Wire-frame cinema lolly tray

Small country-town theatres created a cinematic atmosphere for their patrons with lavish buildings, ornate décor and teams of uniformed ushers who carried lolly trays such as the one pictured. This humble 1940s Minties lolly tray from the Lyceum Theatre in Griffith, NSW would have been strapped to the usher and loaded with popular snack-bar items like choc-tops, Old Gold chocolate, Jaffas, Fantales, Columbines and, of course, Minties. Fantales – chocolate-covered chewy caramel cubes – had wrappers with ‘Who am I?’ trivia questions about famous movie stars, which made them the perfect cinema snack for 93 years, until the final curtain came down on the beloved treat in 2023.

Customer service was at its best in this era, with the usher delivering treats to your seat pre-show and during intermission. This was a forerunner to today’s premium and 'Gold Class' cinema experiences.