Object Details
- Description
- This brown and black, rectangular tin is etched with various motiffs for design and has a handle on top of a hinged lid. The tin once contained chocolate made by Cadbury Bros., Limited in England.
- In 1831, John Cadbury went into the business of manufacturing chocolate. At the time, it was a strange decision as chocolate was still quite expensive. When the English government cut import taxes on chocolate in 1832, he was able to expand his market share due to the affordability of chocolate. In 1861, he passed the business on to his sons, Richard and George, who decided to take a bold step and put their faith into a new hydraulic press designed to press out the excess cocoa butter from the chocolate. They focused on a pure (unadulterated) chocolate, setting themselves apart from the competition, despite the higher costs involved. Their market share grew much faster than their competitors but was much smaller at the start. In the years that followed, they lobbied the British government to enact adulteration of food laws, which would require their competitors to include all ingredients on their labels. Labels have long been an extremely powerful swayer of public opinion and Cadbury’s competitors were left scrambling to catch up. Cadbury in the meantime moved forward with new product development, launching new brands constantly increasing their market share. Even when their sales started to decline, they were looking for a new product to push forward. In 1905, they launched Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Chocolate Bar, and in 1906, they launched Bournville Cocoa in order to compete with Van Houten’s new process of ‘dutching’ cocoa to make a smother, milder flavor that dissolved much easier in liquids. They also continued to make improvements behind the scenes to make their production lines more efficient, resulting in cost savings which the company passed on to their consumers. Cadbury is now owned by Mondelēz International.
- Chocolate had been known and treasured by Native Americans in Central and South America for thousands of years prior to the arrival of the first Spanish explorers in the late 1400s and early 1500s. Cacao beans were so highly prized by Mayans and Aztecs that they were used as currency in many areas of the Americas. When first taken back to Europe by the Spanish, the chocolate drink continued to be produced exclusively for the enjoyment of royalty or the extremely wealthy. As the cacao bean gradually made its presence known throughout Europe, it still remained trapped in this exclusive section of society well into the 19th century.
- The chocolate trade to North America began more than 300 years ago, primarily centered in or near major port cities of the time, such as New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and Newport, RI. Due to lower transportation costs, chocolate was often less expensive in the Americas than in Europe and therefore had a broader consumer base. The Industrial Revolution radically changed chocolate production and helped propel it into the hearts and stomachs of the working class. Instead of being a labor intensive product, it became entirely machine made reducing costs even further in the late 19th and early 20th century. During this time, chocolate went from being something a person drank to being something to eat, finally becoming a treat for the masses.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Credit Line
- Can Manufacturers Institute
- ID Number
- AG.77-FT-15.0461
- catalog number
- 77-FT-15.0461
- accession number
- 283681
- Object Name
- Can
- Physical Description
- tin (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 17.3 cm x 10.6 cm x 5.5 cm; 6 13/16 in x 4 3/16 in x 2 3/16 in
- place made
- United Kingdom: England
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Food Technology
- Food
- Advertising
- National Museum of American History
- Record ID
- nmah_869955
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a6-fc65-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
