HEART SHAPED Leather Box/DELINE MFG CO of DENVER CO/c1910s-Valentine's Day CANDY

Description

Heart shaped red leather box with red silk lining, made by the Deline Manufacturing Company of Denver, Colorado, circa 1910s to 1920s. The heart shaped box measures just under 10” by 10” by 3” tall and has a lid with a leather tab for opening it. The outside of the box is covered in fine red leather, except for the bottom which has brown figured paper on it. The interior is lined with a red silk or satin, and there’s a cloth tag inside that reads Genuine Leather, Deline Mfg. Co., Denver. The Deline Manufacturing Company was located at 1075 Santa Fe Drive in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Denver, CO, and specialized in the manufacture of fancy leather and paper boxes in the first decades of the 20
th
century. The Denver Public Library website has a very nice image of their factory building and workers from this period. The company appears in Denver directories for 1915 and 1923, and I found an illustrated advertisement for their premium leather covered and satin lined Easter candy boxes in the International Confectioner of 1917. I have not found any other examples of this box, likely sold as a fancy candy box for Valentine’s Day gifts. The box is in good condition, considering it’s probably a hundred years old. There are no major tears or significant damage, but there is a fair amount of wear and rubbing (especially at the corners, edges, and at the hinge) and a couple of minor spots of discoloration. The silk lining has one minor tear at the left edge under the lid, and the edges under the lid show fraying. A nice piece of early Denver CO manufacturing history and an outstanding Valentine’s Day candy box!