Pre-war chocolate box. G.G. Lardelli, Warsaw [very rare]

Pre-war chocolate box.

G.G. Lardelli, Warsaw.

1930s

Featuring an image of a woman on the lid.

Giovanni Giacomo Lardelli, originally from Poschiavo, Switzerland, opened an innovative shop in Warsaw called “Pasticeria di Milano” after completing his confectionery training abroad; the shop sold products exclusively for takeout. He introduced previously unknown French pastries to the local market and created the innovative “Lardelli style,” characterized by bright, modern interiors featuring white marblite and tiles. In the years that followed, he rapidly expanded his chain of cafés, including an elegant establishment on Boduena Street dedicated primarily to women and a chocolate workshop on Polna Street. During the interwar period, he erected a stately rotunda-shaped building at the intersection of Polna and Mokotowska Streets, which served as a pastry shop, café, and concert venue. After the outbreak of World War II, his establishments became popular among Germans, and an incident involving a collaborator conductor led to a boycott of the pastry shop by Polish patrons. Devastated by the collapse of the Lardelli company, he died suddenly in September 1941, and the famous rotunda was ultimately destroyed during the Warsaw Uprising.

Good condition: minor soiling, a few losses, and slight damage.

Rare.