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Album and full page photos for reference only. This sale is for the 1898 Thomas Edison Stollwerck Chocolates Album - 1 RARE.This is a Thomas Edison Stollwerck trading card manufactured in 1898.This non-sport trading card belongs to the Stollwerck Chocolatefranchise in Germany. This card had remained in its original Stollwerck Albumsince first distributed over 100 years ago and has only been recently removedto photograph. Card is in very good condition for its age and when compared toother available cards on the market. Card is ready to be graded.
Stollwerck albums were highly popular, collectiblescrapbooks issued by the German chocolate manufacturer Stollwerck starting inthe late 19th century. These albums were designed specifically to house Stollwerckscrap pictures and trade cards, which were distributed as promotionalpremiums inside their chocolate bars and packages.
Between 1898 and the mid-20th century, Stollwerck releasedat least 15 distinct, numbered main albums. This marketing strategy sparked amassive "collecting fever" across Europe, pioneering the modernconcept of commercial trading card albums.
High Artistic Value: Stollwerck hired renownedartists, illustrators, and early photographers (such as Adolf Miethe) to designthe cards, employing intricate Art Nouveau styling and premium multi-colorchromolithography.
Historical Milestones
- Album No. 1 (1898): The official launch of the structured album series, formatting the standard 6-card grid patterns.
- Social Phenomenon: Completing an entire album or specific groups allowed collectors to participate in major prize competitions. Schools even utilized the completed albums as visual instructional textbooks
