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

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.W
catalog number
6261W
accession number
238737
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date designed
1954
date made
c.1954
date produced
ca. 1960
designer
Kogan, Belle
maker
Gailstyn Company
ID Number
1992.0257.11D
catalog number
1992.0257.11D
accession number
1992.0257
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.X
catalog number
6261X
accession number
238737
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date produced
c.1950
date made
c.1950s
designer
Kogan, Belle
maker
Hull
ID Number
1992.0257.13.ab
accession number
1992.0257
catalog number
1992.0257.13ab
This dessert plate was used aboard the SS United States, the largest and fastest passenger liner ever built in the United States. Launched in 1952, it was billed as the most modern and luxurious ship in service on the North Atlantic.
Description
This dessert plate was used aboard the SS United States, the largest and fastest passenger liner ever built in the United States. Launched in 1952, it was billed as the most modern and luxurious ship in service on the North Atlantic. This plate was one of the 125,000 pieces of chinaware supplied to the ship by the United States Lines. The china—a pattern featuring a ring of gray stars—was produced by Lamberton Sterling, an American manufacturer.
There were plenty of choices for dessert aboard the SS United States. Menus from a December 1954 voyage—the first taken by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor on an American vessel—reveal a combination of American favorites and fancy confections inspired by the French. For dinner on December 10, passengers enjoyed Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake, and Peach Melba, as well as Meringue Glace au Chocolat, Frangipan, and Petits Fours. For luncheon the next day, the choices ranged from Green Apple or Blueberry Pie to Biscuit Glace and Chocolate Éclairs.
date made
1950s
maker
Lamberton Sterling
ID Number
TR.335565.06B
accession number
1978.2219
catalog number
335565.6b
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950 - 1959
1950 - 1959
date produced
ca. 1950
associated dates
1992 06 02 / 1992 06 02
designer
Kogan, Belle
maker
Kogan, Belle
ID Number
1992.0257.12.ab
accession number
1992.0257
catalog number
1992.0257.12ab
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.LL
catalog number
6261LL
accession number
238737
This champagne glass was among the 57,000 pieces of glassware furnished to the SS United States before its maiden voyage in 1952. Launched in 1952, the “Big U,” as the ship was affectionately called, was 990 feet long, about the length of five city blocks.
Description
This champagne glass was among the 57,000 pieces of glassware furnished to the SS United States before its maiden voyage in 1952. Launched in 1952, the “Big U,” as the ship was affectionately called, was 990 feet long, about the length of five city blocks. On its maiden voyage, the ship broke the speed records for crossings in both directions and captured the Blue Riband trophy, an award for the ship making the fastest round trip passage on the North Atlantic. The time set by the United States on the westbound leg from New York to England was 3 days, 12 hours, and 12 minutes, with an average speed of 34.51 knots, a record that remains unbroken.
The SS United States was built in Newport News, Virginia, and was the largest and fastest transatlantic passenger liner ever built in the country. The ship had 695 staterooms located on eight of the liner’s 12 decks. It could accommodate 1,972 passengers in first, cabin, or tourist class. Some 1,011 crew were required to run the ship and serve the passengers.
date made
1952
ID Number
TR.335564.02A
catalog number
335564.2
accession number
1978.2219
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006264.K
catalog number
6264K
accession number
238737
By the 1880s, fruit growers and shippers were marking the ends of their wooden shipping crates with colorful paper labels made possible by advances in lithographic printing.
Description
By the 1880s, fruit growers and shippers were marking the ends of their wooden shipping crates with colorful paper labels made possible by advances in lithographic printing. The labels identified the source of the fruit, while the designs, images, and names helped encourage brand recognition among buyers. California growers used such labels on grape crates until the 1950s, when printed labels on corrugated cardboard boxes replaced the old wooden crates.
