Vintage tin box with romantic scenes. Made by "De Gruyter goudmerk thee"

Vintage tin box with romantic scenes. Made by "De Gruyter goudmerk thee".

• Manufacturing date: 1910/1960 

Description 
Gorgeous vintage tin with an octagonal shape and four short edges. This tin has a hinged increase top at the center an is provided with a so-called 'needle hinge'. 

Manufacture
The decoration of this tin consists of gold with yellow curls along with decorative patterns. On each side of the tin there is a multicolored romantic scene of men and women.

Text: (at bottom) De Gruyter Goudmerk tea Content 1/4 kg

• Height: 8.5 cm.
• Length: 9.5 cm.
• Width: 15.7 cm.

De Gruyter was a retailer in the Netherlands in the 19th century and 20th century (until 1976). At its peak, there were more than 550 stores and nearly 7,500 employees.

Piet the Gruijter (1795-1867), started in 1818 in 's-Hertogenbosch with a horse fry mill, a listing for the processing of legumes, seeds, and grains. Later, his son Louis (1833-1911) took over the company. The clientele consisted mainly of farmers near 's-Hertogenbosch.

At the end of the 19th century, a chain of stores was added, initially in 's-Hertogenbosch. In 1896 a shop in Utrecht was opened and in 1902 one in Amsterdam.

The leadership of the company De Gruyter had also included a third generation: the children Lambert (1873-1951) and Jacques (1875-1950). In 1912 began the roasting of coffee.

An important element in sales policy was giving 10% discount on presentation of receipts. The slogan of De Gruyter became "And better value and ten percent, only De Gruyter". This loyalty was rewarded and they had an additional means to control the store managers. Because De Gruyter only sold own brand products prices did not compare to those of others.

In 1913 the 44th store opened in the Netherlands. Most stores were at that time located in the four major cities of the Netherlands.

In the compartmentalized Netherlands De Gruyter was the shop of Catholics, Protestants chose among others for Albert Heijn. With the depillarization, these ratios were gradually loosened after 1950.

In the sixties, De Gruyter group reached his peak. There were more than 550 stores and nearly 7,500 employees. In 's-Hertogenbosch had arose large production sites. The group had food shops scattered throughout the country.

As a customer, binder De Gruyter started in 1948 to give away every week a small gift for children: the legendary Candy of the week. It was introduced after the Second World War when there was to supply of sugar. With the buy of a few guilders of groceries, free candy was given away for the children. Later, the "sweet" was a plastic toy, a game, a doll or a book every week something else. 

Some translations come from an automated system and may contain errors.