Education Exhibit on Cocoa and Chocolate

This wooden box with hinged top has a bronze plate nailed to the top which reads "Educational Exhibit, Cocoa and Chocolate: Prepared by Walter Baker & Co. Ltd. Dorchester, Mass." There are four glass containers inside the box containing cacao beans, cocoa nibs (roasted cacao beans with the shell removed), cocoa butter and cocoa powder. Set into the lid are the types of manufactured chocolate produced by Walter Baker & Co., the Baker’s Chocolate bar, German’s Sweet Chocolate bar, Vanilla Chocolate bar and pulverized cocoa powder to be used as drinking chocolate.

Walter Baker & Co. started producing these exhibits as early as 1886 with several different runs in the years that followed. They produced these boxes as an educational aide for teachers who wanted to discuss the transformation of cacao beans into chocolate bars and cocoa powder.

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.

Currently not on view