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

Coffee Cup Lid, Fonda

This is a Fonda brand peel and lock coffee cup lid.
Description
This is a Fonda brand peel and lock coffee cup lid. The lid bears patent number 5,197,624 assigned March 30, 1993 to M&N Plastics, Incorporated to "improve access closure hold-open operation and structure in a cup lid." Peel and lock type lids give the drinker a place to snap the peel back lid part into itself, preventing the need to tear off or throw away a little triangle of plastic.
Architects and collectors Louise Harpman and Scott Specht donated 56 plastic cup lids to the National Museum of American History in 2012. Their donation is a sample from their much larger collection of “independently patented drink-through plastic cup lids,” which they began in 1984 and discussed in a 2005 essay, “Inventory / Peel, Pucker, Pinch, Puncture,” in Cabinet Magazine: http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/19/harpman.php. The collectors’ categorization scheme reflects the primary way the lid design functions, which helps differentiate between the varieties and styles of lids.
Plastic, disposable coffee cup lids and other single-use food packages reinforce the social acceptability of eating and drinking on the go in the United States and reflect increasing expectation for convenience products. Cup lids are also examples of how humble, and even disposable, objects are sometimes the result of meticulous engineering. Patents for lid innovations describe peel-back tabs and the pucker-type shapes that make room for mouths and noses, and describe the nuances of “heat retention,” “mouth comfort,” “splash reduction,” “friction fit,” and “one-handed activation.”
ID Number
2012.3047.06
catalog number
2012.3047.06
nonaccession number
2012.3047

Oyster Meat Crate Label

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 Sea Plane brand oyster meat crate label was used by the Biloxi Fishermen’s Packing Company of Biloxi, Mississippi during the early 20th century. The label has an image of two oyster shells split apart on the left side, and a central image of a sea plane taking off. The crate contained 8 ounce cans of oyster meat.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Biloxi Fishermen's Packing Co.
ID Number
1979.0441.101
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.101

Beef Stew

A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph. Advertisment for Petrie Wine. A bowl of stew with two glasses of red wine in foreground.Recto: Signed and dated by artist in lower right corner (pencil). Verso: Five Muray stamps. One Muray label.
Description (Brief)
A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph. Advertisment for Petrie Wine. A bowl of stew with two glasses of red wine in foreground.
Recto: Signed and dated by artist in lower right corner (pencil). Verso: Five Muray stamps. One Muray label. "#15" in upper left corner (pencil).
Description
Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892. Twelve years after his birth, Muray left his native town and enrolled in a graphic arts school in Budapest. Enrolling in art school was the first step on a road that would eventually lead him to study a photographic printing process called three-color carbro. In the course of his accomplished career, Muray would become an expert in this process and play a key role in bringing color photography to America.
While attending art school in Budapest, Muray studied lithography and photoengraving, earning an International Engraver's Certificate. Muray was also introduced to photography during this time period. His combined interest in photography and printmaking led him to Berlin, Germany to participate in a three-year color-photoengraving course. In Berlin, Muray learned how to make color filters, a first step in the craft that would one day become his trademark. Immediately after the completion of the course, Muray found a good job with a publishing company in Ullstein, Germany. However, the threat of war in Europe forced Muray to flee for America in 1913. Soon after his arrival in New York, Muray was working as a photoengraver for Condé Nast. His specialty was color separations and half-tone negatives.
By 1920, Muray had established a home for himself in the up-and-coming artists' haven of Greenwich Village. He opened a portrait studio out of his apartment and continued to work part time at his engraving job. Harper's Bazaar magazine gave Muray his first big assignment in 1921. The project was to photograph Broadway star Florence Reed. The magazine was so impressed with his photographs that they began to publish his work monthly. This allowed him to give up his part time job and work solely as a photographer. It did not take long for Muray to become one of the most renowned portrait photographers in Manhattan. Muray spent much of the early 1920s photographing the most famous and important personalities in New York at the time.
In his spare time Muray enjoyed fencing. In 1927, he won the National Sabre Championship and in 1928 and 1932, he was on the United States Olympic Team. During World War II, Muray was a flight lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1948
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.69.247.02
catalog number
69.247.02
accession number
287542

