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Turn of the century French chocolatiers took advantage of the popularity of colorful trade cards and included them with their products. In 1936 the Chocolat Pupier company created a collectable Asia series with several illustrations of Buddhist material culture.
An album with 252 card slots could be purchased to display your collection. If completed, Chocolat Pupier offered a gift to the consumer.
Chromo-lithographic printing offered an inexpensive way to mass produce colorful imagery. There is an error on this card, however, can you spot it?
The Gold Pavilion Temple, Kinkaku-ji, is not in Tokyo, buy Kyoto. In addition to Asia, Chocolat Pupier made cards related to Europe, North America, and Africa.
A small collection of Chocolat Pupier card was recently acquired by Duke University Library, see here: https://archives.lib.duke.edu/catalog/chocolatpupier.
The Buddhas in the West Material Archive is a digital scholarship project that catalogues artifacts depicting Buddhist material culture for Western audiences. It’s comprised of prints, photos, and an assortment of ephemera and other objects. For a brief introduction to this archive, visit the main Buddhas in the West project page.
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Personal Site of Peter Romaskiewicz 