“This Dessert Just Suits Me”

Uncle Sam implores you to sample Rich’s Tryphosa, a jelly dessert known for its “daintiness, purity, and excellence.”

This World War I-era brochure express the capitalist dream that a jelly dessert could bring the world's nations together in harmony. On one panel, a smiling Uncle Sam gestures invitingly towards a larger-than-life-sized box of raspberry-flavored Rich's Tryphosa. On another panel, a dozen global citizens have gathered to gaze with delight at a variety of glimmering gelatin dishes that have been garnished with fruits, nuts, and whipped cream. Beneath this scene reads a hopeful caption: “In peace we gather round this dish / What more could any nation wish.”

Rich's Tryphosa was a powdered gelatin dessert introduced in 1896 footnote by confectionary company E. C. Rich, Inc., which was also known for their crystallized ginger, glacéed fruits, and wine jellies. Rich's Tryphosa sold only modestly well, doing most of its business in New York, where the company was based. The product was rebranded as Presto! Jell in the 1920s, footnote a somewhat common naming convention for its time (competitors included Advo Jell, Jiffy-Jell, Jell-X-Cell, and so on). But the new product was short-lived, disappearing from grocery store shelves only a few years later.