Witch Ice Cream Mold

This witch-shaped mold is one of 14 pewter ice cream molds donated to the Museum in 1972 by the wholesale distribution company Foremost-McKesson, Inc., of San Francisco, California.
Description
This witch-shaped mold is one of 14 pewter ice cream molds donated to the Museum in 1972 by the wholesale distribution company Foremost-McKesson, Inc., of San Francisco, California. Other forms include a butterfly, a dolphin, a lion, and patriotic symbols such as an eagle, Uncle Sam, the Liberty Bell, and George Washington in profile.
Molded ice cream was a popular treat in the United States from the 1870s to 1950s, with a boom in ice cream consumption driving increases in mold manufacturing between 1921 and 1925. The Eighteenth Amendment, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages from 1920 until it was repealed in 1933, sparked an increase in consumer demand for such things as soft drinks, ice cream, and confections. Indeed, ice cream consumption increased by over 100 million gallons between 1921 and 1929.
Like the majority of the molds in the collection, the witch was manufactured by Eppelsheimer & Co. of New York, one of the three largest American ice cream mold manufacturers at the time. These hinged molds, dating from the 1920s and 30s, while still functional, can no longer be used due to the lead content in the pewter.
The exterior of the mold is stamped with the company’s initials “E & Co” and its product number in the Eppelsheimer & Co. catalog, number “1153.” While the mold’s exterior is otherwise nondescript, the interior, where the ice cream was poured and frozen, clearly depicts the witch’s hat, cape, and pointed chin. Once frozen, ice cream makers could embellish their confections by painting on a layer of food coloring. These individual molded ice creams would then be served on special occasions or holidays, such a Halloween. As American holidays became more commercialized in the early twentieth century, the demand for variety in ice cream molds increased, as is apparent in the collection. However, technological advancements in ice cream manufacturing, the development of ice cream novelties such as the Eskimo Pie and the Popsicle, and the advent of packaged ice creams available in groceries, transformed ice cream in the eye of the American public from a seasonal or specialty dish into an everyday treat. As such, molded ice creams fell out of fashion by the 1950s.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Eppelsheimer & Co.
ID Number
AG.72A1.14
catalog number
72A1.14
accession number
298969

James Kyaw's AFC Sushi Log Book

The sushi bar log book was meant to be used for September 2008. The sushi bar log book contains the different information that James Kyaw would record daily while working at the AFC sushi bar.
Description
The sushi bar log book was meant to be used for September 2008. The sushi bar log book contains the different information that James Kyaw would record daily while working at the AFC sushi bar. This log book was important because it recorded the different items that James Kyaw produced to act in correspondence to the food procedures of the AFC Corporation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 2008
ID Number
2012.0204.03
accession number
2012.0204
catalog number
2012.0204.03

Uncle Sam Ice Cream Mold

This mold representing Uncle Sam is one of 14 pewter ice cream molds donated to the Museum in 1972 by the wholesale distribution company Foremost-McKesson, Inc., of San Francisco, California.
Description
This mold representing Uncle Sam is one of 14 pewter ice cream molds donated to the Museum in 1972 by the wholesale distribution company Foremost-McKesson, Inc., of San Francisco, California. Other forms include a butterfly, a dolphin, a lion, and other patriotic symbols such as an eagle, the Liberty Bell, and George Washington in Profile.
Molded ice cream was a popular treat in the United States from the 1870s to 1950s, with a boom in ice cream consumption driving increases in mold manufacturing between 1921 and 1925. The Eighteenth Amendment, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages from 1920 until it was repealed in 1933, sparked an increase in consumer demand for such things as soft drinks, ice cream, and confections. Indeed, ice cream consumption increased by over 100 million gallons between 1921 and 1929.
Unlike the majority of the molds in the collection, which were manufactured by Eppelsheimer & Co. of New York, this cast was created by an unidentified manufacturer. These hinged molds, dating from the 1920s and 30s, while still functional, can no longer be used due to the lead content in the pewter.
The exterior of the mold is stamped with the product catalogue number, “1073.” While the mold’s exterior is otherwise nondescript, the interior, where the ice cream was poured and frozen, clearly depicts a classic Uncle Sam, including pinstripe pants, coat tails, and top hat. Once frozen, ice cream makers could embellish their confections by painting on a layer of food coloring. These individual molded ice creams would then be served on special occasions or holidays, such as 4th of July. As American holidays became more commercialized in the early twentieth century, the demand for variety in ice cream molds increased, as is apparent in the collection. However, technological advancements in ice cream manufacturing, the development of ice cream novelties such as the Eskimo Pie and the Popsicle, and the advent of packaged ice creams available in groceries, transformed ice cream in the eye of the American public from a seasonal or specialty dish into an everyday treat. As such, molded ice creams fell out of fashion by the 1950s.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Eppelsheimer & Co.
ID Number
AG.72A1.10
catalog number
72A1.10
accession number
298969

