A sweets tin box from the museum collection was made in 1912 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812. The lid features an image of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Sweets were manufactured by the Partnership of the Renome Confectionery Factory in Moscow. Similar boxes featuring the image of Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov were made by the Partnership of the Vostorg (Delight) Confectionery and Candy Factory in Kursk.
In the 1880s, chromolithography was developed. This is a method of color printing on tin. Store shelves were soon filled with metal boxes in various shapes and colors that were decorated using this technique. In 1912, the Russian Empire celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the Patriotic War. To commemorate this event, all major confectionery manufacturers produced a series of candy boxes.
Chocolates, candies, boxes, and wrappers were decorated with scenes of the Patriotic War. One chocolate package featured an image of a guerrilla ambush in a snowy forest, waiting for the French troops to approach. It was accompanied with an inscription “Let them come!” Manufacturers also produced caramel named “Fire of Moscow” and “Meeting in Fili”. Portraits of heroes and participants in those events were printed on tin boxes containing tea, cookies, and sweets. The personalities included Barclay de Tolly and Denis Vasilyevich Davydov. Images of Russian generals and French marshals were also used.
At the turn of the 20th century, candy wrappers and packaging served as an important source of historical information. This approach encouraged consumers to collect the entire series. The packaging contributed to educating the public about those events. In memory of the War of 1812, several hundred boxes with images of Napoleon were produced in the Russian Empire.
A variety of Russian artists were commissioned to work on the wrappers, including Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel and Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin. The owners of confectionery factories kept their names secret to prevent competitors from luring the artists away. For example, Ivan Bilibin completed sketches for a series of Russian-style images for packaging, which were used by several confectionery factories simultaneously.
