Food

Part of a nation's history lies in what people eat. Artifacts at the Museum document the history of food in the United States from farm machinery to diet fads.

More than 1,300 pieces of stoneware and earthenware show how Americans have stored, prepared, and served food for centuries. Ovens, cookie cutters, kettles, aprons, and ice-cream-making machines are part of the collections, along with home canning jars and winemaking equipment. More than 1,000 objects recently came to the Museum when author and cooking show host Julia Child donated her entire kitchen, from appliances to cookbooks.

Advertising and business records of several food companies—such as Hills Brothers Coffee, Pepsi Cola, and Campbell's Soup—represent the commercial side of the subject

Physical DescriptionPrinted on cardboard.General HistoryHershey's Milk Chocolate box that held candy bars.
Description
Physical Description
Printed on cardboard.
General History
Hershey's Milk Chocolate box that held candy bars.
date made
1943
associated dates
1941-1945
maker
Hershey Chocolate Corporation
ID Number
1992.3112.01
catalog number
1992.3112.01
nonaccession number
1992.3112
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date designed
1939
date produced
1940
designer
Kogan, Belle
maker
Red Wing Potteries, Inc.
ID Number
1993.0234.02
catalog number
1993.0234.02
accession number
1993.0234
Physical DescriptionPaper candy wrapper over candy bar.General HistoryIn 1943, the procurement division of the army inquired about the possibility of obtaining a heat-resistant chocolate bar with an improved flavor.
Description
Physical Description
Paper candy wrapper over candy bar.
General History
In 1943, the procurement division of the army inquired about the possibility of obtaining a heat-resistant chocolate bar with an improved flavor. After a short period of experimentation, Hershey's Tropical Chocolate Bar in both one- and two-ounce sizes was added to the list of war production items. This bar was destined to exceed all other items in the tonnage produced. The Army-Navy "E" Production Award was given to Hershey Chocolate Corporation on August 22, 1942, in recognition of its outstanding war effort. The corporation received a flag to fly above the chocolate plant and a lapel pin for every employee. The award was presented for exceeding all production expectations in the manufacturing of an Emergency Field Ration. The “E” production award was not easily won nor lightly bestowed. The award recognized companies that consistently met high standards of quality and quantity in light of available resources. Major General Edmund Gregory said of Hershey, "The men and women of Hershey Chocolate Corporation have every reason to be proud of their great work in backing up our soldiers on the fighting fronts." In all, the Hershey Chocolate Corporation received five Army-Navy "E" awards.
date made
1943
maker
Hershey Chocolate Corporation
ID Number
1977.0865.07
catalog number
1977.0865.07
accession number
1977.0865
catalog number
80015M
To increase shoppers ability to purchase more groceries, Sylvan Goldman of Oklahoma City, developed a "combination of basket and carriage." He devised a folding frame with wheels and two shelves which held two stock wire baskets.
Description (Brief)
To increase shoppers ability to purchase more groceries, Sylvan Goldman of Oklahoma City, developed a "combination of basket and carriage." He devised a folding frame with wheels and two shelves which held two stock wire baskets. He filed for patent on March 14, 1938 and recieved approved patent on April 9, 1940 for the Folding Basket Carriage for Self-Serivce Stores.
Date made
ca 1937
maker
Folding Basket Carrier Co.
ID Number
CL.302377.03
accession number
302377
patent number
2196914
catalog number
302377.03
To increase shoppers ability to purchase more groceries, Sylvan Goldman of Oklahoma City, developed a "combination of basket and carriage." He devised a folding frame with wheels and two shelves which held two stock wire baskets.
Description
To increase shoppers ability to purchase more groceries, Sylvan Goldman of Oklahoma City, developed a "combination of basket and carriage." He devised a folding frame with wheels and two shelves which held two stock wire baskets. He filed for patent on March 14, 1938 and recieved approved patent on April 9, 1940 for the Folding Basket Carriage for Self-Serivce Stores.
The carrier is original but repainted in 1972 in the same green as original finish.
Date made
ca 1937
maker
Folding Basket Carrier Co.
ID Number
CL.302377.01
accession number
302377
patent number
2196914
catalog number
302377.01
This silkscreen print on paper is set in a thin wooden frame, on which the date 1938 is written.
Description
This silkscreen print on paper is set in a thin wooden frame, on which the date 1938 is written. It depicts an image of a Mexican man with a broad mustache, wearing a wide brim sombrero, golden earrings, and a red and yellow striped blanket-like shawl known as a “serape,” draped over a brown poncho and green shirt. He is shown lighting a cigarette.
The print came to the museum as part of a collection of objects and archival materials relating to Charles Elmer “C.E.” Doolin and the Fritos corn chip empire he founded. The Mexican man depicted is not explicitly connected to the Frito Company’s 1967 “Frito Bandito” advertising campaign, which was retired in 1971, due to complaints from the public and the National Mexican-American Anti-Defamation Committee. But the painting does connect to the Mexican heritage of Fritos, and their introduction to American consumers as a Tex-Mex-inspired snack with connections to the masa-based-foods of Mexico.
