LABELS
A PACKAGE DEAL: THE ART OF AGRICULTURE

Cheerio Merril Packing Co.	Red Coach Inn Bruce Church Co.	King o' Hearts K.R. Nutting Co.	Hi-Goal E.E. Harden Packing Co.

The National Steinbeck Center presented A Package Deal: The Art of Agriculture from October 2 through December 31, 2000. This exhibit celebrates the art of over 120 fruit and vegetable crate labels from the Salinas Valley, described by Steinbeck as "the Valley of the World," and beyond. Around the turn-of-the-century these crate end paper labels were seen as miniature posters and served as artful point-of-purchase advertising in an age otherwise devoid of color advertising. To attract more business, the packing houses around Salinas were among the first to rely on bold visual images and catchy brand names. But it was the striking colors produced by a relatively new technological breakthrough called chromolithography that ultimately seduced the eye. In their heyday these labels were considered the pinnacle of commercial art.

The collaboration between fruit and vegetable growers and commercial artists led to thousands of different label designs and a huge variety of subjects. Exhibit curator Richard Saunders has grouped the collection into nine themes including; animals, transportation, comic, sports, pin-up, wild West, children, California-scene, and patriotic and war. "A Package Deal: The Art of Agriculture" shows us how, in the hands of a good commercial artist and talented graphic designer, the lowly crate label accurately reflected the evolution of American values, politics, aesthetics, and technology. This project is made possible in part by a grant from the California Council for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.