RARE Van Melle Christmas Vintage MCM Santa Sinterklaas Store Advertising Display

Up for grabs is a superb and very rare Van Melle 2 sided advertising candy store counter display! Van Melle, now part of Perfetti Van Melle, started as a small confectionary business in Breskins, Netherlands in 1900. Brothers Michael and Pierre Van Melle later developed the recipe for soft fruit chews (Fruittella) and the peppermint-flavored'Mentos' candy in 1932. I know very little about the piece...

Just that it was made in the 1950s, from Holland, and used for advertising purposes. It boldy features Santa Claus on one side and Sinterklaas (Dutch equivalent of Santa Claus) on the opposite side. The illustrations are just brilliant... I've never seen anything quite like them.

The colors are very vivid and so glossy they almost look wet. For years I have searched high and low for another but I've only ever found the pair (this one listed and another which is in my personal collection). I think it's safe to say the artwork is exclusive to this piece because there are no other examples listed anywhere online. As a collector of old, rare and unique Christmas pieces I have seen literally millions of images of Santa Claus so I cannot emphasize enough just how rare this piece is.

The display is small at just over 7 inches tall and oddly shaped. It's constructed from wood and paper and uses hard plastic molded pegs to support the base.

Good luck and Merry Christmas always! Please feel free to contact me any questions you may have. And don't forget to. Check back often as I continue to list more collectible vintage and antique Christmas pieces.