C.E. Doolin launched “Fritos” in 1932, inspired by a recipe he had purchased from Gustavo Olguin, a Mexican-American restaurant owner in San Antonio, where Doolin had worked as a fry cook. Olguin’s “fritos” (the name came from the Spanish word frit, meaning fried) were small fried corn chips made from masa dough. Doolin bought the recipe, Olguin’s hand-operated potato ricer, and nineteen customer accounts for the snack, all for $100. He then patented his own device for extruding the masa dough through a cutter, which produced ribbon-like strips that were then fried in hot oil. Doolin marketed the chips as an ingredient in recipes, many of which were inspired by his mother Daisy Dean Stephenson Doolin’s dishes for entertaining. The chips were used in both sweet and savory preparations, including as crust for fruitcakes, breading for salmon croquettes, and garnish for tuna salad.
In 1945 Doolin connected with Herman Lay, famous for automating the manufacturing process of potato chips and the head of H.W. Lay & Co. Lay took on the nationwide distribution of Fritos at this time. Doolin passed away in 1959, and in 1961 The Frito Company officially merged with H.W. Lay & Co. to become Frito-Lay. Frito-Lay went on to develop more products (including the wildly popular snack foods Cheetos and Doritos) and become the largest snack conglomerate in the world. Initially promoted as an ingredient in foods for entertaining, Fritos were advertised mostly to children, both in print and television campaigns and via cartoon characters such as the cowboy-inspired “Frito Kid.”
Fritos were most successful as a standalone snack. Following the success of the commercial potato chip in the 1930s, there was a growing market for other salty snacks and pre-packaged foods to be eaten on the go and in-between meals. The creation of “snack time” as a new type of American meal helped bolster the popularity of Doolin’s invention. The packaging of these snacks would also prove revolutionary—before 1900, snack foods and sweets were sold in small paper bags and portioned out by the grocer or shop owner. As manufacturers experimented with cans and glassine bags and materials such as wax paper and cellophane, they found new ways to keep food fresh and vacuum-packed until the customer opened it. Over the second half of the twentieth century, snack foods would develop into a $22 billion dollar industry.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1938
ID Number
2012.0078.02
catalog number
2012.0078.02
accession number
2012.0078
To increase shoppers ability to purchase more groceries, Sylvan Goldman of Oklahoma City, developed a "combination of basket and carriage." He devised a folding frame with wheels and two shelves which held two stock wire baskets.
Description (Brief)
To increase shoppers ability to purchase more groceries, Sylvan Goldman of Oklahoma City, developed a "combination of basket and carriage." He devised a folding frame with wheels and two shelves which held two stock wire baskets. He filed for patent on March 14, 1938 and recieved approved patent on April 9, 1940 for the Folding Basket Carriage for Self-Serivce Stores.
Date made
ca 1937
maker
Folding Basket Carrier Co.
ID Number
CL.302377.02
accession number
302377
patent number
2196914
catalog number
302377.02
Carbro color print, matted; Cheese and crackers with knife. Signed and dated on mat, pencil. Verso: handwritten "McCall's Cheese." This color photograph was used for the women's homemaking magazine, McCall's.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Carbro color print, matted; Cheese and crackers with knife. Signed and dated on mat, pencil. Verso: handwritten "McCall's Cheese." This color photograph was used for the women's homemaking magazine, McCall's.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1936
maker
Outerbridge, Jr., Paul
ID Number
PG.006063
catalog number
6063
accession number
223759
catalog number
6063
This paper label from the 1930s was used on bottles of Zinfandel produced by the Bargetto family in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains. Zinfandel, a red grape variety favored by Italian producers and consumers, was one of the grapes most widely grown during Prohibition.
Description
This paper label from the 1930s was used on bottles of Zinfandel produced by the Bargetto family in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains. Zinfandel, a red grape variety favored by Italian producers and consumers, was one of the grapes most widely grown during Prohibition. Its thick, dark skin helped keep the grapes intact during long, cross-country rail shipments to home winemakers back East. During Prohibition (1919-1933) male heads of households were permitted to make up to 200 gallons of wine for home use, a provision that created tremendous demand around the country for winemaking grapes.
The Bargetto family’s story reflects in many ways the history of Italians in California, with several themes threaded throughout: multiple migrations between Italy and America, opportunity and work in the wine industry, and the importance of family and community. The first Bargettos to arrive in California were Giuseppe (Joseph) and his eldest son Filippo (Philip), who left their ancestral home in Italy’s Piedmont region, in 1890. They settled among other Italians in the winegrowing area around Mountain View, in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where they found work at the Casa Delmas Winery. Although Joseph moved back to Italy two years later, Philip remained until 1902, when he returned to Italy to be married. Three years later Philip and his new family arrived back in California, settling first in San Francisco, then, with remarkable prescience, to Mountain View just before the devastating earthquake and fire in 1906.
