This photograph came from a trade catalog made for the Brandle & Smith confectionary company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the photography studio of the Schadde Brothers, Alvin J. Schadde (1872–1937) & Herman T. Schadde (1874–1937), active in Minneapolis, 1890s–1910s.

As this eye-catching photograph illustrates, the history of photography and marketing are intertwined; both became a feature of daily life in the early 20th century. The Brandle & Smith Co. of Philadelphia manufactured an assortment of hard candies in a variety of shapes and flavors and utilized photography to market its wares. Salesmen peddled these bulk candies to local retailers across the country, carrying a catalogue listing the company’s full product line and featuring photographs as appealing and colorful as the candies. Each delectable sweet was carefully colored to tempt the eye. Brandle & Smith Co. specialized in candies with a distinctive satin finish, a characteristic conveyed by the bold colors and white highlights carefully painted onto the surface of the photo.

Photographs from this dispersed album are in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Morgan Library & Museum, New York; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.