ADDISON, Ill. – Chocolate molds don’t get much better than the two ‘showpiece’ models offered for sale at Leonard Auction on March 24. Both measuring a massive 3ft 2in high, the bunny rabbit and a Santa Claus were made by Anton Reiche for window display. Many times the size of the standard models, they made outsize prices too. Estimated at $500-$700 each as part of a Clearwater, Chicago estate, Santa Claus hammered for $15,000 ($18,750 with buyer’s premium) and the Easter Bunny for $11,000 ($13,750 with buyer’s premium). Both sold to online bidders via LiveAuctioneers.
Friedrich Anton Reiche (1845-1913), a Dresden manufacturer of sheet metal, founded Germany’s most important chocolate mold factory in 1870. By 1895, the company had around 1,100 employees and exported to all German-speaking countries – including the US. An old mill complex in Dresden now operates as the Museum Hofmühle with more than 1,500 molds in the permanent collection.