Vintage Fruit Crate Labels

[Buck Henry]

In my ongoing quest to find unique / old trout fishing related stuff to decorate my cabin with, I stumbled across some 1940 / 1950 vintage fruit crate labels that are amazing. These are not reproductions, but the original actual labels and they are available on Satan's Flea-market and most are just a few bucks each. Who knew there was a thriving collectible industry for old fruit shipping crate art.

Here are the two I picked up that I am going to frame:

[Fairbanks]

Very Cool!

[bassman]

I'd love to stumble across a couple like that for the shed. Very nice "catch".

[bluesjay]

Hi Guys, Ahhhhh, Lake Chelan! Jay Edwards

[bamboo rodley]

We have a calender in our kitchen presently that is reproductions of old fruit company posters. No fishing themes, but some great artwork. Sure beats the computerized artwork of today's ads.

[Whitefish Press]

Buck,

Neat labels! I'm putting together a new book on fishing-themed magazine covers from non-fishing magazines (Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, etc.). Many of these are fly fishing related and make lovely framed art. In seven years I've identified 400+ magazines...

-- Dr. Todd

[afgantrout]

Dr. Todd, That sounds like a book I would love to read...(well, definitely to look at the pictures!) I love the subject.

[dawgvet]

Clark,
Nice find. I would not have thought to look there! Those are really cool labels and I'm impressed by how accurate the top label is in depicting a fly-angler.
You need to bring those to the next 'Boo gathering at Jeff's.
Jed

[mer]

I misread this twice. "Vintage Fruit Cake Labels"

[Fanwing]

Those are pretty neat!
friend found this at a flea market and thought of me, wise guy . Not a Fruit Crate Label, but the artwork is kind of neat. And,well he does have a fly rod. .


It's proudly displayed with my books.
Thought you all might get a kick.

Bob

[Catch 22]

The Trout brand apples were still around in the 80's. I remember grabbing a crate for decoration from the produce dept at the supermarket I worked at while in college.

Jeff

[cheffy]

Just got a case of Trout brand apples in last week. sadly it's a cardboard box now with all green graphics.

[blacknosedace]

This all brings up a lot of pleasant memories. I grew up in an Italian immigrant family and started bagging up potatoes and onions out of fifty pound sacks in the family grocery store when I was ten years old. I spent a lot of time in the produce department with Grandpa. Back then -- late 50's, early 60's -- hardly anything came from the markets in cardboard. Everything except head lettuce was packed in some sort of wooden crate or hamper. Celery and oranges came in boxes of very thin wooden slats wired together. Other stuff arrived in heavier wooden boxes held with light nails. (My grandfather would knock them apart for kindling and straighten and save the nails in big glass jars. The old timers were frugal.) And virtually everything had a colorful paper label slapped on one or both ends that proudly announced the brand name and locality of the farm or orchard. A lot of times it was just a giant picture of whatever commodity happened to rest inside. Sometimes it was a pleasant landscape. Pictures and silhouettes of Native Americans were popular. Of course there were plenty of brands featuring fish and game. My particular favorite as a young man approaching adolescence was Foot High brand celery. The label portrayed a buxom, scantily clad woman lying on her back and raising a shapely leg high into the air. As you can see by some of the examples in this thread it was a kind of minor art form. Wish I'd had the foresight to save a bunch of those old box ends.

[sctarrant]

Though possibly repro's I saw a bunch of these at a local antique store a couple weeks ago. Almost picked up a few. Great graphics.

ST

[PaducahMichael]

There's something about the old art work that's as charming as the tackle of the era. It was a time when everything was done "right".

[Duffwood]

Found this old Ad for Sportsman, the brand of Cigarettes my Father smoked and the facial likeness to my Dad is uncanny.(A trout fisherman who died in 1968)
Also the Rod is very much like the Payne 100 built for me by Mike Shay and even the reel looks to be the Beaudex I have on it.
Sent a little shiver down my spine.

DuFf



I also found this

[slate river]

There's something about the old art work that's as charming as the tackle of the era. It was a time when everything was done "right".

Well said Michael.
Bob