Food

Photo of McCall's Cheese

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

Place: Chicago

Apple Crate Label

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 Revelation brand apple crate label was used by the John A.
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 Revelation brand apple crate label was used by the John A. Eck Company of Chicago, Illinois during the beginning of the 20th century. The lithographed blue label has an illustration of two red apples still on the branch.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
John A. Eck Co.
ID Number
1979.0441.012
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.012

Salmon Shipping Crate

This shipping crate side contained Happy-Vale brand pink salmon that was shipped by the Emery Food Company of Chicago, Illinois. The crate contained four dozen one-pound packages of Happy-Vale salmon.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This shipping crate side contained Happy-Vale brand pink salmon that was shipped by the Emery Food Company of Chicago, Illinois. The crate contained four dozen one-pound packages of Happy-Vale salmon.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Emery Food Co.
ID Number
1979.0441.176
catalog number
1979.0441.176
accession number
1979.0441

Brush Shipping Crate

This shipping crate side contained one dozen Moose brand scrubs manufactured by the Royal Brush & Broom Company of Chicago, Illinois during the early 20th century. The wooden crate side has black text.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This shipping crate side contained one dozen Moose brand scrubs manufactured by the Royal Brush & Broom Company of Chicago, Illinois during the early 20th century. The wooden crate side has black text.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Royal Brush & Broom Co.
ID Number
1979.0441.237
catalog number
1979.0441.237
accession number
1979.0441

Bread Pan

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s
1940 - 1950
ID Number
1992.3069.02
catalog number
1992.3069.02
nonaccession number
1992.3069

Little Orphan Annie

This beetleware plastic mug with lid was a promotional item for the Little Orphan Annie radio show and it's sponsor, Ovaltine.Little Orphan Annie first aired in 1930 on Chicago's WGN, going national on NBC in 1931, where it aired for 11 years.
Description
This beetleware plastic mug with lid was a promotional item for the Little Orphan Annie radio show and it's sponsor, Ovaltine.
Little Orphan Annie first aired in 1930 on Chicago's WGN, going national on NBC in 1931, where it aired for 11 years. The program followed the serialized adventures of the titular orphan, a spunky red-haired moppet, and her dog Sandy. Based on Harold Gray's popular syndicated newspaper comic strip, the program was on of the first radio shows to focus on a juvenile audience.
In addition to the radio program, the character of Annie has been the focus of numerous film adaptations and a Broadway musical. The newspaper strip lasted in various forms until 2010.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1930s
maker
Beetleware Corporation
ID Number
2003.0159.01
accession number
2003.0159
catalog number
2003.0159.01

Mucilage Shipping Crate

This is a side panel of a Sanford Manufacturing Company shipping crate that contained Sanford glue (mucilage). The Sanford Manufacturing Company was founded in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1857.
Description (Brief)
This is a side panel of a Sanford Manufacturing Company shipping crate that contained Sanford glue (mucilage). The Sanford Manufacturing Company was founded in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1857. The company relocated to Chicago in 1866 and produced ink and glue in its early years before solely manufacturing ink products and renaming itself the Sanford Ink Company in 1940. Sanford was purchased by Newell Company in 1992.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Sanford Corporation
ID Number
1979.0441.260
catalog number
1979.0441.260
accession number
1979.0441

Baking Powder Shipping Crate

This shipping crate end is imprinted with “Calument Baking Powder” text and Native American head trademark. William Wright formulated Calumet Baking Powder in Chicago, Illinois in 1889. The powder was named after Calumet City, a town near Chicago.
Description (Brief)
This shipping crate end is imprinted with “Calument Baking Powder” text and Native American head trademark. William Wright formulated Calumet Baking Powder in Chicago, Illinois in 1889. The powder was named after Calumet City, a town near Chicago. Calumet was also the Native American term for peace pipe, and Calumet used the profile of a Native American in a headdress as its trademark. Calumet was bought by General Foods bought in 1929.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Calumet Baking Powder Company
ID Number
1979.0441.172
catalog number
1979.0441.172
accession number
1979.0441