Pineapple Shipping Crate

This shipping crate side contained Hawaiian Chief brand sliced pineapple that was packed by the Pearl City Fruit Company Ltd., of Honolulu, Hawaii during the early 20th century.
Description (Brief)
This shipping crate side contained Hawaiian Chief brand sliced pineapple that was packed by the Pearl City Fruit Company Ltd., of Honolulu, Hawaii during the early 20th century. George Lycurgus founded the Pearl City Fruit Company in 1892, and competed with the Hawaiian Fruit and Packing company for packing and shipping pineapples. This crate contained four dozen 11-ounce tins.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Pearl City Fruit Co. Ltd.
ID Number
1979.0441.263
catalog number
1979.0441.263
accession number
1979.0441

Iron Sap Bucket Spike

This is a hand-made iron spike used to hold a bucket in place for collecting tree sap.
Description
This is a hand-made iron spike used to hold a bucket in place for collecting tree sap. The spikes are usually hooked on one end in order to securely fasten the bucket to the spike.
Maple syrup production is one of the few agricultural processes in North America that was not a European import but learned from Native Americans. Sap is typically collected from the Sugar, Red or Black maple, though it can be collected from other tree types. Northeastern North America is the most common area for maple syrup production, with Vermont, New York and Maine leading production in the U.S. Once the sap is collected, it must be boiled down to reduce the water content. It can require anywhere from 20-50 liters of sap to make one liter of syrup, depending on the sugar content of the sap. Each tree is capable of producing 35-50 liters of sap.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
ZZ.RSN79690Z23
accession number
194893
194893

Sushi Knife

This butcher knife belonged to Shigefumi Tachibe, a Japanese chef who helped set up a high end fusion restaurant, Chaya Brasserie, when he came to the US in 1983. The 20” long butcher knife comes with a steel blade and a wooden handle.
Description
This butcher knife belonged to Shigefumi Tachibe, a Japanese chef who helped set up a high end fusion restaurant, Chaya Brasserie, when he came to the US in 1983. The 20” long butcher knife comes with a steel blade and a wooden handle. Chef Shigefumi Tachibe purchased this knife in 1980 while visiting France, and used it over the years to cut and fillet whole tuna fish. Chaya’s menu, which chef Tachibe developed, reflects the Asian fusion food movement, a product of the large immigrant presence in California, as well as the clientele’s growing partiality toward healthy food options. Fusion sushi, which comprises of both traditional (raw fish) and nontraditional sushi ingredients (avocado, mayonnaise based sauce), is an example of an Asian fusion food that has been popularized over the past few decades, due to chefs like Shigefumi Tachibe who made it an integral part of their menu.
date made
unknown
maker
unknown
ID Number
2012.0137.01
catalog number
2012.0137.01
accession number
2012.0137

The Wheat Jointworm

A poster sponsored by the United States Departmentof Agriculture with examples of how to control the Wheat Jointworm.
Description
A poster sponsored by the United States Departmentof Agriculture with examples of how to control the Wheat Jointworm.
date made
1967
associated institution
U.S. Department of Agriculture
maker
U.S. Department of Agriculture
ID Number
ZZ.RSN81724Y41

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 Harvest Time brand apple crate label was used by the C. F.
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 Harvest Time brand apple crate label was used by the C. F. Schaefer Company Packers and Distributors of Yakima, Washington during the early 20th century. The lithographed label was produced by the Ridgway Lithograph Company of Seattle, Washington. The label has an illustration of a large orchard by a lake, and a mountain in the background obscuring a rising yellow sun, with a large red apple in the foreground. Fruit crate labels often depicted landscapes like this to evoke the idea of rich, natural produce.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
C. F. Schaefer Company
ID Number
1979.0441.066
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.066

