Romantic secret of 66-year-old box of chocolates
A BOX of uneaten Black Magic chocolates that is 66 years old has been donated to York’s Chocolate Story museum.
They have been given by the man who bought them as a courting gift for his sweetheart in 1953.
Bert James, now 104, presented the chocolates to his girlfriend Joey. It was just a year before they were married in 1954.
They came in a limited edition box made by Rowntree’s of York marking the Queen’s coronation year.
Neither of them ate a single piece from the box throughout their 40-year marriage – which ended with Joey’s death in the 1990s – and the chocolates have remained intact and practically untouched.
Bert kept the box safely stored in his house until he decided to share his story last year.
He consulted his daughter, who in turn contacted the Chocolate Story museum.
“These are the real human stories that you can’t just find in a book.
“There’s nothing quite like a love story, and this one is particularly special,” said the museum’s general manager Stuart Wood.
The box has a slight misprint, making it unique and invaluable, and is now on display at the museum at King’s Square, in York.
In the 1970s, Black Magic chocolates used the advertising slogan of “Who knows the secret of the Black Magic box?”