Food - Overview

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
"Food - Overview" showing 6 items.
Apple Crate Label
- 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 See! See! Brand apple crate label was used by Washington Sales, Inc., of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The lithographed label was produced by the Schmidt L. Company of Seattle, Washington. The label features an illustration of a boy with oversized head holding an oversized apple on a beach. This label promoted the health benefits of eating apples, showing that eating apples led to healthy, ruddy children.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- referenced business
- Washington Sales, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1979.0441.018
- accession number
- 1979.0441
- catalog number
- 1979.0441.018
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Apple Crate Label
- 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 Sea brand apple crate label was is use by Washington Sales, Inc. of Wenatchee, Washington during the early 20th century. The label was lithographed by the Schmidt L. Company of Seattle, Washington. The label features an image of two seagulls soaring over a green-blue ocean, with a red apple and a golden apple hanging from a branch on the right hand side of the label. Washington Sales, Inc. was a grower co-operative in Wenatchee.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- referenced business
- Washington Sales, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1979.0441.036
- accession number
- 1979.0441
- catalog number
- 1979.0441.036
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Apple Crate Label
- 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 Nuchief brand apple crate label was in use from 1900-1950. Nuchief often used an image of a Native American boy, but at some point began using an image of one yellow and one red apple next to their label inserts. This Okanogan brand insert depicts an orchard near a mountain. Fruit crate labels often depicted landscapes like this to evoke the idea of rich, natural produce.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- referenced business
- Washington Sales, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1979.0441.042
- accession number
- 1979.0441
- catalog number
- 1979.0441.042
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Apple Crate Label
- 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 Nuchief brand apple crate label was in use from 1900-1950. Nuchief often used an image of a Native American boy on their labels, but at some point began using an image of one yellow and one red apple next to their label insert. This Lure brand label insert depicts a fish jumping with hook in mouth, in the act of being reeled in. The Lure brand of apples were grown by the Oroville Independent Growers Association, and distributed by Washington Sales, Inc. of Wenatchee, Washington under the Nuchief brand.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- referenced business
- Washington Sales, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1979.0441.056
- accession number
- 1979.0441
- catalog number
- 1979.0441.056
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Apple Crate Label
- 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 Nuchief brand apple crate label was in use from 1900-1950. Nuchief often used an image of a Native American boy, but at some point began using an image of one yellow and one red apple next to their label insert. This Gold Digger brand insert depicts a man swinging a pickaxe in a stream, panning for gold with a large pine forest behind him. Fruit crate labels often depicted landscapes to evoke the idea of rich, natural produce.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- referenced business
- Washington Sales, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1979.0441.067
- accession number
- 1979.0441
- catalog number
- 1979.0441.067
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Apple Crate Label
- Description (Brief)
- This Nuchief brand apple crate label was in use from 1900-1950. Nuchief often used an image of a Native American boy, but at some point began using an image of one yellow and one red apple next to their label inserts. This U-Like-Um insert depicts a Native American riding a horse and shooting an arrow at two deer. 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
- Washington Sales, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1979.0441.133
- accession number
- 1979.0441
- catalog number
- 1979.0441.133
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

