Terry's All Gold Milk Chocolate Box, 190g

Product Information

Either the current team will get the business to its potential in reasonably rapid fashion, or it will be a target," Mr Ackman told CNBCin August. Pictured left is a Terry's factory worker in the late 20th Century sorting through sweets to go into selection boxes. As well as collecting wonderful objects I have also had the opportunity to talk to so many people who worked at Terry's. Bizarre sweets from the past 250 years will go on show alongside some modern favourites to mark the anniversary of one of Britain's biggest confectioners.

The American food giant which bought Cadbury in a controversial deal in 2010 is soliciting interest in a takeover of Terry's, one of Britain's oldest chocolate brands. Another of Terry's famous brands to last the test of time is the All Gold boxes, it's best-selling assorted chocolates.

These include opium-based throat sweets, theatre chocolates with 'rustle-free paper' and other 'tasty' treats that included ingredients such as mercury, leading to the firm producing cards warning their products were 'poison'. Sales of the brand are understood to be minuscule in the context of Mondelez'sbroader confectionery portfolio, which includes Cadbury, Milka and Toblerone. As well as some rare sweets and chocolates produced over the years, the exhibition also focuses on the most popular brands created by Terry's before it was bought by Kraft Foods in 1993. One of the more quirky moments in Terry's history were the 'poison warning cards', pictured, the firm was forced to put in with some of its sweets and lozenges following the 1908 Pure Food Act.

Pictured is the packing room at the Chocolate Works in the 1930s, where dozens of women were employed to load the confectionery into their specially designed boxes and wrappers. Terry's was founded in York in 1767 by William Bayldon and Robert Berry and was initially named Bayldon and Berry Confectionery. The company name changed after scientist and chemist Joseph Terry became involved in 1823, taking over from Mr Bayldon when he retired after marrying the niece of Mr Berry.

The company has a fascinating history, from chemists to confectioners, but the stories from the factories themselves and the pride of the people who worked there is what makes the company so interesting. It has also attracted the attention of Bill Ackman, one of Wall Street's most formidable activist investors, who disclosed during the summer that he had built a 7. By the 20th Century mass production was in full flow at Terry's, with conveyor belts such as this one pictured able to send hundreds of sweets down the line to be packed away constantly. Sky News has learnt that Mondelez International has hired bankers to explore a sale of number of confectionery products, including Terry's Chocolate Orange and Terry's All Gold.

Some products contained mercury and thus could be dangerous if consumed, meaning Terry's had to flag up to consumers just exactly what they were putting in their mouths. Mondelez describes itself as a "global snacking powerhouse", operating in 165 countries and owning other international brands such asOreo cookies andTrident chewing gum.The firm is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year and York's Chocolate Story museum is giving the public a chance to look back at some old favourites and some of its more bizarre products.