This collection of a decade of boxes of sweets was saved by Harley J. Spiller, Deputy Director of Franklin Furnace Archive, Inc. It started when Franklin Furnace moved to its second headquarters at 45 John Street in Manhattan’s Fi-Di in 1999 (before the financial district was christened FiDi by eager realtors). When later that year fellow staffer Tiffany Ludwig returned from vacation on the Outer Banks of North Carolina carrying a gift of a pound of salt water taffy for the office, the box seemed too cool to discard. Even though the candies were gone, Spiller, as is his wont, saved it. It was, after all “Full of Sea Breeze and Sunshine.”
Salt Water Taffy became a traditional gift for staff returning from vacation and Tiffany and Rachel B. Knowles, intern cum staffer, brought several more over the years, including White Marlin brand from Chincoteague (with its label pasted over the original location), one that memorializes NC lighthouses at Cape Lookout, Oak Island, Currituck, Bodie Island, Ocracoke, and Bald Head, and an unlabeled box that reproduces a watercolor of a wharfside scene. Michael Katchen, senior archivist, added one from Marini’s at the Beach in Santa Cruz, California since 1915.
Franklin Furnace member deluxe Edward Gomez has brought and mailed chocolate bars from Japan and Switzerland on many occasions (those labels have gone into Spiller’s collection of chocolate bar wrappers). Another sweet to be brought to the office serially was Alfajores desde Havanna in Argentina, by FF Alumn and former program director Dolores Zorregueita, a Porteña of no small repute. An article about the heartstrings attached to these delicacies of dulce de leche (enhanced with chocolate, nuez de chocolate blanco, meringue, y mixto) is enclosed in the yellow box – there is also a brown box, a blue box, and a yellow bag of mini’s which was brought by another artist from South America, Amapola Prada Mendoza of Lima, Peru. The only other serial donor is FF artist Iris Rose, who baked gorgeous and intricate cookies for an office holiday party and returned two years in a row with boxed versions of these cookies, the boxes silk-screened by hand with her artwork. One box went to Spiller’s son, Hiro, for his curio, and the remaining one, “Sophisticated Cookies for Adults” contained Rose’s unique recipe for curry, green tea, espresso and bourbon flavored delights!
Founding Director Martha Wilson graced her staff with a sacks of goodies from Canada, where she cut her eye teeth as an artist: indescribably-textured Cadbury Crunchie bars (unavailable in the USA), and cookies using archetypal Canada True Maple Syrup! Her sister Callie Jean Wilson shipped in Chocolate Covered Figs with Whiskey (they had an exceedingly short desk life).
mAgdalen Wong, FF intern cum staffer deluxe brought Panda Cookies from her home in Hong Kong. Other gifts from donors since forgotten (boohoo) include Panda real licorice from Finland; two types of Bajadera nougat desserts from Zagreb, Croatia; and Storck assorted chocolates from Berlin, Germany. Kukiko Nobori never fails to bring Japanese treats but their packaging is, alas, lost in history.
Australian intern Philippa Chan missed her homeland terribly while interning at FF but never fear – she turned to jelly when her boyfriend mailed her a parcel containing Arnott’s TimTam Original, proving to Philippa and all of us that they are indeed as billed, “The most irresistible chocolate biscuit.” In late 2014, CUNY Service Corps superstar intern cum staffer Georgios Chrysiliou returned from his native Cyprus with a hexagonal box of traditional Cyrprus delights in mixed flavors, and reminded us of how great regional sweets packages commemorate the land from whence they come. And last, but certainly not least, Gabriele Schor, curator of Sammlung Verbund in Vienna, Austria, graced the office in November 2014 with another hexagonal packette, of the venerated Echte Salzburger Mozartkugeln.
Franklin Furnace is now in its third headquarters, on the campus of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Spiller no longer has the space to save such treasures, but hopes this blogpost will inspire visitors to regale us with indescribably delicious international treats. As a token of thanks for her pro bono photography, this collection was donated to the fine artist Hidemi Takagi, who has used international food packaging in her projects.
Salt Water Taffy became a traditional gift for staff returning from vacation and Tiffany and Rachel B. Knowles, intern cum staffer, brought several more over the years, including White Marlin brand from Chincoteague (with its label pasted over the original location), one that memorializes NC lighthouses at Cape Lookout, Oak Island, Currituck, Bodie Island, Ocracoke, and Bald Head, and an unlabeled box that reproduces a watercolor of a wharfside scene. Michael Katchen, senior archivist, added one from Marini’s at the Beach in Santa Cruz, California since 1915.
Franklin Furnace member deluxe Edward Gomez has brought and mailed chocolate bars from Japan and Switzerland on many occasions (those labels have gone into Spiller’s collection of chocolate bar wrappers). Another sweet to be brought to the office serially was Alfajores desde Havanna in Argentina, by FF Alumn and former program director Dolores Zorregueita, a Porteña of no small repute. An article about the heartstrings attached to these delicacies of dulce de leche (enhanced with chocolate, nuez de chocolate blanco, meringue, y mixto) is enclosed in the yellow box – there is also a brown box, a blue box, and a yellow bag of mini’s which was brought by another artist from South America, Amapola Prada Mendoza of Lima, Peru. The only other serial donor is FF artist Iris Rose, who baked gorgeous and intricate cookies for an office holiday party and returned two years in a row with boxed versions of these cookies, the boxes silk-screened by hand with her artwork. One box went to Spiller’s son, Hiro, for his curio, and the remaining one, “Sophisticated Cookies for Adults” contained Rose’s unique recipe for curry, green tea, espresso and bourbon flavored delights!
Founding Director Martha Wilson graced her staff with a sacks of goodies from Canada, where she cut her eye teeth as an artist: indescribably-textured Cadbury Crunchie bars (unavailable in the USA), and cookies using archetypal Canada True Maple Syrup! Her sister Callie Jean Wilson shipped in Chocolate Covered Figs with Whiskey (they had an exceedingly short desk life).
mAgdalen Wong, FF intern cum staffer deluxe brought Panda Cookies from her home in Hong Kong. Other gifts from donors since forgotten (boohoo) include Panda real licorice from Finland; two types of Bajadera nougat desserts from Zagreb, Croatia; and Storck assorted chocolates from Berlin, Germany. Kukiko Nobori never fails to bring Japanese treats but their packaging is, alas, lost in history.
Australian intern Philippa Chan missed her homeland terribly while interning at FF but never fear – she turned to jelly when her boyfriend mailed her a parcel containing Arnott’s TimTam Original, proving to Philippa and all of us that they are indeed as billed, “The most irresistible chocolate biscuit.” In late 2014, CUNY Service Corps superstar intern cum staffer Georgios Chrysiliou returned from his native Cyprus with a hexagonal box of traditional Cyrprus delights in mixed flavors, and reminded us of how great regional sweets packages commemorate the land from whence they come. And last, but certainly not least, Gabriele Schor, curator of Sammlung Verbund in Vienna, Austria, graced the office in November 2014 with another hexagonal packette, of the venerated Echte Salzburger Mozartkugeln.
Franklin Furnace is now in its third headquarters, on the campus of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Spiller no longer has the space to save such treasures, but hopes this blogpost will inspire visitors to regale us with indescribably delicious international treats. As a token of thanks for her pro bono photography, this collection was donated to the fine artist Hidemi Takagi, who has used international food packaging in her projects.
Photographs: Hidemi Takagi 2015
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