Chocolate Flight of Fancy

Suchard is one of Switzerland’s first generation of great chocolate makers and like many competitors sought to encourage brand loyalty by including collectors’ cards in every pack. They were issued in series and printed in colour – the breadth of subject matter was enormous but the artists took great care to ensure that a pack of Suchard was visible somewhere in every image. These images are no exception and together form an aeronautical fantasy in which Suchard products are harnessed to hot-air balloons to escape the force of gravity and take a dizzying flight high above the physical and man-made wonders of their native land. Ever more ingenious pretexts for placing the name of Suchard in front of the public are employed as the flight progresses – even lightning flashes and footprints in the Alpine snows are pressed into service. 

Whilst We Sleep with Typhoo Tea

This is a series of 25 collectors’ cards issued in 1928 by Typhoo Tea. It’s a tribute to the anonymous individuals who keep us safe and ensure the wheels of commerce keep turning throughout the night. We are presented with a sober law-abiding group, responsibly and purposefully occupied in the interests of an orderly productive society. So, no place for the courtesan, the croupier or the cat burglar. Most of these worthy folk would today be working for Serco or G4S on Zero Hours contracts, clad in Hi Vis jackets. Today’s Pantheon of Heroes of the Night would have to include the office cleaner, the Paramedic, the Amazon order picker, the all-night DJ, and the Samaritans volunteer. The images are ideally suited to the elongated vertical format designed to fit inside a packet of tea and, unlike cigarette cards could be collected without exposure to the health risks associated with smoking.