THE LAUGHING COW - Little cheese pot" box in lithographed sheet metal circa 1925-30, signed "d'après Benjamin Rabier" . 9 cm high and 11 cm diameter. Good condition (lid missing) By Fromagerie BEL in Lons-le-Saunier (Jura) . The story begins in Orgelet in the Jura, where Jules Bel set up as a master cheese-maker at the age of 23 (1865), and was only 55 when, in 1897, he handed the business over to his two sons, Henri and Léon, aged 29 and 19 respectively. In 1897, the company moved to Lons-le-Saunier, taking advantage of the proximity of the railway line and the Montmorot saltworks. Henri left the business in 1908, and the company changed its name to "Léon Bel, Gruyère en gros". On 16 April 1921, Léon Bel registered the brand name La vache qui rit. The idea came to him to use the RVF B70 badge as inspiration to depict a full-length cow with a hilarious expression (source: lamaisondelavachequirit.com).