Back in the 1880’s, West Coast citrus growers began to seriously compete with each other for both local markets and East Coast distribution. With the development of the trans-Continental rail network, farmers were able to ship fruits (and veggies, once refrigerated rail cars were invented) in wooden crates clear across the country. So, how could growers make their products stand out from the pack?
Well, for nearly 75 years, brightly colored and eye-catching paper labels were the answer. “Crate art” refers to the artistic paper labels that agricultural growers once used to identify their fruit and veggie produce boxes. These little beauties were stuck onto the wooden shipping crates and were a very early form of commercial advertising.
The artwork created for these labels was considered commercial. Although designed by many popular artists of the time, the labels were unsigned. All labels were registered with the United States Department of Agriculture. Each label included the grower’s brand name, location, and what grade of product was being purchased.
Imagine how folks did their grocery shopping back then. It was more in keeping with today’s farmers market concept. Families, merchants and wholesale distributors alike would buy their fruit and vegetables directly from vendors waiting alongside the railroad tracks. The produce would be displayed in wooden shipping crates, usually under tents or tin-roof structures. Each crate would feature the grower’s distinctive label—sometimes up to one foot square. A memorable paper label soon became an agricultural grower’s most important advertisement.
Crate labels have a bit of interesting artistic history. There were actually 3 styles—depending on when they were created. The early Naturalism style (1885-1930s) was done in the popular art of the day and generally featured scenery, portraits, birds, animals, and flowers. California-based labels, especially, focused on mountain and coastal ranges, fruit groves, and towns—often with such detail that specific landscapes and places could be easily identified.
The Advertising style (1930-1940s) instead went for “effect,” aiming to be recognizable from a distance. Labels in this style featured bright, simple images and strong messages. In wholesale auction yards or in the chaotic East Coast auction halls, crate labels were the industry-wide means to quickly communicating what products were for sale. Buyers could not see the fruit, for example, because each piece was individually wrapped in tissue paper and sealed in a wooden crate. Clearly the more vivid and powerful the actual crate label, the better the sales.
Finally, there was the Commercial Art style (1940-1950s), below, which simply emphasized the brand name itself. Bold, three-dimensional block letters (often shadowed or contorted) and geometric designs were used to create brand recognition. Sometimes an image of the product itself was also incorporated into the design. But art was really the secondary consideration . . . the idea was to have a marketing impact with a wall of crates that echoed one memorable brand name.
Throughout their heyday, crate labels included a wide range of themes: beautiful women, children, Native Americans, ferocious or cute animals, the Gold Rush, the Wild West, politics, holidays, and luscious vignettes of fruits or vegetables. Even though crate art had its beginning with the Southern California citrus industry, it went on to become a nationwide and worldwide produce marketing technique. It eventually stretched to other countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Japan, France, Chile, and more.
Crate labels were printed using stone lithography with 6, 8, or 12 color inks. San Francisco housed a huge lithography industry during the crate art craze and produced most of these labels.
Today, crate label art and the lithography houses that once created it are basically extinct. Not long after World War II, the shortage of metal and wood would lead to the invention of pre-printed cardboard shipping boxes. This spelled the end for the wooden crate label business. (Grocery store clerks in the early 1950’s most likely experienced the transition from fancy-labeled wooden crates to plain but cost-effective cardboard.)
When the end came, most paper crate labels were destroyed or placed in storage. Today, unused crate labels in excellent condition are a collector’s dream and sell for good money. Framed labels are also a very popular form of vintage wall art.
