What does a 120-year-old chocolate look like, which was found among the things of an Australian poet

Specialists of the National Australian Library, who dealt with the legacy of the poet Andrew Barton Paterson, who died in 1941, found, among other things, a box of Cadbury chocolates 120 years old. It was such boxes that Queen Victoria distributed to British soldiers during the Anglo-Boer War. The Queen's gift is well preserved.

Specialists of the National Australian Library have found one of the oldest boxes of chocolate on Earth, which is about 120 years old. During this time, the chocolate has certainly changed, but it still looks edible.

Cadburry chocolate was discovered by archivists in the collection of personal belongings of the famous Australian poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, author of "Waltzing Matilda– - the unofficial anthem of Australia. According to historians, it was such boxes of chocolate that Queen Victoria distributed to soldiers during the Anglo-Boer War.

A box of chocolate was found in a scattering of diaries, newspapers and poetry notebooks of Paterson. Surprisingly, the 120-year-old chocolate has not deteriorated.

The chocolate was packed as it should have been a century ago - in foil with straw.

According to historians, such boxes of chocolate were distributed in 1900 to British soldiers going to the Anglo-Boer War. Engraved on the lid are the inscriptions: "South Africa, 1900" and "I wish you a Happy New Year. Victoria", and also painted a portrait of the queen.

The British company Cadbury produced boxes of chocolate for the British troops by order of the royal family. Buckingham Palace ordered from 70 to 80 thousand one-pound boxes of chocolate, which were paid for from the queen's personal funds. The order sounded like this:

Although the queen's gift was made specifically for soldiers, it quickly got into civilian circulation: boxes of chocolate were popular with collectors and speculators, and some soldiers sold them for 5-10 pounds apiece. Archivists believe that Paterson also bought chocolate from soldiers in 1899, when he traveled to South Africa as a war correspondent for the Australian editions of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Now the found box with chocolate will be sent to the archive of the National Library, where it will be stored with other things of the poet.