Coronation chocolates given to a school girl 121 years ago sparked a global auction battle.
Bidders from India, the United States, Spain and the UK locked horns to bring the tiny sweet treat home after being touched by the story behind the royal memento. A little girl could never bring herself to eat them because they were so special.
The Cadbury’s vanilla chocolates, still in original tin, were made to mark the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra on June 26, 1902. They sold at Hansons Auctioneers on July 25, 2023 to a buyer in Spain for £1,000 – 10 times the £100-£150 estimate.
The man determined to make them his own was Mark Harrison, a British Expat living in the Alicante area. He said: “My family and I have always been royalists. We flew over to London for King Charles’s coronation just to get a glimpse of the Royal Family.
“I feel I have bought a piece of history. The box of chocolates are extremely rare and unique. I really wanted to win the auction and was absolutely delighted when I did. I’m lucky and blessed to own them and I would assure like to assure the seller’s family that they will be treasured by me and my family.”
Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said: “We had a crazy amount of interest in this tiny, century-old tin of chocolates. Emails were coming in from all over the world. It’s an astonishing result. The royal memento and the reason it survived melted hearts. These days, chocolates are lucky to last a day in most homes, let alone 121 years.”
The gift was given to Mary Ann Blackmore by her Durham school when she was nine years old in 1902. However, ‘generations of self-restraint’ meant she never took a single bite. Instead Mary, who was born in 1892, treasured them as a memento of an important royal occasion for her entire life. She died at the age of 96 in 1988.
Mary’s granddaughter Jean Thompson, 72, said: “I’m not sure if the chocolates were given to my grandmother as a prize at school or if every pupil received one.
“Though her family originated from Cornwall, Mary Ann, was born in Sunniside, north west Durham, and spent all her life there. I think the chocolate was regarded as too special to eat, maybe due to generations of self restraint! I was aware of it as a child as something special, an object of curiosity from my nana’s childhood. By that time there was no question of eating it, which I guess is why I’ve kept it.
“None of my children are interested in keeping it, so with coronations being a topical subject it came to mind that a more appreciative home could be found with a collector of such items.”
Charles said: “When people had very little they treasured things we take for granted today. The chocolates were inside an old chest of drawers. When you open the tin, you can still smell the chocolate. The tin bears its original Cadbury’s vanilla chocolate label and wrapped over the chocolate and silver foil is a King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra Coronation label.
“Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate as we know it today was not introduced until 1905. You can see from the label that Mary was given vanilla chocolates.”
Cadbury was founded in 1824 in Birmingham by John Cadbury (1801–1889), a Quaker who sold tea, coffee and drinking chocolate. Cadbury developed the business with his brother Benjamin, followed by his sons Richard and George. George developed the Bournville estate, a model village designed to give company workers improved living conditions.
Dairy Milk chocolate, introduced by George Jr in 1905, used a higher proportion of milk in the recipe than rival products. By 1914, it was the company’s best-selling product. Cadbury was granted its first royal warrant from Queen Victoria in 1854. It held a royal warrant from Elizabeth II from 1955 to 2022.
The 1902 coronation chocolates sold in Hansons Auctioneers’ July 20-25 Antiques and Collectors Auction.
Auction entries invited
To arrange a free valuation or enquire about Hansons’ services, please email [email protected] or call 01283 733988.