In 1909, back in San Francisco, the Bargettos opened their first family winery on Montgomery Avenue. Philip’s uncle Giovanni (John) arrived from Italy and, with a third partner, Alberto Colombo, they formed the South Montebello Vineyard and Wine Co., where they fermented, aged, and delivered barrels of wine to local restaurants. The next member of the family to arrive from Italy was Philip’s younger brother, also named Giovanni (John P.), who went to work in a San Francisco restaurant. After two years and suffering from exhaustion, he moved to the Santa Cruz Mountains, where he was joined by his sisters Angelina and Maddalena, both of whom married Italian immigrants. The growing Bargetto family became part of an expanding community of Italian Americans in the town of Soquel.
As Prohibition loomed, the Bargettos closed the San Francisco winery and moved to Soquel in 1917, where they purchased the site of what became the family’s winery after Repeal. Here they began making wine for home use by family and friends. To keep themselves financially afloat during Prohibition’s dry years, the family peddled vegetables and also served meals out of their home on weekends. Customers who wanted a glass of wine with their meal, a longstanding Italian tradition, were served wine from barrels stored in the cellar.
After Prohibition was repealed in 1933, the Bargettos applied for federal bonding, and officially became Bonded Winery 3859. The two brothers, Philip and John P., ran the winery together until Philip’s death in 1936; through the 1940s and 1950s, John P. held the company together with help from his sons Ralph and Lawrence, who took the lead in the 1970s and 1980s.
The winery was still family-owned in 2014, when artifacts associated with the early years of the Bargetto family’s winery were donated to the museum. The donor, John E. Bargetto, with his brother and sister, are the third generation of Bargettos to operate the family’s wine business in the Central Coast region of California.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s
ID Number
2014.3130.02
catalog number
2014.3130.02
nonaccession number
2014.3130
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1951
date designed
c.1939
date made
c.1950
ca. 1939
date produced
1947
date designed
c. 1939
designer
Kogan, Belle
maker
Red Wing Potteries, Inc.
ID Number
1993.0234.03
catalog number
1993.0234.03
accession number
1993.0234
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.S
accession number
238737
catalog number
6261S
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1935 - 1936
maker
McGraw Electric Co.
ID Number
1989.0308.02
catalog number
1989.0308.02
accession number
1989.0308
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1908 or later
patent date
1908-01-14
ID Number
DL.380489
catalog number
380489
accession number
153231
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1923 or later
parent company
International Silver Company
ID Number
DL.380490C
catalog number
380490C
accession number
153231
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1923 or later
parent company
International Silver Company
ID Number
DL.380490F
catalog number
380490F
accession number
153231
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1923 or later
parent company
International Silver Company
ID Number
DL.380490D
catalog number
380490D
accession number
153231
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1900 - 1930
ID Number
DL.64.0509
catalog number
64.0509
accession number
251849
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1923 or later
parent company
International Silver Company
ID Number
DL.380490B
catalog number
380490B
accession number
153231
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1923 or later
parent company
International Silver Company
ID Number
DL.380490E
catalog number
380490E
accession number
153231
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1923 or later
parent company
International Silver Company
ID Number
DL.380490A
catalog number
380490A
accession number
153231
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1900 - 1935
ID Number
DL.252318.0046
catalog number
252318.0046
accession number
252318
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1933
patent date for lifting rack
1927-05-31
patent date for hinged pan handles
1931-01-13
maker
Wear-Ever Aluminum
Aluminum Cooking Utensil Company
ID Number
1985.0747.03
accession number
1985.0747
catalog number
1985.0747.03
Dinner or table knife having a single-swedge New French blade with integral single-groove ("Yankee") bolster and flat, rounded-end French ivory handle. Blade front etched "WM. A. ROGERS. / SPOTLESS” in serif letters.Currently not on view
Description
Dinner or table knife having a single-swedge New French blade with integral single-groove ("Yankee") bolster and flat, rounded-end French ivory handle. Blade front etched "WM. A. ROGERS. / SPOTLESS” in serif letters.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920 - 1930
ID Number
1986.0531.078
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.078
Wall-mounted metal strip, bent back along its top and bottom, with seven shallow hooks for hanging kitchen tools and two countersunk holes at ends for screws (one screw remains).
Description
Wall-mounted metal strip, bent back along its top and bottom, with seven shallow hooks for hanging kitchen tools and two countersunk holes at ends for screws (one screw remains). From an 8-piece cooking utensil set in original box, missing one spoon (1987.3086.1-7, .9).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s
maker
Automatic Wire Goods Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1987.3086.7
nonaccession number
1987.3086
catalog number
1987.3086.7

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