“Precious and delicate”, how else to describe this little advertising piece for Cacao Bensdorp. The sign shows a beautiful and elegant dutch girl, in traditional dress and cap, enjoying a cup of delicious cacao. Look at her lovely face, smiling at you while holding the small cup of cacao Bensdorp. This pioneering enamel advertising pearl for Cacao Bensdorp “Amsterdam”, was produced in Birmingham/England at the Imperial Enamel Company around 1895-1905. Imperial was also one of the few to expand into manufacturing overseas, setting up a second branch in New York as early as 1898. Their list clientele was expansive, featuring names such as Nestle, Bensdorp, Tiger, Ivory Soap, Redline, London Transport, Western Union, Wells Fargo and Bell Telephone among many others. Bensdorp was a cacao and chocolate processing factory in Amsterdam (Holland), founded by the brothers Gerardus & Hendricus Bensdorp in 1840. In 1926 the Amsterdam factory was closed and the production entirely moved to Bussum. After the move, other branches in Vienna/Austria and Germany would open. Bensdorp lost its independance in 1972 after the acuisition by Unilever. The company fell into Swiss/Belgian hands in 1985 when it was bought by Barry Callebaut. The Bussum (NL) production facility was closed and the production was transferred to France. What is left is this precious little witness from time.