Summer Harvest Stamps

As the 19th century produce industry became a big interstate business, competition among growers increased.  Each sought new and unique advertising gimmicks to beat out their rivals.  They hired skilled lithographers to design and print vibrant crate labels.  Images of bright yellow lemons and vivid red tomatoes popped off the labels, enticing customers and effectively marketing the various brands.

Before the turn of the century, stone lithography was still widely used.  Artists hand-etched their graphic designs into limestone, applied ink, and then pressed the images onto heavy paper labels.