Crate Label, American Eagle Brand, Bald Eagle, California, Original Lithograph, NOS, Vintage

Before supermarkets. Before plastic wrap. Before everything was the same everywhere — there were crate labels.

This is an original California fruit crate label — a lithograph produced circa 1932–1940s by Carton Label Co. of San Francisco for the North Dinuba Packing Co. of North Dinuba, California. It has never been used. Never folded. Never attached to a crate. It is New Old Stock in excellent mint condition, sourced from the collection of Lorie Cairns, one of the pioneering dealers in vintage label collecting.

The label is commanding. A bald eagle — wings spread, gaze fixed, rendered with the confident detail of a lithographer who understood the weight of the symbol — occupies the full composition. The design was considered distinctive enough to receive a federal patent, marked "Reg. U.S. Patent Off." on the label itself. A blank blue square on the face indicates where the specific produce variety would have been overprinted — meaning this example went straight from the factory to storage, never used, never seen. Carton Label Co. operated in San Francisco from 1927 to 1955 and produced some of the most beautifully composed fruit crate labels of the era. Their work is highly collected today.

This is a strip label at 13.0 by 4.0 inches — long and horizontal, made for a narrow frame. Frame it as Americana, as patriotic decor, or as a piece of mid-century California commercial art with genuine legal provenance. It works beautifully in a study, a library, an office, or anywhere that welcomes symbols of American strength and history. One available.

A wonderful gift for a patriotic decor collector, an American history enthusiast, a vintage ephemera collector, or anyone who appreciates the bald eagle rendered at its most authoritative.

A note on crate label collecting: Original lithographic crate labels from this era are increasingly scarce. NOS examples like this one — never used, never folded, in original unused condition — represent the best of what survives. Collectors prize them for their graphic quality and the window they open onto a vanished chapter of American agricultural and commercial history.

• Brand: American Eagle Brand / North Dinuba Packing Co., North Dinuba, California
• Lithographer: Carton Label Co., San Francisco, California (1927–1955)
• Type: Fruit crate label (strip) — federally patented design
• Made in: USA
• Dated: circa 1932–1940s
• Dimensions: 13.0" wide | 4.0" tall
• Condition: New Old Stock (NOS) — unused, excellent mint condition. Age-appropriate yellowing consistent with period. Please review all photos carefully — we cannot accept returns.
• Framing: Ideal for a narrow or panoramic frame — ready to display