“Tapster” for Opening Beer Cans

This unusual metal object, shaped like a small pitcher with a lid, becomes even more curious when the lid is raised and a sharp can opener is revealed in the lid’s underside.
Description
This unusual metal object, shaped like a small pitcher with a lid, becomes even more curious when the lid is raised and a sharp can opener is revealed in the lid’s underside. Called the “Tapster,” this device was made by Revere Copper and Brass, Inc., in Rome, New York, probably around 1934, after the repeal of Prohibition. Although it was never used extensively, the Tapster did offer consumers a somewhat refined way of serving canned beer: a can of beer is placed inside the device and, when the lid is closed, the opener pierces the can. The beer can then be poured out of the spout.
As its name implies, Revere Copper and Brass was the direct descendant of the company founded by Paul Revere in 1801. Through its long history, the company has manufactured a variety of copper, brass, and stainless steel products. As of 2015, the company is still in business under the name Revere Copper Products, with headquarters in Rome, NY.
This “Tapster” opener is part of a large collection of brewing material donated to the museum in 1967 by former brewmaster Walter Voigt, of Ruxton, Maryland, near Baltimore. Voigt’s collection consists of objects and archival materials reflecting the history of brewing in the mid-Atlantic region between 1870 and the beginnings of consolidation and large-scale, industrial production in the 1960s. His correspondence reveals an interest in preserving the history of brewing in America before brewmasters were “replaced by chemical engineers and highly trained chemists in modern laboratories.” Voigt’s papers are housed in the museum’s Archives Center, Collection #ACNMAH 1195, “Walter H. Voigt Brewing Industry Collection, 1935-1967.”
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
AG.MHI-M-9466
accession number
276730
catalog number
MHI-M-9466

Apple Crate Label

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 Clipper Ship brand apple crate label was used by the Wells and Wade Fruit Company of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The lithographed label has a red background with an illustration of the clipper ship Erskine M. Phelps sailing over a dark blue ocean.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Wells and Wade Fruit Co.
ID Number
1979.0441.075
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.075

Catsup Shipping Crate

This shipping crate side contained red delicious apples grown and packed by Tiger Mountain Orchards of Tiger, Georgia during the early 20th century. The crate side features an illustration of an orchard in front of a mountain.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This shipping crate side contained red delicious apples grown and packed by Tiger Mountain Orchards of Tiger, Georgia during the early 20th century. The crate side features an illustration of an orchard in front of a mountain.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
National Grocery Co.
ID Number
1979.0441.187
catalog number
1979.0441.187
accession number
1979.0441

potsherds

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
DL.252318.0110
catalog number
252318.0110
accession number
252318

Ammonia Shipping Crate

This end panel of a Crescent Manufacturing Company Household Ammonia shipping crate is imprinted with the company’s crescent moon trademark. The company was founded in Seattle, Washington in 1883 as a supplier of vanilla extract to the Pacific Northwest.
Description (Brief)
This end panel of a Crescent Manufacturing Company Household Ammonia shipping crate is imprinted with the company’s crescent moon trademark. The company was founded in Seattle, Washington in 1883 as a supplier of vanilla extract to the Pacific Northwest. Later becoming Crescent Foods Inc., the company made its mark on the consumer landscape in 1905 with its Mapleine imitation maple flavoring which is still sold today by McCormick, which bought Crescent in 1989.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Crescent Mfg. Co.
ID Number
1979.0441.166
catalog number
1979.0441.166
accession number
1979.0441

Chicken Breasts Florentine

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.09
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.09

Apple Crate Label

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 North Country brand apple crate label was used by Stadelman Fruit, Inc. of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The lithographed label has a red background with yellow text, and an illustration of three apples on the right hand side.
Location
Currently not on view
referenced business
Stadelman Fruit, Inc.
ID Number
1979.0441.040
accession number
1979.0441
catalog number
1979.0441.040

Metal Sap Spout

This metal sap spout was used by settlers in upper New York in the 19th century. After boring a hole into a maple tree, one would insert this spout to drain sap into a bucket.
Description
This metal sap spout was used by settlers in upper New York in the 19th century. After boring a hole into a maple tree, one would insert this spout to drain sap into a bucket. Sap was typically collected and boiled down to make syrup or sugar to use an alternative to the expensive processed, cane sugar. Later, when cane sugar became cheaper and took precedence in the American diet, maple syrup was more often produced for either personal use or for supplemental income.
Maple syrup production is one of the few agricultural processes in North America that was not a European import but learned from Native Americans. Sap is typically collected from the Sugar, Red or Black maple, though it can be collected from other tree types. Northeastern North America is the most common area for maple syrup production, with Vermont, New York and Maine leading production in the U.S. Once the sap is collected, it must be boiled down to reduce the water content. It can require anywhere from 20-50 liters of sap to make one liter of syrup, depending on the sugar content of the sap. Each tree is capable of producing 35-50 liters of sap.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
AG.52A05.04A
catalog number
52A05.04A
accession number
194893
catalog number
F1142

