When tin cans became art

Tin cans have been a part of Fairbury life for more than 100 years. Over the years, many artists, including Marshall Fitzgerald (1902-1992), figured out how to turn used tin cans into amazing works of art.

Peter Durand first patented the tin can in England in 1810. American manufacturers began widely manufacturing and distributing products in tin cans in the 1800s. Soon, American households were flooded with tin cans.

Until the widespread introduction of the tin can, most houses in Fairbury could burn much of their garbage at home. By the 1890s, commercially canned products were becoming increasingly common in Fairbury, creating a new type of household waste that could not simply be burned. From then on, tin cans became a normal part of residential waste. A surplus of lightweight, colorful, and durable metal waste emerged.

Before tin cans became widely available, artists created unique paper works of art by curling paper into coils and curves. Long ago, an artist would take a bird quill and cut a narrow groove at the end. The artist would insert the notched quill into a narrow strip of paper, then twist the quill to form a coil or curve. These paper coils or curves could be combined to form some amazing works of art. This form of artwork is still practiced today and is often called paper quilling.

Tin can artists used the same basic concept as paper quilling artists. They took a tin can and used tin snips to cut it into long, uniform strips. They then used a slotted or notched tool (similar to a paper quilling needle) to hand-roll the metal strips into tight scrolls, sunbursts, or geometric coils. Artists often converted waste tin cans into miniature dollhouse furniture (rocking chairs, loveseats, and high chairs). These tin-can artists also made decorative wall hangings, sunbursts, candle holders, easels, photo frames, and pincushions.

Recently, volunteers at the Livingston County Historical Society Museum discovered an unusual example of tin-can art while examining a historical display honoring Mary (Darnall) Spence. She was the first white woman to be married in Livingston County in 1837. The display includes a shadow box with a sample of her croquet work.

Attached to the top of the shadow box was her circular photograph surrounded by dozens of tightly curled metal coils. When the photograph holder detached from its wooden shadow box and needed repair, museum personnel began investigating how it was made and who might have created it. A museum volunteer recognized the curled steel frame as being a form of tin can art.

The author showed a photograph of the museum's unusual frame to his sister, Lisa Roth. She immediately recognized the distinctive curled-metal design and recalled that Marshall Fitzgerald, a Fairbury resident, had made her an almost identical photograph frame.

Mr. Fitzgerald lived across Chestnut Street from our grandparents, Harold and Beulah Dameron. A literature search was conducted, and an October 11, 1970, Pantagraph article was found describing how retired Fairbury contractor Marshall Fitzgerald had become a tin can artist.

Mr. Fitzgerald was first exposed to tin can art when his wife, Beulah Fitzgerald, was in a Peoria hospital where her sister gave her a "pop can" rocking chair. At the time, Mr. Fitzgerald was 68 and had been retired for three years. Fed up with "looking out the window," he decided to start a new hobby: making works of art from tin cans.

Marshall Fitzgerald first improved the structure of the legs on the rocking chair sample from the Peoria hospital. Mr. Fitzgerald began making small rocking chairs and giving them away as gifts. As people saw the miniature furniture, the gift-making turned into a business.

When this article was published in October 1970, the Fitzgeralds had shipped the items to several states, and one set was even shipped overseas. Marshall did the cutting and forming work. His wife, Beulah, did the upholstering and painting. She also handled packaging for shipping the items and the small business bookwork.

The straight back chairs were made from soft drink cans, while the settees were made from luncheon meat cans. The rockers were made from fruit cans. Mr. Marshall reported that “Beer cans are made of metal too tough to cut and form.” During the 1970s, aluminum beer cans gradually replaced the traditional steel cans that Marshall Fitzgerald found difficult to cut and form.

A rocking chair took one complete can, and Mr. Fitzgerald spent two hours cutting and forming one piece of furniture. Mrs. Fitzgerald then spent about an hour painting and doing upholstery work. She used old rugs and carpeting to pad the seats and covered them with different colors and kinds of fabric.

While Marshall's hobby turned into a business, it wasn't intended that way. The Fitzgeralds did no advertising at all. "People just sort of find us," Mrs. Fitzgerald said. "We do have many pieces on display in the gift shop at Mennonite Hospital in Bloomington," she continued. "And we will also have a selection of pieces at the Fairbury Fairview Haven bazaar 'country store' on Saturday."

Marshall Fitzgerald reported that most of their business came through "word of mouth."

The February 15, 1971, issue of the Pantagraph published an ad from the LeeWards company in Elgin, Illinois. Pantagraph readers could purchase a $4.49 kit from this company to make their own tin can art. The kit included tin snips and three tin curling tools (quills). The ad said the kit would allow hobbyists to make filigree lamps, candle holders, rocking chairs, and mirrors or picture frames. The picture frame shown in this ad is similar to the one Marshall Fitzgerald made for Lisa Roth.

It is still unknown who made the picture frame for the Mary (Darnall) Spence shadow box at the Fairbury Echoes Museum. Because it is almost identical to the picture frame owned by Lisa Roth, Marshall Fitzgerald is a strong candidate for having made this unusual piece of tin-can art. However, its actual maker remains unknown." The shadow box with the unusual tin can photo frame is currently on exhibit at the Fairbury Echoes Museum. The museum is open from 1 to 4 pm on Thursdays and Fridays and from 9 to 11 am on Saturdays. Admission to the museum is free.

What began as a simple hobby for a retired Fairbury contractor more than 50 years ago has become a small but fascinating part of local history. Marshall Fitzgerald took ordinary discarded tin cans and transformed them into beautiful works of art. Today, these handmade creations remind us that with a little imagination, patience, and craftsmanship, even something destined for the garbage may become a treasured family keepsake or museum artifact.

Dale Maley's weekly history article is sponsored by Dr. Charlene Aaron.