1920s chocolate Easter egg treasured for a lifetime goes under the hammer

AN Easter egg wrapped up as a doll is going to auction after being given to a two-year-old in the 1920s, who then treasured it for the rest of her life.

The near-century-old treat, given to Christine Lilian Metcalf by her aunt in 1924, is expected to fetch £200-£300 at a sale in Derbyshire next week.

Etwall-based auction house Hansons described the Londonmade Pascall’s egg, which stills smells of chocolate, as “the sweetest find”.

Ms Metcalf died in 2019, at the age of 97, and left the egg in the care of her children.

Born in Islington, north London, in April 1922, she is believed to have moved house 10 times before spending the last 30 years of her life in Hulland Ward in Derbyshire.

Speaking ahead of the auction on March 12, Hansons owner Charles Hanson said: “The egg itself is in remarkable condition, having been protected by a decorated egg-shaped casing covered in violets.

“Christine couldn’t bring herself to eat it because she loved the doll so much. The chocolate egg is the body which is dressed in a paper costume with a doll’s head on top.

“People are amazed by finds like this. The fact that the egg has survived so long is remarkable in itself, but in today’s throwaway society, when people often have more than they need, they find it incredible that a little girl of two had the self-discipline to never eat it and treasure it forever.”

Ms Metcalf’s daughter, a 74-yearold retired teacher from Derbyshire, said: “Mum used to bring the egg out from time to time to show her children and grandchildren.

”We had no idea it might be worth anything.”