I'm working and waiting for delivery of Z Chocolates from France - my favorite for years, and France's top chocolatier for 2022. It seems appropriate I should write of the history of French confectioneurs and chocolatiers goes back as far as 1700s when cocoa and sugar were new and extremely pricey imports - held only for Royals and Nobility or very rich. Early bonbon presentation boxes (some pictured in one of the group photos) were hand made works of art, glass and paper and card, foil, sometimes original little paintings on top or under glass - small. Legacy of excellent carried fine names in chocolate making and confection creation are as honored in French history's through centuries. And their presentation boxes remain highly collectable and more and more rare. Boissier is one of the finest names of 19th century, and still produces fine confections. We've had Boissier chocolates presentation boxes that have brought upward of $5000, and we've sold to the Boissier Museum in Paris, as well. This chocolates box, large and silk on silk embroidery, shows you turn of the 20th century box for Marquise de Sévigne Chocolatier, created in 1898 by a couple of entrepreneurs, Auguste and Clémentine Rouzaud. This house of confections, which conveys good French taste was bought by the Burrus family in 1973. The brand's reputation was built on the luxurious confection of chocolate boxes and the impeccable quality of the gourmet treasures they contain. This one is 8 5/8" in diameter and 2 1/2" tall when closed. The entire exterior is silk. Silk embroidery on silk. The interior is the more traditional paper, bearing the gold embossed cachet of the chocolatier. The boxes are entirely handmade - whole industries commissioned these so there would be a 'souvenir' to keep after their fine chocolates were consumed.
Very good to excellent condition throughout with only 2 very small flaws: a 1/4" spot of ripped blue paper on the bottom interior of box (torn) and a pale stain in one spot along the side of the lid of the box. Otherwise, all this silk and elegance remains. A very early 1900s box, the padded top is silk and metallic embroidery on silk, framed in by delicately shirred silk, metallic passementerie trim. The large size is a factor of the more readily available chocolate by that point in history. Belle Epoch, this one - c.1906 or so.
