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Ron Toth, Jr.The Great Britain 1897 and Canada 1901 dates are only the dates when the Cracker Jack trade Marks were first registered in those countries. Later there were copyright dates on the boxes that went on for many years. People tend to think that the © years found on packaging is the year it was made. It may be so for many newer products that change all the time.
In the 1800s the Cracker Jack Company used to be called Rueckheim Brothers. Later it was Rueckheim Bros. & Eckstein. Their products later became known as Reliable Confections. By the 1920s they had over 750 different confections. In 1922 the name was changed to The Cracker Jack Company. Borden bought Cracker Jack in 1964 and in 1997 Frito-Lay (owned by Pepsi) bought the product.
I have done much work as a freelance Artist, Advisor, and Historian on Cracker Jack for both Borden and Frito-Lay.
In the late 1800s they were having a difficult time selling Cracker Jack because the molasses and moisture made the product clump together and hardened when exposed to the air. Henry Eckstein went to Germany where he paid a man $500.00 ( a lot of money back then) to teach him how to make waxed paper. This is from Henry Eckstein's original diary that I have here. I would have to look up the name, but the man claimed that his grandfather (in Germany) invented waxed paper in the 1850s. Henry Eckstein was the Treasurer of the company and became a full partner as well as being in charge of the packaging afterwards. He had developed a triple seal package and a waxed dipped package that was able to be shipped all over the country. Without it the product was destined to be sold only near the Chicago area where it was made. There were special concessions that had to be made to the packaging for the humid South.
Hope this info helps.
Ron
"When you are really good, they call you Cracker Jack"