Crate, can, and bottle label collection, circa 1920s-1940s

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Summary

Abstract:
Comprises thousands of crate, can, and bottle labels, the bulk of which were designed and created between the 1920s and 1940s by San Francisco and Los Angeles lithography companies. The core of the collection consists of labels and stock label catalogs designed by Lehmann Printing and Lithography Company in San Francisco for a wide variety of food, beverage, and household products grown, manufactured, canned, or packed in California and throughout the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Other major California lithographers represented in the collection include Schmidt Litho. Co. (San Francisco) and Western Litho. Co. (Los Angeles).
Extent:
5 boxes, 3 oversize boxes (5.6 linear feet)
Language:
The bulk of the collection is in English , with some labels in Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and Hebrew.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Crate, can, and bottle label collection, Kemble Spec Col 8, California Historical Society.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection comprises thousands of crate, can, and bottle labels, the bulk of which were designed and created between the 1920s and 1940s by San Francisco and Los Angeles lithography companies. The core of the collection consists of labels and stock label catalogs designed by Lehmann Printing and Lithography Company in San Francisco for a wide variety of food, beverage, and household products grown, manufactured, canned, or packed in California and throughout the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Other major California lithographers represented in the collection include Schmidt Litho. Co. (San Francisco), Western Litho. Co. (Los Angeles), Louis Roesch Co. (San Francisco), and Traung Label Co. (San Francisco).

The collection documents the intersecting agriculture, food processing, and marketing industries, particularly in California, with large holdings of labels for beverages, canned foods, and fruits, especially apples, pears, and citrus fruits. Numerous growers, packers, distributors, and brands are represented, including Western Fruit Growers, Inc. (Los Angeles), Di Giorgio Fruit Corp. (San Francisco), Heggblade-Marguleas Co. (San Francisco), Newcastle Growers and Packers (Newcastle, California), Pacific Fruit Exchange, Parrott & Co. (San Francisco), Sylmar Packing Co. (Los Angeles), and Sunkist.

Labels in the collection contain a wealth of advertising imagery, including visual representations of agricultural products, farms and fields, missions, California scenery, and stereotypes of Native American peoples.

Processing information:

Processed by Marie Silva, 2014.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into three series: 1) Lehmann Printing and Lithographing Co.; 2) Schmidt Lithography Co.; and 3) Miscellaneous lithographers. Within series, labels are organized alphabetically by product.

Accruals:

Additions to the collection are ongoing.

Physical location:
Collection is stored onsite.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

California Historical Society collections have been transferred to Stanford University Libraries. Collections will be unavailable as Stanford accessions them and updates records. Please contact chscollection@stanford.edu with any inquiries.

Terms of access:

All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Director of Library and Archives, North Baker Research Library, California Historical Society, 678 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. Consent is given on behalf of the California Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Crate, can, and bottle label collection, Kemble Spec Col 8, California Historical Society.

Location of this collection:
Department of Special Collections, Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-6004, US
Contact:
(650) 725-1022
chscollection@stanford.edu
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