Salt Dish

Open salt shaped as a hemispherical water lily with horizontal, S-scroll stem attached to flat lily pad. Gilt-washed interior. Underside of pad struck with incuse circular mark containing a pointed shield with balanced scales bordered by "x MERIDEN x / B.
Description
Open salt shaped as a hemispherical water lily with horizontal, S-scroll stem attached to flat lily pad. Gilt-washed interior. Underside of pad struck with incuse circular mark containing a pointed shield with balanced scales bordered by "x MERIDEN x / B. COMPANY." in sans serif letters above "31". Black plastic label embossed "459" adhered on bottom underside. One of four, 1984.0424.04-.07.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1873
maker
Meriden Britannia Company
ID Number
1984.0424.07
accession number
1984.0424
catalog number
1984.0424.07

Beer Tap Knob, "Kooler-Keg Senate Beer"

This ball-shaped beer tap knob is made of hard plastic and features dark green lettering “Kooler-Keg Senate Beer” and “Chr. Heurich Brg. Co.” on a bright yellow face.
Description
This ball-shaped beer tap knob is made of hard plastic and features dark green lettering “Kooler-Keg Senate Beer” and “Chr. Heurich Brg. Co.” on a bright yellow face. Christian Heurich was the largest, most successful brewery in Washington, D.C., in the first half of the 20th century. This tap knob dates from the 1940s.
Decorative knobs, handles, and pulls identifying the particular brands of beer on tap are now a familiar part of the visual landscape in bars and taverns. Following the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, states took up regulating the sale of alcoholic beverages in their jurisdictions and the beer tap was one common area of concern. Without clear branding, unscrupulous bartenders could serve cheap beer at a premium price, and customers would not have been certain of which beer they were buying. Brewing companies produced distinctive tap knobs, which not only met the requirement to identify the brand on tap, but also helped market their beer at the point of sale.
Christian Heurich, Sr., the brewery’s founder, was born in Germany in 1842. As a young man, he learned to make lager beer from master brewers in Bavaria and Vienna, Austria. In 1866, Heurich left Germany to join his sister in Baltimore, where a thriving community of German immigrants had already established breweries and other businesses. Three years later, he and Paul Ritter, a Baltimore brewer, decided to open a brewery in Washington, D.C. In 1872, they rented a building in downtown Washington and while Ritter handled the books and advertising, Heurich brewed the barley-based lager he had learned to make in Europe. When the partnership fell apart, Heurich bought Ritter’s share and began running the business on his own, making a light lager called “Senate” and a darker brew called “Maerzen” (a style of beer named for the month of March, when it is traditionally brewed).
Twice a widower, Heurich had four children with his third wife, including a son, Christian Heurich, Jr., born in 1901. Heurich and his family were among the leading citizens of Washington, D.C., and as he built and opened a new brewery and bottling plant in 1895, he also built a large home near DuPont Circle. Heurich’s real estate investments helped alleviate the financial impact of Prohibition (which lasted from 1920 to 1933), but he also turned to selling ice, which helped keep his brewery workers employed during the dry years. After Repeal, Heurich reopened his brewery, producing Senate Beer as his flagship brand, and Senate Ale, Senate Bock, Heurich Lager, and Maerzen Beer as well. Other local brewers never recovered from Prohibition and, by 1939, Heurich was the only brewer left in Washington, D.C.
At Heurich’s death in 1945, his son took over the brewery. Although he had been involved in helping his father rebuild after the repeal of Prohibition, Christian, Jr., was a businessman, not a brewer. He introduced an Old Georgetown brand, and reintroduced a lager made from his father’s original recipe. Still, in the 1950s, as competition from large, national corporations increased, small, local breweries were closing across the country. In 1956, the Christian Heurich Brewing Company brewed its last beer.
This beer tap knob is part of a large collection of brewing material donated to the museum in 1967 by former brewmaster Walter Voigt, of Ruxton, Maryland, near Baltimore. Voigt’s collection consists of objects and archival materials reflecting the history of brewing in the mid-Atlantic region between 1870 and the beginnings of consolidation and large-scale, industrial production in the 1960s. His correspondence reveals an interest in preserving the history of brewing in America before brewmasters were “replaced by chemical engineers and highly trained chemists in modern laboratories.” Voigt’s papers are housed in the museum’s Archives Center, Collection #ACNMAH 1195, “Walter H. Voigt Brewing Industry Collection, 1935-1967.”
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
AG.MHI-M-9472.06
catalog number
MHI-M-9472
accession number
276730

