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

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 A-plus brand apple crate label was used by Standard Fruits, Inc. of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The label was lithographed by the Ridgway Lithograph Company of Seattle, Washington. The label has a red background, with an illustration of a young woman wearing a white tank top with the U.S. shield on it, similar to what an Olympic athlete would wear. Apple advertising often focused on the health benefits of eating apples, an idea that was supported by depictions of healthy young people on apple crate labels.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Standard Fruits, Inc.
ID Number
1979.0441.123
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.123
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 Twin Peaks brand apple crate label was used by Phillippi Orchards of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The white lithographed label features a large red apple in the center, with two blue mountain peaks in the background. The mountain ranges in Wenatchee are a subset of the Cascade Range, and helped provide an ideal climate.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Phillippi Orchards
ID Number
1979.0441.039
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.039
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 Dainty Maid brand apple crate label was used by H.S.
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 Dainty Maid brand apple crate label was used by H.S. Denison & Company of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The lithographed label has a red background and a central illustration of a pretty young girl smiling and holding a red apple. Fruit labels often would depict images of healthy young children to promote the health benefits of apples.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
H. S. Denison & Co.
ID Number
1979.0441.080
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.080
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 Jo-Jo brand apple crate label was used by the Justman-Frankenthal Company of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The label was lithographed by the Ridgway Lithograph Company of Seattle, Washington. The label has an illustration of two dice, with the two sides showing up. These apples came from Wenatchee, part of a region that claimed to be the “Apple Capital of the World.”
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Justman Frankenthal Co.
ID Number
1979.0441.125
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.125
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 Horan’s apple crate label was in use by Horan Brother’s Inc.
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 Horan’s apple crate label was in use by Horan Brother’s Inc. of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The lithographed label is made of three horizontal stripes. The top stripe is brown, then white, then red, with the middle white stripe bearing the symbol of two lions holding a shield with an interlocking “HB” in the center. The lithography was done by Stecher-Traung of San Francisco, California.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Horan Bros., Inc.
ID Number
1979.0441.014
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.014
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 HI-YU brand apple crate label was used by the Northern Fruit Company Inc., of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The label was lithographed by Crocker-Union of Seattle, Washington. The label has a large illustration of a Native American man wearing a colorful feathered headdress. Native American imagery was a popular motif in fruit crate labeling during the early 20th century, linking the commercializing fruit industry with a more agrarian time gone by.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Northern Fruit Co. Inc.
ID Number
1979.0441.025
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.025
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 Rivas brand apple crate label was used by the Oneonta Trading Corporation of Wenatchee-Yakima, Washington during the first half of the 20th century. The blue and red crate label was lithographed by the Ridgway Lithograph Company of Seattle, Washington. The Wenatchee-Yakima region of central Washington was a large producer of apples during the early 20th century.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Oneonta Trading Corp.
ID Number
1979.0441.006
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.006
This Skookum brand apple crate was in use by the Northwestern Fruit Growers Association of Seattle, Washington, in the early 20th century.
Description (Brief)
This Skookum brand apple crate was in use by the Northwestern Fruit Growers Association of Seattle, Washington, in the early 20th century. Skookum was a Chinook word denoting “excellence.” Native American imagery was frequently depicted on the crate labels of various fruit distributors to evoke the idea of rich, natural produce.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Skookum Packers Association
Northwestern Fruit Exchange
ID Number
1979.0441.058
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.058
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 Foot Hill brand apple crate label was in use in Wenatchee, Washington around 1900-1940. The image of a rising sun over the mountains and the slogan "From the Foothills of the Cascades" evokes a sense of nature that was often used in fruit crate labels. The apples were shipped by Tyrrell’s of Wenatchee, Washington. Wenatchee was one of the largest American apple producing regions during the early 20th century.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Tyrrell's
ID Number
1979.0441.003
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.003
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 Four Star brand apple crate label was used by Driver & Woodrow of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The lithographed label has a blue background, with an illustration of four stars around the number “4.” These apples came from the Wenatchee Valley region of Washington, which claimed to be the “Apple Capital of the World.”
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Driver & Woodrow
ID Number
1979.0441.115
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.115
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 Electric brand apple crate label was used by the Mann Fruit Company of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The lithographed label was produced by the Spokane Lithograph Company of Spokane, Washington. The label has a dark blue background with lightning bolt from a cloudy dark sky striking diagonally across the label behind a large red apple. The label notes that the apples are “Wenatchee District Apples,” a region that claims to be the “Apple Capital of the World” due to the volume of its apple production.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Mann Fruit Company
ID Number
1979.0441.078
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.078
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 Band Box brand apple crate label was used by Boehmer, Inc.
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 Band Box brand apple crate label was used by Boehmer, Inc. of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The lithographed label was produced by Stecher-Traung of San Francisco, California. The label has a blue background with a central illustration of a red apple enclosed in a clear container encircled by a ribbon.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Boehmer, Inc.
