Fanny Farmer: The Sweet Collectibles
by Leon  & Rose Poirier

   We started collecting Fanny Farmer memorabilia about twenty years ago. We occasionally ran across pieces while searching for glass toy candy containers, our real passion. We had fond memories of Fanny Farmer from our childhood and acquiring a piece now and then seemed like a harmless way to avoid coming home empty handed. But because there was no Fanny Farmer collector’s guide, finding them turned out to be a journey of discovery, each one a surprise that left us wondering what could possibly be next. We had no idea that there were so many different vintage Fanny Farmer items. Who would have guessed that Fanny Farmer produced phonograph albums, dolls and Teddy bears? Did you know that they made cough drops, or gave away blotters, postcards, bookmarks, calendars and even major league baseball team schedules? Remember those harmless little Fanny Farmer items that we brought home? They’ve grown into a collection of over 400 pieces.
 
   It has been said that three related examples of anything are a collection. But the fun in finding and acquiring the pieces for such a small collection is short lived. Isn’t searching for additions to a collection half the fun of collecting? That’s one reason why Fanny Farmer is such a good collectible. A great variety of its products were widely distributed in large numbers. Another reason is that Fanny Farmer memorabilia tends to be reasonably priced. A collectible, although old, that was not costly when new, is often reasonably valued today. When we consider the care in the design and the quality of the material Fanny Farmer used in its boxes, it reflects the spirit of an era, long ago, when the bottom line of a profit and loss sheet wasn’t always a company’s most compelling motivation. The pleasure of collecting is enhanced when we know the origin of an item and the history of its manufacturer. Another plus for collecting Fanny Farmer memorabilia is that it is still in business. This adds yet another dimension to collecting. It is easier to research the company’s history and determine the ages of its past products. An added bonus is that one can acquire current items that add to the longevity of the collection and help to fill in the dry spells between major finds of old examples.
 
   For eighty years, Fanny Farmer packaged its candy in boxes celebrating holiday themes. No better example of this exists than the vast array of designs it created to hold its candy at Christmastime. Santa and his reindeer; Christmas trees, wreaths, and ornaments; elves and snowmen were all used as candy-box themes. Tin, wood, paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, china, papier maché and even wax formed an endless variety of boxes for candy, nuts, fruitcake and other holiday treats. Some of the boxes were strictly utilitarian but many were extraordinary, and these are the ones that people remember from their childhood. Cardboard boxes that were pull toys in disguise - eat the candy and keep the toy. How about wax figurals filled with candy, a plastic Santa that was also a bank, and toy trucks loaded with cargoes of candy?  A doll cradle, circus wagon, fire engine, speedboat, coal shuttle (What’s a coal shuttle?) and Uncle Sam all filled with Fanny Farmer candy were often found under the tree on Christmas morning. Other boxes celebrated Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day and other special days. Fanny Farmer also distributed many other items such as Christmas phonograph albums, Teddy bears, golf balls, fans, coffee mugs, recipe boxes, china plates and eggcups. All this means that there are still many examples of its old boxes and other memorabilia to be found. It is astonishing that even though their contents were to be eaten and the boxes discarded, that so many cardboard boxes, of little intrinsic value when new, survive to this day.
 
   Although the value of the most desirable Fanny Farmer collectibles is steadily increasing, many can still be found for ten dollars or less. We found Fanny Farmer collectibles in many places including antiques shops and malls, yard sales, flea markets, newspaper and trade journal advertisements, on the Internet, and even in the homes of friends and relatives. Internet auction sites, however, have been our best single source. Sometimes, we found other things like buttons, valentines, handkerchiefs, baby booties, and baking supplies in Fanny Farmer boxes. Almost always, the seller isn’t interested in the box except to hold the items he or she is really trying to sell and is willing to separate the box from its contents. There are still 72 Fanny Farmer retail shops where you can buy this year’s crop of Christmas boxes. At Christmas, Easter, and Valentines Day, their candy is also sold through thousands of department stores, supermarkets and drug stores including Target, Wal-Mart, and Kmart department stores. This candy is boxed differently than that sold in their stores.
 
   We were also surprised to discover the many variations that certain items display. Sometimes, the same box or motif was used over many years. In such cases, the chronology of the simplifications in their design and manufacture are apparent. During the 1940s war years, one can see how metal components were replaced with cardboard and during other periods, how cardboard was substituted for wood, the graphics and designs simplified, and less robust stock introduced to cut production costs.

