Sweet dreams as museum displays allsorts of classic confectionery

Curators and volunteers have been hard at work recreating a vintage sweet shop for the exhibition, showcasing shelves of historic treats enjoyed by children and adults over the past 120 years.

Among the objects which make up the display are tins of traditional Pontefract liquorice, made by Hillaby’s in the 1930s.

Founder John Hillaby established the huge steam-powered Lion Liquorice Works in 1850, which grew its own crops and became the largest liquorice producer in the world. They also made the liquorice boot which was famously eaten by legendary silent film star Charlie Chaplin in the film, Goldrush.

Also on display is a series of toffee tins from Henry Thorne & Co. Ltd of Leeds. With a large factory on Edward Street, near the old West Yorkshire bus station, the company was a leading name in confectionery production, reputedly making more than two million pieces a day by the 1960s.

Other objects which make up the display include historic packaging and advertising for Cadbury’s Ltd, a tin of Fox’s Glacier Mints from 1950 and a set of shop scales, once used to measure out different varieties of sweets at Dawes and Sons on Hunslet Road, Leeds in around 1900.

Kitty Ross, Leeds Museums and Galleries’ curator of social history, said: “Sweets and confectionery are among the most enduring and recognisable brands in the world, tapping into a unique sense of nostalgia and the happy memories we have of them as children.

“Most people can fondly recall their favourite childhood sweet or treat as well as the places and people they associate with them, and that’s always been a key part of the products which have stood the test of time.

“In many ways, those brands encapsulate the power of advertising and we can see in them examples of the ingenious tactics different companies have used to appeal to their customers over the decades.”

As well as sweets and confectionery The Power of Persuasion also features other objects which look back at hundreds of years of tried and trusted brands from across Yorkshire and beyond.

Examples include vintage signs which once adorned the streets of Leeds such as a giant pair of spectacles which once hung outside the famous Dyons jewellers and which were rescued from a skip when the shop was renovated.

Also on display is an eye-catching golden Tetley’s brewery sign and a huge wooden arm and hammer which once advertised a Victorian gold beater’s shop in Leeds.

Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s executive member for economy, culture and education, said: “Leeds has been the birthplace of some truly iconic brands which have helped put the city on the map nationally and around the world.

“It’s fascinating to explore how those brands and others have become part of our history and to see some of the many enthralling objects in our world-class collection.”

The Power of Persuasion is open now at Abbey House Museum on January 20, 2024.

More details are available at: The Power of Persuasion – Leeds Museums & Galleries

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