Hi Kennett,
Two very nice tins in super condition. "Gaiety Girl" brand introduced in 1896. With regard to preference for "Hand Made" or "Machine Made" tins, the assumption is that "Hand Made" are earlier but for me, tin condition is preferable. I do think smoker's of the day were reluctant to change but made more economic sense for manufacturers when you consider that the best workers could produce 1000 hand made cigarettes in a 9 to 10 hour shift which was the normal working day at the time. But machines could make 2 to 6000 an hour. The "Silver Wreath" introduced again in 1896 by Churchmans who were reluctant to introduce machinery which contributed to their demise.
bacco