(Click on the image to see larger view.)

Folger's Coffee, c. 1931 German Christmas Cookies, biscuit tin. Palmers Biscuits tin, probably c. 1900. Peek Frean and Co. biscuit tin, 1928.
Honest Spices Nutmegs, probably c. 1890; Nestle's Milk Food, probably c. 1890; Windsor Coffee; Borden's Evaporated Milk; Royal Baking Power, c. 1940; Sauer's Cloves. Swain, Earle and Co. tea. An early version of the aerosol can.
Female cannery workers in an oyster-packing factory fill hole-and-cap cans, c. 1872. The sanitary can would replace the hole-and-cap design by the early 1920s. Roly Poly tobacco tins, manufactured by the Tin Decorating Co. (Tindeco) of Baltimore, MD, c. 1912. From left to right, 'Mammy,' 'Satisfied Customer,' and 'Singing Waiter.'
The Red Can Brand of Hills Bros. Coffee was introduced in 1914. This streetcar advertisement dates from 1920. Tin containers provided the perfect means for mass distribution of cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. American Druggist Syndicate Peroxide Talcum; Squibb Epsom Salt; Belladonna Plaster; Read Drug & Chemical Co. Aspirin; De Angelis Effervescent; Antikamnia & Codeine Tablets; Battle Creek Lacto Dextrin; Mallinckrodt Ether, probably c. 1957; Dr. White's Celebrated Cough Drops, c. 1880; MyRola Hair Rub; Zozodont Powder.
Pilgrim Apricots; Huyler's Cocoa; Rawleigh's Black Pepper; Shaker's String Beans; San Blas Preserved Coconut, by Croft and Allen, c. 1890; Baker's Cocoa, c. 1941. 'Hole and cap' can, c. 1889-1919 C.W. Swaim Canning Co. Many health and beauty products have been packaged in cans.
Early canned automotive products: Whiz Neatsfoot Clutch and Belt Compound; Leak-Tile Radiator Seal; Globe Patching Kit; Essolube Motor Oil; National Mazda Auto Lamps, 1920; Kendall Motor Oil, c. 1941; and Whiz Metal Polish. Schlitz used the cone top can manufactured by the Continental Can Company from the 1930s until the early 1950s.
Cans can be designed to meet a variety of product needs; this 14.9-ounce Guinness can contains a carbon dioxide mechanism which, when opened, creates an authentic, rich, fresh-from-the-tap head. Canned products revolutionized the retailer's marketing strategy and the consumer's shopping experience; Rodman & Greenhogan grocery store, 1929. Soft drinks appeared in cans as early as 1938. This Pepsi can design dates from the 1960s.
Three-piece steel beer cans. The Coca-Cola Company introduced the 'Harlequin' design in 1966. Canned products, such as Maxwell House Coffee—promised to be 'sold only in sealed tin cans'—offered quality and reliability. Good Housekeeping, 1923.
Tobacco, cigarettes and cigars were among the first products to be commonly sold in tins of various shapes and styles including the infamous Prince Albert in a can. Canned food became the housewife's best friend. It provided ease, convenience and wholesome nutrition for baby boomer families.
'Quick Strip' opening. Blum's Almondettes candy in a 'key' can. Cans have brought some of America's favorite products to the dining table. Three-piece steel beer can.
The can's convenience, popularity and versatility attract an increasing variety of products. In the post-war era, canned household products proliferated. Soon every need, from pet care to beauty aid to home maintenance, could be met by the convenience. of cans.
Canned food provitions, or C-Rations, followed American soldiers into the battlefield beginning in 1941. Canned foods were marketed to housewives as part of a happy, post-war lifestyle. Campbell's soup, 1945. Hole and cap vegetable can. Early food can labels featured the product inside, rather than brand names or logos.
Aluminum can 'ends' or tops have been made progressively smaller over the years in order to make cans lighter and save natural resouces. Note the difference among the 206, 205, and 202 ends (left to right). The aluminum beverage can's 360-degree graphics allow for creative and eye-catching brand marketing. Three-piece steel beverage cans. The first soft drink cans had to be strengthened in order to accomodate the pressure of carbonation.

All photos courtesy of the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, except where indicated.

Pages 12-13 (Hills Bros.), pages 20-21 (grocery store), page 26 (Maxwell House), and page 25 (Campbell's Soup) courtesy of the Archive Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Page 9 courtesy of the New York Public Library Picture Collection: pages 21 (Schlitz), and page 33 courtesy of the Beer Can Collectors of America; page 26 courtesy of the Pepsi-Cola Company; page 27 courtesy of the Coca-Cola Company; page 34 (C-rations) courtesy of the Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc.; page 34 (pantry) courtesy of the Canned Food Alliance; page 40 courtesy of the Can Manufacturers Institute.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:
American National Can Group, Inc.
Ball Corporation
Crown Cork & Seal Company
Independent Can Company
Metal Container Corporation
Silgan Containers Corporation