Cioccolato Suchard, Velma, Mini Poster

About The Poster: A lovely vintage Italian advertisement  for the famous Swiss chocolate brand Suchard, created by Philippe Suchard in the early 1800s. The Suchard ads are classic and fun, and we are lucky to have a few of them in our collection. Simply use the search bar and type "suchard" to see our other pieces. Piece measures approximately 6.25 x 9 and is matted to 13.25 x 18.75 inches. In excellent condition.

About Philippe Suchard: 

According to the memoirs of his sister Rosalie, he was first struck by the money-spinning possibilities of chocolate manufacturing at the age of about 12, when he went to Neuchâtel - a two hour walk from his home village - to buy chocolate as a medicine for his sick mother. A mere 500 grams (just over one pound) cost as much as a labourer could earn in three days. Six years later, he embarked on his career by becoming an apprentice to his brother, already a well-known confectioner in Bern.

After eight years of hard work he used his savings to travel to America, on his return set up a modest factory in what is now the Neuchâtel suburb of Serrières, where a river emerging from a spring has cut a deep gorge. The regular flow of the water had long been used for mills of various kinds; Suchard put it to use to drive his machinery. When he started manufacturing, he employed only two people, and they produced 25-30 kg (55-65 lb) of chocolate per day. (Source: swissworld.org).