Collection Guide
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Lug and Can Label
Collection
D-211
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Davis Library,
Dept. of Special Collections
Title: Lug and Can Label Collection
Creator:
University of
California, Davis. Library. Department of Special
Collections
Identifier/Call Number: D-211
Physical Description:
22.4 linear
feet
Date (inclusive): circa
1890-1970
Abstract: The Lug
and Can Label collection consists of more than 4,000 lithographed
labels created primarily for containers of oranges, lemons, and
apples. The majority of the labels are from growers and
distributors from California's Central Valley. The collection
spans the years from circa 1890-1970. Also included is a small
group of labels for canned goods.
Physical Location: Researchers
should contact Archives and Special Collections to request
collections, as many are stored offsite.
This collection was constructed by the Special Collections
Department from an accession of lug labels transferred by the
Pomology Department. Labels are added to the collection as they
are received.
Paper labels to identify the brand name and packing location
of boxes of fresh fruit were first used in Southern California in
the 1880s. These labels replaced the earlier methods of
identifying shipments of fruit: stencilling, stamping, or burning
the brand information on the wooden crates.
The completion of the transcontinental railroad changed the
way California fruit was marketed. The national transportation
network offered distributors the ability to send their products
to customers on the East Coast. However, they needed an effective
way to identify and advertise the product to those customers.
They developed a wooden shipping box about 12" x 12" x 27", and
used a paper label about 10" x 11" on the box end. The brightly
colored label became an important part of the national marketing
system.
Growers and packers collaborated with commercial artists to
design the labels. The labels identified the brand name and type
of the product, the grower and/or packer, and their location.
They also displayed images that would call attention to the
product in the midst of competition. As a result, thousands of
different label designs were produced.
The use of the paper labels ended in the mid-1950's, when
cardboard boxes with preprinted labels came into circulation.
Source: McClelland, Gordon and Last, Jay T.
Fruit box labels: an illustrated price guide to citrus
labels.
Santa Ana, Calif.: Hillcrest Press, Inc.,
1995.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Lug and Can Label Collection consists of more than 4,000
lithographed labels created primarily for containers of oranges,
lemons, and apples. The labels span the years from circa
1890-1970 with the majority of them from distributors from
California's Central Valley. Also included is a small group of
labels for canned goods. The collection can provide researchers
with examples of the evolution of art advertising and California
agricultural history.
The collection is organized alphabetically by the name of the
distributor/packer. The item description for each of the labels
provides the brand name of the product, the city, county, and
state location of the packer and the type of produce
advertised.
Collection is open for research.
Collection processed with help from student assistants
Katherine Hall, Lauren Murvihill, and Michelle Galat.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was constructed by the Special Collections
Department from an accession of lug labels transferred by the
Pomology Department. Additional labels were donated by Michael
Finch, Axel Borg, Virginia Lukaszewski, and Louis H. Carufel.
[Identification of item], Lug and Can Label Collection, D-211,
Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of
California, Davis.
All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected
under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for
permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted
in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for
publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University
of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not
intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder,
which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Citrus crate labels -- California --
Sources
Citrus fruit industry -- California --
Sources
Pear industry -- California --
Sources
Apple industry -- California --
Sources
Fruit crate labels -- California --
Sources
Fruit -- Marketing -- California --
Sources
Commercial art
Grape industry -- Califoria --
Sources
University of California,
Davis. Library. Department of Special Collections