using white
poster board, she cuts the box
sides, top and bottom, in one of
four shapes; round, oval, hexagon
and the most popular the heart
shape. The next step and the most
unusual feature about the boxes is
that the top lid and the bottom of
the box is hand sewn. Patricia
sews her boxes together with
crochet cotton, which is her only
deviation from the original pat
tern.
All 18th century boxes were sewn
together with linen thread, which
is a hard commodity to come by
today. This made Patricia turn to
the crochet cotton, the next best
alternative.
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Here, Patricia works at filling an order for her bandboxes. She covers the outside with
wallpaper and the inside with old newspaper she finds at auctions. Then she sews the top lid and
bottom together with white crochet cotton.
Once the boxes are sewn
together, Patricia covers them
with authentic looking wallpaper
that is available at numerous
wallcovering businesses. Patricia
explained that by authentic she
means wallpaper that adhers to
the styles and colors of the 18th
century, Williamsburg colors,
Victorian prints, country florals,
etc. During the IBth century the
homemaker covered her box with
wallpaper too; cheap wallpaper
which came from France.
And like the authentic boxes,
Patricia lines the inside of the
boxes with newspaper from the
18th century. She said she
scrounges around flea markets
and auctions for the dated
newspaper and usually has no
trouble finding it.
Patricia’s business has grown
rapidly since she first opened the
Tin Type Gallery three years ago.
She remarked, “I just can’t make
enough of the reproduction hand
boxes to supply all the demand.”
She feels that her success with the
bandboxes has been because of
their usefulness. “They are a
utility antique reproduction.
People hate a unique furnishing
that can be used for storage and
can be displayed anywhere in the
home as a piece of decoration,”
she commented.
And, that is exactly what the
homemaker of the 18th century
used the bandboxes for. They first
appeared on the home-furnishing
scene when women needed a
sturdy case to protect the gen
tlemen’s collars, or 'bands’s as
they were commonly known. The
women began making the ‘band
boxes’ in a variety of sizes and
shapes to accommodate the men’s
and their own stiff ruff collars. And
soon the bandboxes became a
storage container for numerous
other items during that period. The
small and round boxes became
known as ‘trinket’ boxes holding
small ornaments such as rings,
lace, ribbons, spools of thread.
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Patricia Wenger of Newburg enjoys owning and operating the Tin Type Gallery because it
her opportunity to make some of the merchandise herself. On the bureau are several band!
she made.
Medium sized boxes held jewelry,
gloves, even artificial flowers.
One particular shape box, the
heart-shaped box, carried an
unusual occupant. During the 18th
century when women got to the
theatre they took off their huge
hats and took out a heart-shaped
box. It was the custom to outdo
each other as to who had the most
beautiful heart box, creating quite
a popularity for this shape box.
This particular heart-shaped box
usually measured 6”x7”x2VSs”
deep.
Patricia’s reproduction por
celain doll started out as did her
other well-known handcraft - as a
hobby. She said she merely en
joyed reproducing the porcelain
antiques and after a few craft
shows with the dolls, they were a
smashing success with doll
collectors and antique enthusiasts
alike.
Patricia constructs the entire
doll from start to finish. She
remarked, “It is like making
ceramics.” First she pours the
liqiud porcelain into the molds that
have been made from antique
porcelain dolls usually dating back
to the 18th century. She buys the
reproduction molds from com
panies specializing in mold
making. Then, once the mold is set
she removes the doll and it is ready
for painting.
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This is one of Patricia’s handmade procelain dolls, fpfl
head to toe. The fabric for the clothing is old; either M
chased at an auction or flea market. Patricia trys to maw
each doll as authentic as possible.
Next the doll’s face is painted,
trying to make the doll look as real
as possible. And Patricia said,
“That the hardest part.” For
tunately, the paint can be removed
as often as needed'before the doll is
fired in the kiln. But once it is fired
nothing can be changed. Patricia
has become so involved in doll
making for her business that she
has built a kiln in her workshop for
easy access.
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Once out of the kiln, the doll is
ready for the final touches, hair
and clothing. Patricia sews the
clothing from old material
collected and bought at antique
sales and auctions which she uses
to produce the period clothing from
the Colonial, Edwarian and Vic
torian eras.
Being more of a collector’s item
than the bandboxes, Patricia’s
porcelain dolls are usually
of yesteryear
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specialy ordered by mdivi
requesting a certain size
garment style.
Her reproduction dolls
travelled as far as Texas, and
even left the United States
reside with its owner in
Since Patricia left her job
secretary three years ago
fully devote all her time to
business, everything hi
blossomed three-fold. Not only
she attending at least eight r
shows a year; the Tin Type Gt
now has a booming mail o>
business.
Patricia said she suppi
numerous boutiques all alor
east coast with her reprr
bandboxes and porcelain dc
She remarked. She nevef
believed her favorite hobbies could
turn into a full-time successful i
business in just three short years!
it is like a dream.
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