Lug and Can Label Collection, circa 1890-1970

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Summary

Creators:
University of California, Davis. Library. Department of Special Collections
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.
Extent:
22.4 linear feet
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Lug and Can Label Collection, D-211, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Background

Scope and content:

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.

Biographical / historical:

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 carboard 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.

Acquisition information:
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.
Processing information:

Collection processed with help from student assistants Katherine Hall, Lauren Murvihill, and Michelle Galat.

Physical location:
Researchers should contact Archives and Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Lug and Can Label Collection, D-211, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library
100 NW Quad
Davis, CA 95616-5292, US
Contact:
(530) 752-1621
speccoll@ucdavis.edu
Website