19th Century Justice Brand Chocolate Advertising Box, William H. Baker

This 19th century Justice Brand Premium No. 1 Chocolate box produced by William H. Baker is available to you! The rich history of the chocolate industry in the United States at the turn of the century is interesting- and this box is a great example of its competitive nature. William Henry Baker formed his cocoa business in 1893 near Winchester, Virginia meanwhile Walter Baker of Baker's chocolate of Dorchester, Massachusetts had been selling chocolate in the U.S. since 1780....(yes- we were confused too....). There ensued at least two legal battles between W. H. Baker and Walter Baker & Co. Baker’s believed W. H. Baker was fraudulently trying to capitalize on the Baker name and intentionally mislead customers who had intended to buy Baker’s Chocolate but were being sold W. H. Baker’s Chocolate. In each instance, W. H. Baker was required to change his packaging to clearly highlight the difference between Baker's Chocolate and W. H. Baker's Chocolate. Hence, the advertising on our box........"William H. Baker Syracuse, Inc. Justice Brand Premium No. 1 Chocolate". What is very interesting is that we could not find any mention of Justice Chocolate being located at 80 Wall Street in New York City....interesting, huh?
At 10" long x 7" tall x 7" wide, this advertising box is the perfect size to display on a shelf or on top of a cupboard- it would look fantastic on your Hoosier cabinet in your kitchen! The corners are dovetailed; the patina is a warm chestnut brown with some fading to one side. The underside has some wear which can be seen in our photos....but what a great piece of history to own (and what a fantastic conversation piece?)!! Please message us if you have any questions- Thanks for looking!