Paviljoen met cacao en chocolade van Walter Baker & Company op de World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 1893

Charles Dudley Arnold captured the Walter Baker & Company pavilion at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. This image transports us back to a moment of American ambition, but also one deeply entwined with complex histories. The fair showcased industrial progress, yet it also presented a romanticized, often distorted view of global cultures, including chocolate production. Baker & Company, a prominent chocolate manufacturer, built its brand, in part, by using the image of "La Belle Chocolatiere," a visual that exoticized chocolate's origins. This pavilion, in its grandiosity, represents the economic disparities between those who profited from chocolate and those whose labor – often enslaved or exploited – made it possible. The photograph then becomes a poignant reminder of how cultural narratives and power dynamics are embedded in our everyday commodities. It encourages us to reflect on the stories we tell, and whose stories remain untold.