The Old Chambers Street Candy Manufactory. Established 1806.... Broken Candy... Ridley & Co. Steam Refined Candy & Sugar Plums

New York City: [the company, 1857. Original candy packaging, a bag (28 x 16.5 cm.), printed in blue with text and engraved illustration on verso and recto. A confectionery bag from the famous Ridley & Co., suppliers of candy to New York City, and renowned for their Sugar Plums. Founded in 1806 and backed by the Stewart sugar interests, the original Ridley & Co. was located at Chambers and Greenwich Streets. In 1850 the headquarters, incorporating both steam-powered manufacturing facility and retail shop, moved to the corner of Chambers & Hudson. It's this three-story, white brick corner building that is depicted in the blue steel engraving on the bag. The illustration shows the storefront with large painted signs for "Candy Sugar Plums". There are horse drawn trolleys, on the 6th and 8th Avenue lines, and customers flocking to the entrance of the attractive storefront. The verso contains an additional engraving, also printed in blue, depicting "Ridley & Co's Branch Store, 206 Fifth Avenue, Corner 26th Street, New York". A new building (without Ridley's) appeared at this location in 1856-57, thus providing the upper date limit of this item. The bag is "crinkled" and has some edgewear to the top, and a few small stains. Still, over all near very good, and an early and remarkable survival. [OCLC locates no copies; Edison Monthly, vol VII, no. 9, pages 346-349.