Toastmaker Electric Toaster

Side-loading electric single-slice toaster, partially chrome-plated sheet metal. Rectangular-shaped body, curved corners. Toast rack of wire and sheet metal swings down 90 degrees from one end, to load bread, black wooden knob handle. Open top.
Description
Side-loading electric single-slice toaster, partially chrome-plated sheet metal. Rectangular-shaped body, curved corners. Toast rack of wire and sheet metal swings down 90 degrees from one end, to load bread, black wooden knob handle. Open top. Indented satin panels on either side, with low-relief Art nouveau style geometric linear design. One end is vented, opposite end has similar design. Heavy rectangular base with canted sides and rounded corners. Each side of base has a handle mounted on top, metal arms with turned wooden grip, black. Temperature gauge on one side, black wooden knobs, with attached plate, printed: “AUTO-TOASTMAKER/MODEL No. 75/PATS. PEND. BERSTED MFG. CO. CHICAGO ILL.” Opposite end has attached fabric power cord, black and gold woven, with molded plastic two-pronged plug, black. Four wooden ball-shaped feet, black. Mica heating elements, wrapped in metal tape. Overall abrasion, scratches, handles are worn, underside is discolored, yellow enamel on underside.
Maker is the Bersted Manufacturing Company, founded in Chicago by Alfred Bersted in 1913. The company began as a small machine shop, eventually producing small appliances after World War I. In 1926 McGraw Electric purchased the growing company and made it into a division of McGraw. Alfred Bersted would later purchase the company back from McGraw in 1930, only to have it bought back from him by McGraw in 1948. McGraw Electric (and later as McGraw-Edison) produced appliances under several brands, including “Fostoria,” “Lady Winsted,” “Capitol,” and “General Mills,” to name a few.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930-1932
ID Number
1992.0338.13
catalog number
1992.0338.13
accession number
1992.0338

Pork & Beans Shipping Crate

This shipping crate end is imprinted with “Snider Pork and Beans with Tomato Sauce/T.A. Snider Preserve Co./Chicago, U.S.A.” Thomas A. Snider started the T.A.
Description (Brief)
This shipping crate end is imprinted with “Snider Pork and Beans with Tomato Sauce/T.A. Snider Preserve Co./Chicago, U.S.A.” Thomas A. Snider started the T.A. Snider Preserve Company of Cincinnati in 1879, and was renowned for his “catsup” recipe made from fresh tomatoes without preservatives. Snider was one of the largest ketchup makers at the turn of the 20th century and produced a variety of tomato related products and canned goods such as relish, tomato soup, oyster sauce, and pork and beans.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
T. A. Snider Preserve Co.
ID Number
1979.0441.239
catalog number
1979.0441.239
accession number
1979.0441

Baking Powder Shipping Crate

This shipping crate side contained KC brand baking powder that was manufactured by the Jaques Manufacturing Company of Chicago, Illinois during the early 20th century. The crate contained two dozen 25 ounce cans of baking powder.
Description (Brief)
This shipping crate side contained KC brand baking powder that was manufactured by the Jaques Manufacturing Company of Chicago, Illinois during the early 20th century. The crate contained two dozen 25 ounce cans of baking powder. The company advertised through a popular recipe booklet called “The Cook’s Book.”
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Jaques Mfg. Co.
ID Number
1979.0441.295
catalog number
1979.0441.295
accession number
1979.0441

Mixmaster® Stand Mixer

Model MMB, 175W, 120V (AC only) domestic countertop stand mixer, chrome finish with open-ended black handle and 12-speed Mix-finder dial at back of a tapered cylindrical, tilting motor head with vertical attachment hub at left front.
Description
Model MMB, 175W, 120V (AC only) domestic countertop stand mixer, chrome finish with open-ended black handle and 12-speed Mix-finder dial at back of a tapered cylindrical, tilting motor head with vertical attachment hub at left front. Features two, detachable, 4-blade, open rectangular beaters (one larger than the other) and a rotating bowl rest with automatic speed control; bowl shift lever near back of platform to accommodate two stainless steel mixing bowls (4 quart and 1 5/8 quart). Removable black rubber power cord with two-prong plug at back right of motor. Motor head disconnects from stand for use as a hand mixer.
date made
1968 - 1974
maker
Sunbeam Corp.
ID Number
1988.3120.1
nonaccession number
1988.3120
catalog number
1988.3120.1

