Sweet Candy

Conversation Heart

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Queen Gertrude offers the now-loved sentiment “Sweets to the Sweet.” Perhaps this is the origin of the tradition of giving candy to a loved one. Early American colonists made homemade candies with love notes scratched on the surface for Valentine’s Day. New England Confectionary Company (NECCO) expanded upon the colonists’ idea and created the conversation heart in the mid-1800s.

In 1860, Daniel Chase, brother of NECCO founder Oliver Chase, invented the process to print motto candies. Originally, the candies were “cockles” – small, crisp, scallop shell-shaped candy wrapped in colored paper with printed sayings. The Sweet Hearts, the name used for candies with mottos inscribed directly on them, were invented in 1900. The candy was cut into shapes like horseshoes and baseballs. This allowed for longer sayings to be printed on them such as “How long shall I have to wait? Pray be considerate.” This enabled would-be-lovers to send messages to each other.