ID Number
1979.0441.049
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.049
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 Red 'W' brand apple crate label was used by the Dow Fruit Company during the early 20th century. The label was lithographed by the Lehmann Lithograph Company of San Francisco, California. The label has a green background, with a large red “W” in the center. These apples came from Wenatchee, Washington, which claimed to be the “Apple Capital of the World.”
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Dow Fruit Company
ID Number
1979.0441.119
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.119
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 Sapphire brand apple crate label was used by Standard Fruits Inc. of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The label was lithographed by the Ridgway Lithograph Company of Seattle, Washington. The label has a blue background, and an image of a sapphire ring in the lower right of the cover.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Standard Fruits, Inc.
ID Number
1979.0441.092
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.092
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 Supreme brand apple crate label was in use by Apple Service, Inc. of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The lithographed label has an illustration of a Native American man wearing a full headdress and colorful clothes standing on top of a rocky hill raising his hands to the sky. In the sky floats two bright red apples still on the branch. Crate labels often used Native American imagery to link their produce to a naturalistic ideal.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Apple Service, Inc.
ID Number
1979.0441.057
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.057
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 Service brand apple crate label was used by the Trunkey-Wolfe Fruit Company, Inc. of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The lithographed label was produced by the Ridgway Lithography Company of Seattle, Washington. The green label has a red rim with a large rainbow in the center. The label advertises the apples as Wenatchee district apples. The Wenatchee Valley region is famous for its apple production, and claimed to be the “Apple Capital of the World.”
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Trunkey-Wolfe Fruit Co., Inc.
ID Number
1979.0441.128
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.128
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 Glacier Peak brand apple crate label was used by Washington Fruit Growers, Inc. of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The label was lithographed by Stecher-Traung of San Francisco, California. The label has a blue background, with a large red apple in the foreground, and an inset image of a mountainous peak. These apples came from the Wenatchee Valley region of Washington, an area that claimed to be the “Apple Capital of the World.”
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Washington Fruit Growers, Inc.
ID Number
1979.0441.094
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.094
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 Oneonta brand apple crate label was used by the Oneonta Trading Corporation of Wenatchee-Yakima, Washington during the early 20th century. The label was lithographed by the Ridgway Lithograph Company of Seattle, Washington. The label has a dark background and an illustration with two red apples and a golden apple on a branch. The Wenatchee-Yakima Valley region is famous for its apple production, which claimed to be the “Apple Capital of the World.”
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Oneonta Trading Corp.
ID Number
1979.0441.129
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.129
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 Hi Buy All brand apple crate label was used by the Butler Trading Company, Inc. of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The lithographed yellow label features an image of two large red apples on the branch. These apples came from Wenatchee, Washington which claimed to be the “Apple Capital of the World.”
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Butler Trading Co., Inc.
ID Number
1979.0441.028
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.028
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 Mountain Goat brand apple crate label was used by the Wenatchee Skookum Growers of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The lithographed label was produced by the Schmidt Lithograph Company of Seattle, Washington. The label features an illustration of a mountain goat on a rocky outcrop, looking over a forested valley surrounded by multiple mountain peaks. Fruit crate labels often depicted landscapes like this to evoke the idea of rich, natural produce.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Wenatchee Skookum Growers
ID Number
1979.0441.076
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.076
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 Governor Winthrop brand fruit crate label was used by the G.
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 Governor Winthrop brand fruit crate label was used by the G. Winthrop Coffin distribution company of Seattle, Wenatchee, and Yakima, Washington. The lithographed label was produced by the Union Lithograph Company, Inc. of San Francisco, California. The blue label features an illustration of men taking a small rowboat ashore from their large ship, the Arbella. John Winthrop took the Arbella from England to the New World, where he was the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony on and off from 1630-1649.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
G. Winthrop Coffin
ID Number
1979.0441.043
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.043
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 O-Fine-O brand apple crate label was used by the Oneonta Trading Corporation of Wenatchee-Yakima, Washington during the early 20th century. The lithographed label has a dark blue background, with an illustration of two red apples in the upper right. These apples came from Wenatchee, part of a region that claimed to be the “Apple Capital of the World.”
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Oneonta Trading Corp.
ID Number
1979.0441.118
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.118
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.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.
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 Top Rung brand apple crate label was used by Columbia Fruit Packers Inc. of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The label was lithographed by Stecher-Traung of San Francisco, California. The label has a dark blue background with large red lettering, and a yellow stripe on the bottom. These apples came from Wenatchee, Washington, a region that claimed to be the “Apple Capital of the World.”
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Columbia Fruit Packers, Inc.
ID Number
1979.0441.127
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.127
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 Blue O brand apple crate label was used by the Dow Fruit Company of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The lithographed label was produced by the Traung Label Company of Seattle, Washington. The yellow label has a large blue “O” in the center, since the apples were from the Okanogan Valley area of Washington.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Dow Fruit Company
ID Number
1979.0441.041
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.041

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