Johnston's Chocolates Cavalier Hinged Candy Tin, Orange Book-Cover Design with Gilt Scroll Borders
This is a Johnston's Chocolates Cavalier candy tin, a rectangular hinged-lid box printed in orange with black and gold scrollwork borders, made to look like a tooled leather book. The lid has a framed center panel with quarter-round corner ornaments, and the front panel is labeled CAVALIER in small capitals. Inside, the lid is printed with Johnston's in a slanted script with an underline swash, CHOCOLATES in spaced capitals, and NEW YORK - CHICAGO - MILWAUKEE - MINNEAPOLIS - OAKLAND. Sellers date these tins to the 1920s and 1930s and list them in one and two pound sizes.
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Milwaukee's chocolate maker
The Robert A. Johnston Company of Milwaukee made cookies and chocolates. Its Cavalier assortment came in decorated hinged tins in one and two pound sizes in the 1920s and 1930s.
Orange book-style chocolate tin with gilt borders
The Johnston's Chocolates Cavalier tin is a rectangular lithographed tin box with a hinged lid that overhangs the base slightly, shaped and printed to resemble an old leather-bound book. Its main color is orange, a burnt red-orange like old leather, with black and gold (a dull gilt) decoration.
Each side of the base has a recessed-looking orange panel framed by a wide border of black and gold leafy scrollwork between thin black rules. CAVALIER appears in small spaced capitals near the right end of the long front panel. The lid top is printed with a wide dark frame around an orange center panel, with quarter-round ornaments in the corners and fine scrolled tooling, like the cover of a tooled book. Its edge is plain dark metal.
Inside, the base walls are gold lacquered (a brassy yellow-gold) and the floor is bare silver tin. The underside of the lid is printed in black on gold: Johnston's in a slanted handwritten-style script with a long underline swash curling under the name, CHOCOLATES in widely spaced plain capitals, and a row of city names in small capitals separated by dashes. A short line of fine print near the lower left of the inside lid is too worn to read. A simple wire-pin hinge joins lid and base at the back.
On this copy: not measured. The lid top is heavily worn, with most of the center design rubbed away, dark staining and surface rust, and a split in the tin at the front left corner of the lid. Scratches and spots mark the side borders, and the inside lid and base have rust spots, scratches and wear through the gold lacquer.
- Type: Rectangular hinged-lid candy tin
- Material: Lithographed tinplate
- Colors: Orange (burnt red-orange), black, gold (dull gilt); gold-lacquered interior
- Design: Made to look like a tooled leather book: scroll borders, framed panels, corner ornaments
- Side label: CAVALIER in small capitals on the front panel
- Inside lid: Johnston's script logo with underline swash, CHOCOLATES, city list
- Construction: Overhanging lid on a wire-pin hinge at the back
- Maker: Johnston's Chocolates (company name not printed in full)
- This copy: Not measured; lid top heavily worn and rusted, split at front corner; scratches and rust inside
Front panel: CAVALIER Inside lid: Johnston's CHOCOLATES NEW YORK - CHICAGO - MILWAUKEE - MINNEAPOLIS - OAKLAND (small line of fine print, illegible)
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Comparable listings, ranked by delivered price
Live listings on ebay.com, checked October 2026. Asking prices, not sold prices.
| Listing | Price | Shipping | Delivered | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antique 1930s Johnston's Chocolates Cavalier One Pound Tin eBay | $6.70 | $6.60 | $13.30 | Listed | View ↗ |
| Johnston Candies Chocolate Tin Cavalier Metal Tin Hinged Lid 1920s eBay | $12.00 | $6.86 | $18.86 | Listed | View ↗ |
| Johnston's Chocolates Tin One Pound Cavalier Chicago Milwaukee Minneapolis eBay | $11.31 | $8.80 | $20.11 | Listed | View ↗ |
| Antique Johnston's Chocolate 2 Pound Cavalier 1920's Hinged Advertising Tin Box eBay | $26.95 | $6.95 | $33.90 | Listed | View ↗ |
About the Johnston's Chocolates Cavalier Tin
What year is my Johnston's Chocolates Cavalier tin?
Sellers date Cavalier tins to the 1920s and 1930s. The tin itself carries no date.
How do I identify a Johnston's Cavalier tin?
Look for an orange hinged tin printed like a tooled book with black and gold scroll borders, CAVALIER on the front panel, and Johnston's Chocolates with a city list printed inside the lid.
Did the Johnston's Cavalier tin come in different sizes?
Yes. Listings describe one pound and two pound versions with the same design.
- Owner's photos
- eBay listing