Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Separated Materials
Related Collections
Additions to the Collection
Processing Information
System of Arrangement
Scope and Contents
Indexing Terms
Title: Crate, can, and bottle label collection
Date: circa 1920s-1940s
Collection Identifier: Kemble
Spec Col 8
Extent: 5 boxes, 3 oversize boxes
(5.6 linear feet)
Contributing Institution:
California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA, 94105-4014
(415) 357-1848
reference@calhist.org
URL: http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org/
Location of Materials: Collection is stored
onsite.
Language of Materials: The bulk of the collection is in
English, with some labels in Spanish,
Chinese, Japanese, and Hebrew.
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).
Access
Publication Rights
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.
Separated Materials
Wine and other alcoholic beverage labels have been removed from the collection and
integrated into the California wine label and ephemera collection, Kemble Spec Col
7.
Related Collections
California wine label and ephemera collection, Kemble Spec Col 7
Additions to the Collection
Additions to the collection are ongoing.
Processing Information
Processed by Marie Silva, 2014.
System of 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.
Scope and Contents
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.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's public access catalog:
Lehmann Printing and Lithographing Co.
Schmidt Litho. Co.
Western Litho. Co. (1908-).
Advertising--Beverages.
Advertising--Food.
Agricultural industries.
Beverage industry.
Canned foods industry.
Food industry and trade.
Labels--Catalogs.
Labels--Design.
Labels.
Fruit crate labels.
Lithographs.
California Ephemera Project.