Juicy Fruit Gum Tin

This red tin was used to market Juicy Fruit® gum. The tin was designed to hang against a wall or other flat surface and the gum would be held in the basket on the bottom front of the tin.Juicy Fruit® is a brand of gum developed by Wm Wrigley Jr. Company.
Description
This red tin was used to market Juicy Fruit® gum. The tin was designed to hang against a wall or other flat surface and the gum would be held in the basket on the bottom front of the tin.
Juicy Fruit® is a brand of gum developed by Wm Wrigley Jr. Company. William Wrigley, Jr., started his business in 1892 in Chicago, Ill. He developed the Juicy Fruit® brand in 1893, along with the other iconic Wrigley’s brand, Spearmint®. During WWII, the company removed its chewing gum brands from the civilian market and continued to only fulfill orders for US troops rather than sell a product of inferior quality due to war rationing. As of 2008, Wm Wrigley Jr. Company has been part of Mars, Inc.
Sweet treats have been a part of the human diet nearly since the beginning of human existence. The type of treat has changed over time, but human desire for sweetness has not. Candy can be hard or chewy, may or may not contain chocolate and can be sweet or sour. Sugar cane was introduced to Europeans when crusaders brought the substance back from the Middle East, and it was with these Europeans that sugar gained its highly prized status as an art form and a gift to be given away on special occasions. A status that persists to this day when a suitor gives their beloved chocolate for Valentine’s Day.
At one time, small family owned confectionary shops dominated the American landscape. Opening a candy making business was a relatively low cost investment, all one needed was a kitchen and a basket to sell their treats from on the street. As demand grew, they could grow their business. Today, many of these small businesses have been absorbed into large corporations who command a much greater market power.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company
ID Number
AG.293320.2740
catalog number
AG*293320.2740
accession number
293320

Cheese Shipping Crate

This shipping crate side contained Kraft brand American Cheese spread that was manufactured by the Kraft Cheese Company of Chicago, Illinois during the early 20th century.
Description (Brief)
This shipping crate side contained Kraft brand American Cheese spread that was manufactured by the Kraft Cheese Company of Chicago, Illinois during the early 20th century. The crate contained 2 pounds of cheese spread, and the crate side bears a reminder to keep the cheese under refrigeration.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Kraft Foods Inc.
ID Number
1979.0441.351
catalog number
1979.0441.351
accession number
1979.0441

Ink Shipping Crate

This is a Sanford Ink Company shipping crate side. The Sanford Manufacturing Company was founded in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1857.
Description (Brief)
This is a Sanford Ink Company shipping crate side. The Sanford Manufacturing Company was founded in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1857. The company relocated to Chicago in 1866 and became a large producer of ink and glue products in its early years before focusing on ink and being renamed the Sanford Ink Company in 1940. Sanford introduced the Sharpie marker in 1964, which went on to become one of its best selling products. Sanford was purchased by the Newell Company in 1992.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Sanford Corporation
ID Number
1979.0441.226
catalog number
1979.0441.226
accession number
1979.0441

Hotpoint Electric Toaster

The quest for the perfect slice of toast led to many innovations in toaster engineering and design.
Description
The quest for the perfect slice of toast led to many innovations in toaster engineering and design. A September 1930 Ladies’ Home Journal advertisement proclaimed this Hotpoint single-slice electric toaster produced “Golden brown slices of scientifically caramelized goodness” as well as being “the most beautifully designed toaster in over twenty-six years of electric appliance leadership.” Hotpoint was a British appliance company founded in 1911. In the 1920s, through a joint venture with General Electric, the two companies began to make electric toasters for homes in both England and the United States.
Electric toasters, which did not gain real popularity until the late 1920s, were often a symbol of modernism. The toaster’s “Art Deco” styling was a combination of many different art movements of the time. It used geometric shapes and unusual, modern materials to create a new, “modern” aesthetic that became increasingly popular until the great depression.
date made
ca 1932
patent date
1925-08-25
maker
Hotpoint Edison General Electric Appliance Company, Inc.
ID Number
1992.0338.16
catalog number
1992.0338.16
accession number
1992.0338
catalog number
1992.338.16

