Saint Valentine’s Day Chocolates
“Nothing is more romantic than chocolate.” - Anonymous
The theme for “Smile on Saturday” for the 15th of February is "love for chocolate" in honour of Saint Valentine’s Day. In this case for the theme, I have opted for a romantically themed image to match with Saint Valentine’s Day. Recently I acquired a Henderson’s Sweets confectionery sales sample box from the 1880s. Made of brown leather and looking like a rather thin suitcase, it has latches at the side and a lock on the front which when unfastened, allow the front to fold down. Inside it contains six blue leather pull out drawers, each with faceted glass lidded compartments which would have been used by the Henderson’s Sweets salesman to offer samples to potential customers. On the inside of each blue leather lid is a gilded chromolithograph sticker from the early 1900s for Henderson’s Taykakisses, which were heart shaped sweets that Henderson’s Sweets sold. Henderson’s Taykakisses were introduced in October 1906 in once pence and thruppence bags. I am showing the best preserved of the six stickers in this photo, along with two Haigh’s Chocolatiers dark chocolate hearts (one wrapped in brown foil and the other unwrapped. If this doesn’t share a love for chocolate, I don’t know what does! I hope you like my choice for this week’s theme, and that it makes you smile.
Henderson’s was founded in Australia 1903, its first successful product being Henderson’s Herbal Cough Drops. The company soon became well known for its popular “Wee Macgreegor” Butterscotch and Almond Taiblets, Milkoko Bars and Honey Kisses, a type of caramel with wrappers bearing “love mottoes”. After a factory fire at James Steadman Sweets in 1916, they merged with Henderson’s Sweets and the merged company was known as James Stedman-Henderson Sweets and the sold under the brand Sweetacres after a competition amongst the staff. They invented some of Australia’s most iconic sweets including Minties, Fantales and Jaffas. Sweetacres merged with another Australian confectionery company, Hoadley’s, in 1967. The group was acquired by the British firm Rowntree in 1971 and became Rowntree Hoadley. In 1988, Nestlé took control of the British based Rowntree company, allowing Nestlé Australia to absorb Rowntree Hoadley’s operations. Around the same time, Nestlé acquired the Melbourne-based sweet maker, Allen’s. In a subsequent brand reshuffle, the heroes of the Sweetacres range became Allen’s products and the Sweetacres name was relegated to history.
On the 1st May 1915, Alfred E. Haigh opened the doors of the very first Haigh’s Chocolates store in the Beehive Building at 34 King William Street, Adelaide South Australia. Alfred began adding his own flavour to the industry and in 1917 he started producing chocolate-covered fruit centres. Business boomed. Alfred passed away suddenly in 1933, and his son Claude took over the running of the business, which had by then grown to six stores. During the Second World War, supplies were difficult. Yet despite the sugar rationing Haigh’s managed to keep on trading, making boiled sweets and wrapped toffees for the armed forces. Alfred’s grandson, John Haigh, joined the business in 1946 with a vision to take Haigh’s chocolate making to new heights. He trained in Switzerland with Lindt and Sprungli and visited the United States to look at production, shop styles and marketing. During the 1950s and 60s, Haigh’s chocolates were also sold in the cinema. In 1965 Haigh’s opened the first store outside South Australia, in Collins Street Melbourne, where Haigh’s chocolates proved to be just as popular. Haigh’s chocolates is still a family owned and run business, and is the oldest family owned chocolatiers in Australia.
Saint Valentine’s Day Chocolates
“Nothing is more romantic than chocolate.” - Anonymous
The theme for “Smile on Saturday” for the 15th of February is "love for chocolate" in honour of Saint Valentine’s Day. In this case for the theme, I have opted for a romantically themed image to match with Saint Valentine’s Day. Recently I acquired a Henderson’s Sweets confectionery sales sample box from the 1880s. Made of brown leather and looking like a rather thin suitcase, it has latches at the side and a lock on the front which when unfastened, allow the front to fold down. Inside it contains six blue leather pull out drawers, each with faceted glass lidded compartments which would have been used by the Henderson’s Sweets salesman to offer samples to potential customers. On the inside of each blue leather lid is a gilded chromolithograph sticker from the early 1900s for Henderson’s Taykakisses, which were heart shaped sweets that Henderson’s Sweets sold. Henderson’s Taykakisses were introduced in October 1906 in once pence and thruppence bags. I am showing the best preserved of the six stickers in this photo, along with two Haigh’s Chocolatiers dark chocolate hearts (one wrapped in brown foil and the other unwrapped. If this doesn’t share a love for chocolate, I don’t know what does! I hope you like my choice for this week’s theme, and that it makes you smile.
Henderson’s was founded in Australia 1903, its first successful product being Henderson’s Herbal Cough Drops. The company soon became well known for its popular “Wee Macgreegor” Butterscotch and Almond Taiblets, Milkoko Bars and Honey Kisses, a type of caramel with wrappers bearing “love mottoes”. After a factory fire at James Steadman Sweets in 1916, they merged with Henderson’s Sweets and the merged company was known as James Stedman-Henderson Sweets and the sold under the brand Sweetacres after a competition amongst the staff. They invented some of Australia’s most iconic sweets including Minties, Fantales and Jaffas. Sweetacres merged with another Australian confectionery company, Hoadley’s, in 1967. The group was acquired by the British firm Rowntree in 1971 and became Rowntree Hoadley. In 1988, Nestlé took control of the British based Rowntree company, allowing Nestlé Australia to absorb Rowntree Hoadley’s operations. Around the same time, Nestlé acquired the Melbourne-based sweet maker, Allen’s. In a subsequent brand reshuffle, the heroes of the Sweetacres range became Allen’s products and the Sweetacres name was relegated to history.
On the 1st May 1915, Alfred E. Haigh opened the doors of the very first Haigh’s Chocolates store in the Beehive Building at 34 King William Street, Adelaide South Australia. Alfred began adding his own flavour to the industry and in 1917 he started producing chocolate-covered fruit centres. Business boomed. Alfred passed away suddenly in 1933, and his son Claude took over the running of the business, which had by then grown to six stores. During the Second World War, supplies were difficult. Yet despite the sugar rationing Haigh’s managed to keep on trading, making boiled sweets and wrapped toffees for the armed forces. Alfred’s grandson, John Haigh, joined the business in 1946 with a vision to take Haigh’s chocolate making to new heights. He trained in Switzerland with Lindt and Sprungli and visited the United States to look at production, shop styles and marketing. During the 1950s and 60s, Haigh’s chocolates were also sold in the cinema. In 1965 Haigh’s opened the first store outside South Australia, in Collins Street Melbourne, where Haigh’s chocolates proved to be just as popular. Haigh’s chocolates is still a family owned and run business, and is the oldest family owned chocolatiers in Australia.