Souvenirs de Bretagne

Group of Tins Filled with Galettes

It's Three or More Tuesday with Tam @ The Gypsy's Corner. Join me as I share a collection of delightful souvenir tins. A special "Thank You!" to QCI members Diane, Gay, Judy, Doris, and Barbara for sharing photos of their collections.

If you are like me, you like to take home small gifts from your travels to family and friends.

I've discovered the perfect gift from Brittany is a tin of galettes. Designed for the tourist trade, one can easily find tins filled with the traditional Breton butter cookies: the flat"glaettes", the thick shortbread "palets", or the rolled crêpe cookie "crêpes à dentelles". Of course the charm for me of a souvenir of this sort is the gift tin in which these cookies are packaged. Often these delicious French butter cookies come in hinged tins decorated with Quimper faience designs. So once the cookies are gone, the charming little tin box can be reused for any purpose. In our home one is usually filled with fig newtons, while another may have fresh baked brownies. Several are home to tea bags, odd buttons, or anything that needs to be stored on a shelf. A friend in France says they are the perfect size for a box of sugar cubes.

No wonder these are so good. They are made with lots of butter!

This tin shows the typical decor of "Décor Mistral".

This one is in the "Décor Soleil".

One of my favorites, "Décor Le Coq Ancien".

Another of our feathered friends, "Décor Jardin d' Eté".

Here we have another version of the "Décor Jardin d' Eté" with a "Décor Mistral" .

This tall cylindrical tin shows the same HB-Henriot décor as the large square tin show in the header.

It was produced in recent years and often used to store spaghetti once the cookies were gone.

The beautiful floral design is also found on the sides of the square tin of this design.

This tin shows a painting by Philippe Lalys in the tradition of Porquier Beau.

This unusual tin with handle shows the décor of Jim-Emile Sévellec.

Another tin, Galettes de Pleyben, is from the 1930s and is also a design by Sévellec.

Each side is decorated with additional scenes.

Notice the detailed borders

And of course this identifies the contents.

This vintage tin is possibly a design by Fouillen.

This tin shows the Modern Movement work of artist Mathurin Méheut.

Obviously this tin held the curled crêpes dentelles. The delicate lace border mimics the lace of the coiffe, a traditional Breton headdress.

Looks like these young ladies are having a good time!

Oh, the Breton crêpes are the best!

Vintage tin from Le Croisic

Yet another vintage tin with typical Breton scene.

This is the colorful border on the tin pictured above.

Contemporary tins typical of those found in the souvenir shops of Brittany.

Galettes from St. Michel

Another tin with a scene of celebration.

This one shows the beloved Bretagne character, Becassine.

These two contemporary tins show typical seaside scenes from Brittany.

This delightful tin depicts a celebration along the river bank.

If a trip to Brittany is not in your near future, this charming "Décor Mistral" tin filled with Galettes de Bretagne is just a click away here in the US at Frenchy Bee. Click here to order your tin today.


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