In the late 19th-century, when you bought chocolate, the grocer dropped a delightful prize into your bag, a trade card to save and share.
The Chocolat Pupier brand was created in Saint-Étienne, France, in the 1860s. The founder, Jean-Louis Pupier, handed over the company to his son Joseph in 1895. His grandsons Adrien and Marcel Pupier succeeded their father in 1919. The company included trade cards in with their products. When collectors completed a full set of cards, they could redeem them for a gift. In 1938 the company issued a series of chocolate trade cards with the theme of countries of the world. Business declined after the second war, and the company was bought in 1957 and passed from hand to hand before disappearing in 1970. The brand belongs today to the group Cémoi.
Gartmann is famous for its “automats” or vending machines, launched in 1903, that dispensed either a vanilla chocolate or a cream chocolate rolled with a collectible picture card. First founded in 1810, the company is still in operation today.
Cowan’s Cocoa and Chocolate was founded in 1899 in Toronto. The business was sold in 1926 to the British Rowntree & Company and continued in operation until it was acquired by Nestle in 1988.
Robertson Brothers Ltd. Confectioners produced chocolates that were distributed containing collectible cards from their headquarters in Toronto. Today the building that housed their factory are part of the Queen Richmond Centre.
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