Thrift store find !!!

[acevillav]

I found some treasure the local thrift store. I was crusin the glass section and found a vasaline glass tea berry gum display stand. for a $1.31 I saw some others going for 9.99-$99.99 on Ebay. Does anybody have any details on this piece

Thanks for any all information.

Ace Villav

 

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[diggummup]

From what I can find out and what I know about vaseline glass, it dates from the 20's-30's and would have been used in a store to display packs of gum on it.Very important regarding value on vaseline glass is condition, any small chips whatsoever will diminish the value greatly. Scratches don't help either. Here is some info on Clarks-

The D. L. Clark Company was founded in 1886 when Clark started manufacturing candy in two back rooms of a small house in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, now Pittsburgh's North Side. When David Clark started selling candy in the streets of Pittsburgh, the prospect of becoming a giant in the confectionery industry was far from his thoughts. However, during his lifetime (1864-1939), the D. L. Clark Company became a leading candy manufacturer and the Clark bar emerged as one of the nation's favorite treats.

Clark's business grew steadily and in 1911 the company moved to larger quarters at a cracker factory on Pittsburgh's North Side. The D. L. Clark Company continued to expand and prosper at that location for 75 years, manufacturing some of America's best-known candies. The company experimented with a variety of ingredients that had never been used in candy before. Clark introduced confections filled with coconut, mint and peanut butter and was a leader in marketing candy bars. Three of its best creations were Clark, Zagnut, and Clark Coconut Crunch bar.

Clark scored an important marketing success when it introduced the five-cent-sized Clark bar. Initially, the bar was individually wrapped to facilitate shipment of candy to American troops during World War I. The Clark bar became extremely popular with the soldiers and its popularity carried over to the general public in the years following the war.

By 1920 the D. L. Clark Company was making about 150 different types of candy, including several five-cent bars, specialty items and a bulk candy line. Clark also manufactured chewing gum in a building across the street from his candy factory and in 1921 the Clark Brothers Chewing Gum Company was incorporated as a separate business. The Clark Brothers Chewing Gum Company made Teaberry and Tendermint gum. However, by 1931, the candy bar business had grown so large that Clark decided to specialize exclusively in candy bars and the Clark Brothers Chewing Gum Company was sold and renamed the Clark Gum Company. The result was two Clark companies: The D. L. Clark Company making candy and the Clark Gum Company making gum.

The D. L. Clark Company remained in the hands of the Clark family until it was sold to the Beatrice Food Company, which operated the company until 1983 when it was sold to the Pittsburgh Food and Beverage Company. In 1995 the Pittsburgh Food and Beverage was thrown into bankruptcy. The company was shut down for several months and its assets divested. Restructed as Clark Bar America, the company operated until May of 1999, when it was purchased by New England Confectionery Company (NECCO), the oldest candy manufacturer in the United States.

The Clark Gum Company was still operating under the same name in 2000.

Here is what the different designs of teaberry gum from Clarks looked like-


A little note about the gum package design-
While still operating as a single company, the D. L. Clark Company had early gum advertising that used the slogan "It's On The Level". Accompanying the slogan was a carpenter's level as the background for the chewing gum flavor printed on the package. This carpenter's level appeared on both the Teaberry and Tendermint flavors. Over the years, the depiction of the carpenter's level became more simplified, losing the wood grain and detail in the level. Clark's dropped the slogan and the level eventually became a plain red bar. The berries were kept on the gum wrapper through the 1970's. Seeing today's gum wrapper, nobody would ever guess a carpenter's level is the inspiration for the graphics.

Hope this helps.

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Nice find
Mid 1800's