Peter Smith - Crystal Tipped Unicone

Peter Smith - Crystal Tipped Unicone - 'In 1881 Charles was back in London and set to earnestly painting the Crystal Tipped Unicone, telling Italo, the ice cream vendor that he had found his solution but would say no more. In June of the same year the painting was complete, Charles led Italo into his studio and pulled away the sheet covering the painting.

‘Bello!’ Italo exclaimed then promptly fainted; he had never seen anything so beautiful. When he came too Charles explained the method the Unicone employed to Italo who beamed ear to ear as the penny dropped.

It took many years of experimentation on the streets of London with some memorable disasters involving toffee and another using sugared bread until a breakthrough that allowed edible cups with flat bottoms and tapered sides to be produced. By this time though Italo had left London and moved to New York for greater opportunities. By 1896 Italo Marchiony had 40 push cart vendors selling ice cream in his edible containers; in 1903 he obtained a patent for a machine to make the containers.

Its from this point onwards the history of the ice cream cone and indeed Italo’s becomes blurred. In 1904 the Worlds Fair in St Louis, Missouri hosted more than 50 ice cream vendors and more than a dozen waffle stands, everyone claimed they had invented the now popular ice cream cone.

Fortunately with the discovery of the Crystal Tipped Unicone painting and Charles extensive notes we can finally declare Charles and Italo’s place in cone making history.'

Canvas On Board
Image Size 22" x 22"

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