What Happened to Fruit Crate Labels?

Agricultural fruit crate labels were originally created when produce was shipped by rail in wooden crates after the transcontinental railroad was completed. With so many new markets open for business, farmers competed for places to sell their produce. Fruit crate labels were a way to identify the farmer’s good and create the impression that their products were better than another farmer. This was an introduction to product marketing and branding

When John Muir began ranching in 1880, the country was already changing from a local market economy — where people either grew what they need themselves or purchase what they need in their own town- to a mass merchandise economy. In a mass-market economy, goods people need are produced in one place and sent across the country or the world for people to buy.

The railroad featured refrigerator cars that shipped produce on ice across country. John Muir agreed to have a train trestle built on his ranch and wanted his own train station. This was his way of being better than the competition because he traveled a very short distance to ship his fruit. There was less chance of it spoiling before his products reached the train.

As canning and printing processes improved, fruit crate labels were no longer needed. The solder that seals metal cans together was improving. When cans did not leak, the food stayed fresh. Shipping food in cans helped meet the increasing demand for California foods. Canneries opened for business in many parts of California, including Sacramento, Martinez and Monterey. With advances in printing presses, printers could reproduce labels with colorful pictures of apples, oranges, flowers or farm scenes.

Between 1885 and 1956 there were millions of labels printed. In the 1950s, farmers stopped using labels. Heavy-duty cardboard boxes featuring pre-printed pictures replaced wooden crates. The boxes were far less expensive to produce than crates. Fruit labels are now collectibles, available from online vendors and collector fairs.

Blog post is excerpted from the original text, Field Trip Curriculum for the John Muir National Historic Site, published by Janice Kelley in 2013.

Janice Kelley is a writer and naturalist. Find out more about Janice’s work by visiting her website at www.naturelegacies.com