Evaporated Milk Shipping Crate

This Carnation Evaporated Milk shipping crate side features the product can bearing the company logo of a stem of carnations. The Carnation Evaporated Milk Company was founded in 1901 by E.A. Stuart in Seattle, Washington.
Description (Brief)
This Carnation Evaporated Milk shipping crate side features the product can bearing the company logo of a stem of carnations. The Carnation Evaporated Milk Company was founded in 1901 by E.A. Stuart in Seattle, Washington. Nestle acquired the Carnation Company in 1985.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Carnation Company
ID Number
1979.0441.273
catalog number
1979.0441.273
accession number
1979.0441

Ration can of roast beef

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1989
1898
maker
Libby, McNeill & Libby
ID Number
AF.74117M
catalog number
74117M
accession number
289870

Electric Toaster

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1911
ID Number
1992.0338.20
accession number
1992.0338
catalog number
1992.0338.20

Electric Toaster

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1930-1940
ID Number
1992.0338.24
catalog number
1992.0338.24
accession number
1992.0338

Baking Powder Shipping Crate

This shipping crate side contained KC brand baking powder that was manufactured by the Jaques Manufacturing Company of Chicago, Illinois during the early 20th century. The crate contained two dozen 25 ounce cans of baking powder.
Description (Brief)
This shipping crate side contained KC brand baking powder that was manufactured by the Jaques Manufacturing Company of Chicago, Illinois during the early 20th century. The crate contained two dozen 25 ounce cans of baking powder. The company advertised through a popular recipe booklet called “The Cook’s Book.”
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Jaques Mfg. Co.
ID Number
1979.0441.191
catalog number
1979.0441.191
accession number
1979.0441

Ink Shipping Crate

This is an end panel of a Sanford Ink Company shipping crate. The Sanford Manufacturing Company was founded in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1857.
Description (Brief)
This is an end panel of a Sanford Ink Company shipping crate. The Sanford Manufacturing Company was founded in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1857. The company relocated to Chicago in 1866 and became a large producer of ink and glue products in its early years before focusing on ink and being renamed the Sanford Ink Company in 1940. Sanford introduced the Sharpie marker in 1964, which went on to become one of its best selling products. Sanford was purchased by Newell Company in 1992.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Sanford Corporation
ID Number
1979.0441.294
catalog number
1979.0441.294
accession number
1979.0441

Aunt Jemima Syrup Bottle

In 1939, Walter Landor arrived in the United States to help install the British training pavilion at the New York World’s Fair.
Description
In 1939, Walter Landor arrived in the United States to help install the British training pavilion at the New York World’s Fair. At twenty-six years old, Landor had left his home in Germany to study art and design in Britain, where he became the youngest Fellow of the Royal Society of Industrial Artists. With whispers of war circulating around Europe, Landor decided to stay in the United States and travelled to the West Coast in search of design work. In 1941, Landor and his new wife Josephine Martinelli founded Walter Landor and Associates (today Landor) in their San Francisco apartment. The company specialized in packaging and label design for a number of iconic brands ranging from Marlboro cigarettes to Aunt Jemima to Sara Lee. As the company expanded, Landor’s base of operations moved from his home through several locations until it settled in 1962 on the Klamath, a docked ferryboat in the San Francisco Bay that would become an iconic part of Landor’s own brand.
In 1966, Aunt Jemima’s ready-made pancakes debuted their own brand of syrup. Aunt Jemima began in 1889 in St. Joseph, Missouri, when Chris Rutt and Charles Underwood created the first ready-mix pancake. Searching for a character to mark their brand, the company settled on the Aunt Jemima figure after viewing a minstrel show which included a southern mammy, a fictional African American female figure happily enslaved to a White family. The use of Black characters to sell home goods to White consumers draws upon stereotypes of African-Americans established during the period of slavery; in particular it references the stereotype of African-Americans in a servile position. In 1926, Quaker Oats purchased the Aunt Jemima brand and continued to expand it. As Aunt Jemima grew in popularity, the company employed a number of Black women to act as Aunt Jemima at events ranging from World’s Fairs to grocery stores to Disneyland. In 1989, Quaker Oats redesigned and updated Aunt Jemima, changing her from an outdated stereotype to the design that is still in use today: a modern Black woman.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-1989
maker
Quaker Oats Company
ID Number
1993.0393.041
accession number
1993.0393
catalog number
1993.0393.041

