Sheet-iron or, in recent use, often sheet-steel, coated with tin; a plate of this.
1677. Yarranton, Eng. Improv., To Rdr. In order to the establishing of the like [trade] in England, to set the Poor on work, which was the Linen, Thread, Tape, and Tin-plates.
1758. Reid, trans. Macquer’s Chym., I. 70. Tin-Plates are no other than thin plates of Iron tinned over.
1812. Sir H. Davy, Chem. Philos., 393. Tin plate is formed by dipping thin plates of iron into melted tin.
1839. Ure, Dict. Arts, etc., s.v., The formation of tin-plate, or white-iron.
b. attrib. and Comb.
1720. Strype, Stow’s Surv. (1754), II. V. xv. 323/1. The Company of Tin plate workers were incorporated by charter in the 22nd year of King Charles II.
1815. J. Smith, Panorama Sci. & Art, II. 794. A japanned tin-plate tray is of less value than a paper one.
1860. Piesse, Lab. Chem. Wonders, 37. England is the tin-plate manufacturer for the whole world.
1906. Westm. Gaz., 10 Jan., 2/1. The transformation at Welsh tinplate works has been very great.
So Tin-plated ppl. a., plated with tin; Tin-plater, a workman who makes tin-plates.
1890. Engineer, LXIX. 496. The [search-light] projector barrel is 16 in. diameter, rolled out of steel sheet tinplated and very strong.
1903. Westm. Gaz., 1 Sept., 5/1. The unions contend … that … the tin platers so treated have a claim for damages against the masters.
