Rare early Tobler & Co. (Toblerone) Picture Card Album from Berne, Switzerland, circa early 1900s

Issued by the Bernese chocolate manufacturer Tobler, this promotional album was designed for collecting and displaying beautifully illustrated advertising picture cards distributed in chocolate packages.

The album features a decorative Art Nouveau-style cover with the Tobler bear emblem and cocoa pod motif. Inside, it contains multiple series of vibrant lithographed cards, including themes such as Flowers, Tom Thumb, Robinson Crusoe, Fairy Tales, Mexico, Dogs, and Parisian Traders.

Condition: The cover shows age wear, scuffing, edge tears, and spine damage consistent with its age. Interior pages are intact with many complete series of original chromolithograph cards affixed. Personal inscriptions are present on the inner cover (“Frank Reed, Aberdeen”). Despite wear, the album remains a highly collectible example of early 20th-century chocolate advertising and ephemera.

This is a rare survivor of Tobler’s marketing history, predating the widespread popularity of Toblerone, making it especially desirable for collectors of advertising memorabilia, chocolate history, and vintage trade cards.

•  Australian provenance (Adelaide agent W.R. Langsford) — that makes it interesting to both Swiss and Australian collectors.