Chocolat Menier Chocolate Tin

This rectangular tin with a blue and silver design was used to store and market chocolate by Chocolat Menier. The lid contains an elaborate village motif, while the side has plain, block lettering of the manufacturing company.

Chocolat Menier was founded in 1816 by Antoine Menier in Paris, France as a pharmaceutical company. In 1825, the Menier chocolate factory expanded to Noisiel, and in the 1830s it became the first mechanized mass production facility for chocolate in France. By 1853, the company had expanded several times and production levels had reached 4,000 tons. In 1864, Emile-Justin, Antoine’s son, sold off the pharmaceutical sector of the business and began concentrating and expanding the chocolate business. By the 1880s, production had increased to 125,000 tons and the company was employing 2000 people. The company continued receiving international acclaim until the beginning of WWI through WWII. During the time, other countries, such as the United States and Switzerland, began their rapid rise while factories in France suffered due to the ravages of war. The company continued its decline, never able to recover after the Second World War and eventually the family merged with Cacao Barry in 1960 and sold their remaining shares five years later.

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.

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