very rare Hilda Clark Coca Cola gum candy egg tin 1890s

 

Exceptionally rare early piece of Coca Cola advertising. Egg shape tin with detailed image of Hilda Clark. She wears the same kind of theatrical outfit, gloves, feathery hat seen on the Coca Cola signs. Text reads "Beauty , wit, and sense combined....are centered in the human mind. Tin measures 2 1/4" x 1 5/8" x 1 5/8". Bottom is bare unpainted tin with a bush of gold paint applied at a later date. No tin maker name or product information. It is fact Hilda Clark had a contract with Coca Cola to model Coca Cola products. She was their very first model. Coca Cola was originally marketed as a tonic for the brain and the slogan on this egg speaks of the importance of mental fitness . Color of the tin, reddish orange at present , could have been a darker red 100 years ago. Tins of the 1890s were generally made in a few colors, black ink on yellow, green, or red with red being the most sensitive to color fades. Some may consider it a stretch to attribute this tin to a Coca Cola product, but no true collector should afford to be wrong in this regard and miss out on what could be one of the very best, oldest, and rarest of all coca cola collectibles. Coca Cola did engage is some form of gum and candy marketing in its early years. The extreme age of this tin is not a matter for debate, and can be proven beyond reasonable doubt. Tin is over 100 years old. I have 30+ years experience in tins and maintain a collection of many exceptionally rare old tins. Stage actresses were used on a few series of tobacco tins. I have included a picture from my collection of the very rare Minnie Hauk tin from a series by Between the Acts. There are less than 5 examples of this Minnie Hauk tin known to exist. Yellow tin is not included in this sale and is shown for comparisons of manufacturing. The egg has the internal patina and rippling of tin edge consistant with 19th century manufacture. Even the lettering fonts are identical to both tins. This egg was likely manufactured by the same Ginna tin company of NY City that was bought out in 1901. The pixels of the graphics show an early use of photo offset printing. The Minnie Hawk tin is lithographed using an acid etched limestone. The photo offset process was introduced to tin manufacturing at the very close of the 19th century. This allows for a very limited and specific range of dates for the egg's age, from the late 1890s to the purchase of Ginna by the American Can Co in 1901. This time period matches the historical record of Hilda Clark's modelling contract with Coca Cola. The Coca Cola company is also know for employing to most advanced and cutting edge technologies, by the best artists in making its advertising items, which this egg exemplifies. This egg could not have contained a powdery substance like tobacco as it would spill out on opening. It likely held gum or a hard candy . Eggs could have been sold in a glass jar or counter top box with "Coca Cola Gum" advertising . Germans made tin eggs in the 1890s for easter candy, but these are in a thin metallic paint with various bunny rabbits dressed as people. The portrait of Hilda Clark is a remarkable feat of printing technology. Portrait was first printed on a flat piece of tin before pressing into an egg. The lithographic plate had to sketch a distorted image of Hilda collapsed inward so that upon stamping the design would stretch into a correct image. There are a few minor scratches away from the face. . Buyer pays $2.75 mail.