Suchard

1905? 12 numbered French cards of La Fontaine fables from Chocolat Suchard. 2 3/8" x slightly more than 4". $63 from Marie Foreman, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, through Ebay, Feb., '02. The last two cards for $10 from Albert Van den Bosch, Antwerp, Belgium, April, '13. These small landscape-formatted cards offer beautiful colored pictures of human scenes exemplifying animal fables. The picture-side includes "Chocolat Suchard," a number up to 12, and a title. The verso, sometimes showing a glue-tear, comes in four different patterns. In each of the patterns, a title and excerpts from the fable occur beneath an elaborate monocolor floral or animal background, "Neuchatel, Suisse," and mention of London, Paris, and New York offices. The addresses are the same in each format. Each format also mentions "Exposition Universelle Paris 1900 Grand Prix." The colored illustration cleverly includes both the animal scene and some Suchard product into the human scene. Even a bridge and a road bear the Suchard name! Do not miss in "Les Deux Coqs" the dramatic confrontation of two men in the farmyard, while a young woman looks on. The joker in FC is about to lure the Suchard chocolate from the vain dandy who carries it. The scene in "Le Rat et l'Huitre" is complex. A boy stealing packages of Suchard chocolate is about to experience the jaws of an attacking dog, just as the rat probing an oyster is about to have the oyster snap shut on his or her head!

1910? Four numbered cards from a series of 12 landscape formatted trade cards advertising Suchard products. La Fontaine fables. €30 each from collectomania, Oct., '22. The verso of each card shows a woman in kerchief with four children and a cat and the notation "Série 235." The front of each card follows a formula including a green or green-and-red rectangular border; a scene of children that overflows the borders of that rectangle; some Suchard product with its name; the title of the La Fontaine fable; and a few verses from the original fable. Some of the illustrations start to become a bit grotesque, particularly WC and "The Bear and the Gardener." We have now #4, 5, 11, and 12. Let's find the other eight!

1980? Twelve numbered cards in strong portrait format (2⅜" x 4⅛") distributed among five "families" of Suchard: Chocolat, Velma, Milka, Cacao, and Noisettine. €25 from Albert Van den Bosch, Antwerp, Belgium, Feb., '12. BF from olivier9682 through Ebay for €6.50, July, '22. Some of these cards still have the feel that the powder with which they came is still on them. Strong colors and simple forms mark these cards, which are quite different from the more traditional Suchard landscape cards. The identifying numbers between "1" and "12" can be hard to find but they are there in the corner of the image segment.

1930? Twelve numbered cards from the 269 series of 12 portrait-formatted trade cards advertising Suchard products. La Fontaine fables. €33 each from collectomania, Oct., '22. These cards follow the pattern found in the later cards of having each card advertise one of Suchard's particular products. In this case, the product itself is pictured as part of the front of the card. The verso of each is highly ornamental. At the top, five Suchard products are listed. Under "Suchard," a text-box features at least a portion of the fable. Around this text-box is a repeated design of various fable characters. "Série 269" is at the bottom right of each verso.