Citrus Label Society’s 2018 Spring Meeting

Open to the public the Citrus Label Society’s spring meeting will feature hundreds of beautiful and original vintage citrus labels. Meet other citrus label enthusiasts interested in the unique visual images that document California’s rich citrus heritage. Hundreds of original citrus labels and citrus-related memorabilia will be available for display and purchase.

Well, known author and California citrus historian David Boule will speak at 12noon on the history of oranges and California citrus. Boule’s extensive label collection has been featured on public television, in the Los Angeles Times and LA Magazine, and on National Public Radio. Signed copies of his book, The Orange and Dream of California, will be available for purchase.

Additional information:

The first orange box labels were designed and lithographed in 1885. These labels fit perfectly on the end of the standard size California wooden shipping box. Citrus labels were produced as a way to identify where the oranges were grown and to provide information about who packed and shipped the oranges. In most cases additional information on the label provided the buyer with the name of the variety of oranges that were in the box and across the top of the label was the trademarked brand name, provided for re-ordering identification.

From the 1800’s to World War II commercial fruits were packed in wooden crates and shipped from California to the mid-west and the east coast. In order to set themselves apart commercial fruit companies employed artists to create unique images for their packing boxes. Most buyers were men, so bold images like cowboys, Native Americans, sports and animals were among the first shipping box designs. However, it wasn’t long before the labels took on a more feminine form such as scenery, flowers, birds, women, children, and puppies.