Montgomery Ward Shipping Crate

This shipping crate side was used by Montgomery Ward & Company of Chicago, Illinois during the late 19th and early 20th century.
Description (Brief)
This shipping crate side was used by Montgomery Ward & Company of Chicago, Illinois during the late 19th and early 20th century. Montgomery Ward was founded in 1872 as a catalogue company that attempted to bring city goods into rural areas by allowing people to order items via mail and pick up the goods at their train station. This crate calls Montgomery Ward “The World’s Leading Outfitter” and encourages consumers to send for a catalogue.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Montgomery Ward
ID Number
1979.0441.356
catalog number
1979.0441.356
accession number
1979.0441

“Hotpoint” Electric Toaster

A. Side-opening electric two-slice toaster, nickel-plated sheet metal. Trapezoid-shaped body with overhanging top, curved corners, bent rim, pierced with geometric pattern. Doors on either side that open downward to allow bread to be placed into toaster.
Description
A. Side-opening electric two-slice toaster, nickel-plated sheet metal. Trapezoid-shaped body with overhanging top, curved corners, bent rim, pierced with geometric pattern. Doors on either side that open downward to allow bread to be placed into toaster. Each door is pierced with geometric and floral design, has wooden “mushroom” shaped knobs, faceted, on either side to open door. Each end is pierced with a similar design. Hollow base with lobed bottom edge, arched legs with hidden oval Masonite feet at corners. Two-pronged cord attachment at one end. “Hotpoint” debossed in cursive on one side of base. Underside is stamped within cartouche: “CAT. NO. 115T17 W. 550 V. 110/PAT’D FEB. 22 1910 JULY 23 14/EDISON ELECTRIC APPLIANCE CO. INC./CHICAGO MADE IN USA ONTARIO CAL”
B. Power cord, grayish-yellow woven cloth with silver metal coil on one end, molded plastic two-pronged plug, one end is embossed in cursive: “Hotpoint”
Patents:
US 950058 A, Feb 22, 1910, Frank E. Shailor, assignor to General Electric Corporation, for “Electric heater”
(Possibly) US 1257106 A, Filed July 23, 1914, Published Feb. 19, 1918, Leon F. Parkhurst, assignor to General Electric Corporation, for “Electric heating device”
Maker is Edison Electric Appliance Company, founded in 1904 as the Pacific Electric Heating Company by Earl Richardson in order to manufacture a lightweight electric iron he had designed. Richardson registered the “Hotpoint” trademark in 1914, and changed the company’s name to Hotpoint Electric Heating Company. Shortly after, Richardson purchased the rights to the Edison name—which Edison sold to numerous companies over the years—and changed the company’s name to the Edison Electric Appliance Company. In 1918 the company merged with Hughes Electric Heating Company (the heating device section of General Electric), and in 1931 the name of the company changed once again—to the Edison General Electric Company. Three years later the “Edison” name was dropped and it became the Hotpoint Division of General Electric.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1923-1929
maker
Edison General Electric Appliance Co., Inc.
ID Number
1992.0338.06
catalog number
1992.0338.06
accession number
1992.0338

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