Red Butterfly Crate Label - Card

Before produce growers and distributors started using cardboard boxes to ship their goods to market in the 1960s, fruits and vegetables were (and occasionally still are, by smaller growers) shipped in inexpensive wooden crates and adorned with beautifully crafted labels. Growers first started using fruit and vegetable crate labels in the late 19th century. Labels were glued on the ends of wooden crates to identify the contents, place or origin, and the packer's name. Packers made an effort to display their produce with colourful and attractive labels in order to generate more business at the local market. These colourful labels were pasted onto wooden crates and shipped all over the nation for nearly 70 years. In the late 1950's labels were no longer used because pre-printed boxes replaced the older wooden crates. The leftover labels were gathered up by collectors, dealers, and old orchard owners. These unused labels make up the trading stock that exists today. This beautiful image is cropped from a vintage crate label and has an intricate design with a large butterfly in the centre and a field of flowers in the background. The detail of the border design is what makes this label so special.