The Fanny Farmer Company:
A Brief History

   When Frank O’Connor came to the United States in 1919 to start an American candy company, he used the same formula here that had been so successful for him in Canada. The name for his new company had to reflect his belief that his candy was made of the highest quality ingredients available, produced in small batches to insure its freshness, and made with exacting care from time-tested recipes. What better person to name his new candy company after than the indefatigable Fannie Merritt Farmer who revolutionized the art of cooking and recipe writing. Her recipes were followed in millions of homes throughout America and abroad. Men and women admired her for her innovation in food preparation, her courage in fighting personal adversity, and for the many contributions she made in special diet foods for the ill.
 
   Fanny Merritt Farmer was born on March 23, 1857, in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in Medford, not far from Boston. She attended the Boston Cooking School and became its headmistress. It was here that she developed the idea of precise measurements in cooking and rewrote recipes with vague measurements into clear and concise descriptions that could be followed by expert and novice cooks alike. In 1896, she wrote her first cookbook, The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook. It was a smash hit, so popular that it was translated into many languages.  It’s hard to appreciate today that the book and her methods revolutionized cooking and recipe writing. The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook, now known as the Fannie Farmer Cookbook (Fannie Farmer Cookbook is a Registered Trademark of the Fanny Farmer Co.), has sold over three million copies since Fannie Meritt Farmer wrote it.
 
   Frank O’Connor could not have picked a better name than Fanny Farmer for his new company. Her name symbolized the highest standards of quality, purity, wholesomeness and integrity in food preparation. He opened the first Fanny Farmer shop just four years after her death. It was located on Main Street in Rochester, NY. The bright, airy and inviting new store was all white with Fanny Farmer written in black letters on the sign above the door. White ruffled curtains framed the windows that displayed its candy and a little lighthouse blinking its welcome. Inside, white-aproned clerks behind gleaming-white counters packed customers’ candy selections in the now familiar white box with Fannie Farmer’s picture on the lid, the Homestead on one side and the Statue of Liberty on the other and tied the box with red, white and blue string.  That same box was used up until the 1950s.
 
   This first store was an immediate success and soon after, new shops were opened in other New York cities. Always the same décor; always the same quality and freshness; and always that little lighthouse in the window blinking its welcome. It wasn’t long before Fanny Farmer shops were located in other states. O’Connor’s philosophy of providing the customer with the freshest and finest candy and chocolate available was paying off.  More stores were opened until there were over 350 shops in 22 states.
 
   The ingredients used in their candy were the freshest and best quality available. Real creamery (Land O’Lakes) butter, fresh cream, fresh fruits and premium nutmeats from around the world. Expert confectioners made the candy in bright, airy, spotlessly clean studios. There were many studios; each located to serve the retail shops in that region. To ensure the best possible freshness, the studios were located no more than two hundred miles from the retail shops. With the advent of refrigeration in 1937, retail shops could be located more distant from the manufacturing studios, although many studios in various regional centers were always operated. The company’s popularity continued to grow even during the depression years of the thirties and the war years of the forties.
 
   During WWII, sugar, chocolate and other ingredients were rationed and in short supply. Fanny Farmer continued to make what candy it could with available supplies. One of its services was to mail candy anywhere for its customers. During WWII, much of its candy was mailed to servicemen in all parts of the world. It even developed a special Service Assortment for members of the Armed Forces. Fanny Farmer placed signs and posters in its shops that encouraged their customers to buy War Bonds and Stamps instead of candy. The U.S. Government recognized it for helping in the war effort in this way. It also maintained an Honor Roll of all its employees who were in the Army, Navy and Marines. In 1944, there were over 400 Fanny Farmer employees fighting for America.
 
   For several years, its general offices were located in Boston, MA and one of its studios in Cambridge. In early 1970 the general offices were moved to Bedford, MA and a distribution center was set up in Burlington, MA. In the mid-eighties, the offices were moved to Wakefield, MA and in 1988, to Cleveland, OH. In 1992, the Archibald Candy Corporation acquired Fanny Farmer and moved its offices to Chicago, IL.
 
   The Archibald Candy Corporation is the largest retail candy company in the United States and operates hundreds of retail Fannie May, Fanny Farmer, Laura Secord, and Sweet Factory shops.
   Many of the Christmas-related pieces of our collection are on display, during December, at the Fanny Farmer Candy Store at the Nashua Mall located at the junction of the Everett Turnpike (Exit 6) and Rte. 130 in Nashua, NH. This is a rare opportunity to see so many vintage Fanny Farmer Christmas collectibles dating back to the 1930s at one time.