In 1899 Queen Victoria decided to send a gift of tin boxes of chocolate to her troops serving in South Africa. It was intended that every soldier and officer should receive a box with the inscription ‘South Africa 1900’ and in the Queen’s handwriting ‘I wish you a happy New Year’.
Description: Rectangular tin with a portrait of Queen Victoria on a red ground with a blue edge, the royal cypher ‘VRI‘, and the inscription, ‘South Africa 1900‘ on the lid.
History: The manufacture of the tin boxes was funded personally by the Queen. They were based on a design by Barclay and Fry Limited of Southwark. Since each of the chocolate manufacturers used different firms to supply the tins, there are variations in their dimensions, the shade of coloring and the printing of the portrait medallion of the Queen. The tins had rounded corners for ease of storage in a soldier’s knapsack.
As a gift from the Queen, many soldiers preserved their tins with the chocolate intact, even posting them back home for safe-keeping.
Weight: The box contained a half-pound of vanilla chocolate.
Size: The box, measures 6” long by 3.5” high.