This label for Zinfandel grapes, branded “Mont’Elisa Beauty” along with an image of a pretty young girl, was used by the Riolo Brothers, Italian Americans who packed and shipped grapes out of Roseville, California, near Sacramento. The label boasts that the grapes were not irrigated, indicating a traditional approach to vineyard management called “dry farming,” a practice that concentrates the flavors in fruit.
date made
before 1950
ID Number
2010.3091.02
nonaccession number
2010.3091
catalog number
2010.3091.02
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.T
catalog number
6261T
accession number
238737
By the 1880s, fruit growers and shippers were marking the ends of their wooden shipping crates with colorful paper labels made possible by advances in lithographic printing.
Description
By the 1880s, fruit growers and shippers were marking the ends of their wooden shipping crates with colorful paper labels made possible by advances in lithographic printing. The labels identified the source of the fruit, while the designs, images, and names helped encourage brand recognition among buyers. California growers used such labels on grape crates until the 1950s, when printed labels on corrugated cardboard boxes replaced the old wooden crates.
This label, depicting a woman with beauty-queen looks and a basket full of gorgeous grapes, begs the question: who is the “Fresno Bella,” the lady, the grapes, or both? Distributed by the Heggblade-Marguleas-Tenneco Corporation, Fresno Bella brand grapes were shipped using labels like this out of Del Rey, California, a crossroads town located in the Central Valley’s Fresno County.
date made
before 1950
ID Number
2010.3091.03
nonaccession number
2010.3091
catalog number
2010.3091.03
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1952
1952
date made
c. 1952
date produced
ca. 1953
associated dates
1952 01 01+ / 1952 01 01+, 1952 12 31- / 1952 12 31-
designer
Kogan, Belle
ID Number
1992.0257.10
catalog number
1992.0257.10
accession number
1992.0257
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006264.L
catalog number
6264L
accession number
238737
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date designed
ca. 1955
date produced
1961
Date made
Line: 1961 Shape: Introduced 1955
designer
Diamond, Freda
maker
Libbey Glass Company
designer
Diamond, Freda
ID Number
1997.0157.16D
accession number
1997.0157
catalog number
1997.0157.16D
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
Introduced 1957
date made
ca. 1956
c. 1956
designer
Diamond, Freda
maker
Libbey Glass Company
designer
Diamond, Freda
ID Number
1997.0157.01B
catalog number
1997.0157.01B
accession number
1997.0157
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date designed
ca. 1955
date produced
1961
Date made
Line: 1961 Shape: Introduced 1955
designer
Diamond, Freda
maker
Libbey Glass Company
designer
Diamond, Freda
ID Number
1997.0157.16B
accession number
1997.0157
catalog number
1997.0157.16B
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
Introduced in 1957
date made
ca.1956
c.1956
designer
Diamond, Freda
maker
Libbey Glass Company
designer
Diamond, Freda
ID Number
1997.0157.01A
catalog number
1997.0157.01A
accession number
1997.0157
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.I
catalog number
6261I
accession number
238737
Labels are an important marketing device.
Description (Brief)
Labels are an important marketing device. They often go beyond merely identifying contents and are designed to help establish brand distinction and generate customer loyalty for a largely interchangeable product.
This Outboard brand apple crate label was used by the Chelan-Manson Co-operative Association Inc., of Chelan, Washington during the mid 1900s. The lithographed label has an illustration of a man wearing a life jacket driving a hydroplane named “Red Apple” over Lake Chelan, with the peak of Stormy Mountain rising in the background. The hills of the lake shore are lined with apple orchards. Fruit crate labels often depicted landscapes like this to evoke a sense of fresh, natural produce.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1949
1950s
referenced business
Chelan-Manson Cooperative Assn., Inc.
ID Number
1979.0441.052
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.052
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.Q
catalog number
6261Q
accession number
238737
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1950
ID Number
PG.004735J
accession number
192657
catalog number
4735J
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
Introduced 1957
c.1956
ca.1956
designer
Diamond, Freda
maker
Libbey Glass Company
designer
Diamond, Freda
ID Number
1997.0157.01D
accession number
1997.0157
catalog number
1997.0157.01D
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.L
catalog number
6261L
accession number
238737

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