The Belgian collector with 60,000 vintage tin boxes

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3 年前

This Belgian woman has collected almost 60,000 tin boxes

Location: Grand-Hallet, Belgium

83-year-old Yvette Dardenne

began collecting vintage lithographed tin boxes some 30 years ago

(SOUNDBITE) (French) BELGIAN COLLECTOR AND FORMER REAL ESTATE AGENT, YVETTE DARDENNE, SAYING:

"I consider this box to be the first of my collection. It is a box of 'Cote d'Or' chocolates that a relative of my husband gave me believing that I was interested in boxes although I was in fact originally interested in the photos they may have contained."

One of Dardenne's greatest treasures

is an intricately patterned English box from 1868

(SOUNDBITE) (French) BELGIAN COLLECTOR AND FORMER REAL ESTATE AGENT, YVETTE DARDENNE, SAYING:

"This box is considered to be the first to have been lithographed. It is an English box from 1868 called the 'Ben George' (and it was designed) for biscuit maker Huntley & Palmers.// I did not choose this. I embraced this collection like one embraces religion. I didn't want to. I certainly didn't decide to collect them. It was done without me realizing what I was getting into."