This week's Hagley Vault post is a real (sugar) rush, as it's in recognition of the invention of Hostess Twinkies snack cakes, created on April 6, 1930 by James A. Dewar, plant manager at Continental Baking Company, in Chicago, Illinois.
Dewar created the confection while looking for an inexpensive product to meet the economic needs of consumers during the Great Depression, and noted that that the baking pans used to make strawberry sponge cakes lay idle during months when strawberries were out of season.
This image comes from the back cover of "The Wonder Book of Good Meals", a pamphlet produced by the Continental Baking Company around 1932 to capitalize on the company's participation in Chicago's Century of Progress International Exposition. The pamphlet contained recipes for sandwiches, appetizers, desserts, and other delights that could be made with one of the company's other iconic products; Wonder Bread.
The item is now part of Hagley Library's expansive collections of pamphlets, which contains trade literature, business histories, and promotional materials issued by businesses, trade associations, commercial associations, professional organizations, special interest groups, and similar bodies. To view this pamphlet and other selections from this collection online now in our Digital Archive, click here.