Huyler's Caracas Cocoa Tin

This yellow, rectangular tin with black lettering and design was used to store and market Huyler's drinking chocolate.In 1846, John Huyler was born to David Huyler who ran a bakery in New York City. By the early 1860s, John was working in his father’s shop, learning the trade.
Description
This yellow, rectangular tin with black lettering and design was used to store and market Huyler's drinking chocolate.
In 1846, John Huyler was born to David Huyler who ran a bakery in New York City. By the early 1860s, John was working in his father’s shop, learning the trade. In 1874, he opened his own store, a confectionary, and within a few years he had opened three more stores. By the time of his death in 1910, he owned 54 store fronts with 14 factories and around 2000 employees supplying his shops.
Chocolate had been known and treasured by Native Americans in Central and South America for thousands of years prior to the arrival of the first Spanish explorers in the late 1400s and early 1500s. Cacao beans were so highly prized by Mayans and Aztecs that they were used as currency in many areas of the Americas. When first taken back to Europe by the Spanish, the chocolate drink continued to be produced exclusively for the enjoyment of royalty or the extremely wealthy. As the cacao bean gradually made its presence known throughout Europe, it still remained trapped in this exclusive section of society well into the 19th century.
The chocolate trade to North America began more than 300 years ago, primarily centered in or near major port cities of the time, such as New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and Newport, RI. Due to lower transportation costs, chocolate was often less expensive in the Americas than in Europe and therefore had a broader consumer base. The Industrial Revolution radically changed chocolate production and helped propel it into the hearts and stomachs of the working class. Instead of being a labor intensive product, it became entirely machine made reducing costs even further in the late 19th and early 20th century. During this time, chocolate went from being something a person drank to being something to eat, finally becoming a treat for the masses.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
AG.77-FT-15.0131
catalog number
77-FT-15.0131
accession number
283681

Coffee Cup Lid, Lily 350HFL

This is a Lily 350HFL peel and lock type coffee cup lid.
Description
This is a Lily 350HFL peel and lock type coffee cup lid. Peel and lock type lids give the drinker a place to snap the peeled back lid part into itself, preventing the need to tear off or throw away a little triangle of plastic.
Architects and collectors Louise Harpman and Scott Specht donated 56 plastic cup lids to the National Museum of American History in 2012. Their donation is a sample from their much larger collection of “independently patented drink-through plastic cup lids,” which they began in 1984 and discussed in a 2005 essay, “Inventory / Peel, Pucker, Pinch, Puncture,” in Cabinet Magazine: http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/19/harpman.php. The collectors’ categorization scheme reflects the primary way the lid design functions, which helps differentiate between the varieties and styles of lids.
Plastic, disposable coffee cup lids and other single-use food packages reinforce the social acceptability of eating and drinking on the go in the United States and reflect increasing expectation for convenience products. Cup lids are also examples of how humble, and even disposable, objects are sometimes the result of meticulous engineering. Patents for lid innovations describe peel-back tabs and the pucker-type shapes that make room for mouths and noses, and describe the nuances of “heat retention,” “mouth comfort,” “splash reduction,” “friction fit,” and “one-handed activation.”
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2012.3047.47
catalog number
2012.3047.47
nonaccession number
2012.3047

Ginger Salad Dressing Bottle

A first generation AFC ginger salad dressing bottle.Like other AFC products, this bottle has a green lid and a yellow printed plastic label that covers the top part of its body.
Description
A first generation AFC ginger salad dressing bottle.
Like other AFC products, this bottle has a green lid and a yellow printed plastic label that covers the top part of its body. The label includes the first generation AFC logo underneath the printed “NATURAL” letters, and “Ginger Salad Dressing” written in black over the image of a ginger root. The bottom right reads NET 10.6FL OZ (280ml) in black. To the right, the Nutrition Fact is listed, along with a “Distributed by: AFC Corp” print underneath. The left side of the container includes a barcode, a few sentences that suggest its use, the ingredients, and a caution note.
AFC extended their product line to include sushi related products to diversify the consumer’s sushi eating experience, and popularize ingredients used in traditional Japanese foods. This salad dressing is advertised to be versatile, as it can be used for salads, stir-fry dishes and a marinade for barbeques.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1980s
maker
Advanced Fresh Concepts Franchise Corp.
ID Number
2012.3099.17
catalog number
2012.3099.17
nonaccession number
2012.3099

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