Visual Materials
Lettuce box labels, California, A-K by title (8 x 10 inches or smaller in size)
- Description
- The Jay T. Last collection of food: fruit and vegetable labels contains approximately 8,400 printed produce labels from the 1870s to the 1970s, with the majority of items dating from 1890 to 1950. The collection is comprised mainly of color lithographs. Materials include barrel and can labels as well as multiple kinds of box labels. While the collection is primarily American, it does contain a small quantity of foreign produce labels, including Spanish citrus labels, and some fruit and vegetable labels from Australia, Canada, Mexico and New Zealand. Also of note are three boxes of Blue Goose brand labels produced for American Fruit Growers, Inc. Overall the collection identifies produce growers and merchandisers, reveals advertising trends and consumption habits, and provides a resource for studying the history of American fruit and vegetable production, including the canning, packing, and shipping industries that evolved in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many labels predictably depict colorful images of fruits or vegetables, but pictures of women, children, animals, flowers, and views of farms, orchards, and vineyards also sold the product. As graphic materials, these labels offer evidence of developing techniques and trends in printmaking, and of the artists, engravers, lithographers, printers and publishers involved in the creative process.
- Type
