Early labels for products like Cocoa Essence were clear and dignified, suggesting high quality. They weren’t hugely colourful though – printers in the mid-19th century were mostly restricted to a single colour.
Chocolate for eating appeared in the 1840s and had decorative packaging right from the start – it was a new product so had to tempt customers who may not have tried it before. Two of the earliest pictorial labels were based on engravings of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and of the Birmingham Town Hall.