This is a beautiful trademark with a lovely reddish/pink hibiscus featured in the center. The words Hibisuc Brand are across the top of the trademark, while the word Lemons in on the left of the flower and the words sweetwater fruit company, san diego, california are on the right. In the lower right corner are two bright yellow lemons, one cut in half.

Citrus Crates Promote California Nationwide


By the 1880s, California’s citrus industry was growing by leaps and bounds. Easterners happily consumed oranges coming by the trainload from the Golden State. Colorfully decorated fruit crates helped promote both citrus and the state of California. In the 1890s, independent fruit growers decided to band together in growers’ exchanges or cooperatives as a means to better protect themselves from economic risk and to represent growers’ interests. By 1905, the association with the highest number of grower-members was the California Fruit Growers Exchange, later known as Sunkist Growers.

This label is for cans containg Golden Poppy Brand Bartlett Pears and features an lovely drawing of the Californa poppy, in shades of orange and yellow. In addition to the name of brand of pears, the words Packaged by Van Allen Packing Company of Healdsburg, Sonoma County appear on the label. In the lower right corner the name of the company, W.P. Beck and Co. of San Francisco can be found.

Can Labels for Bountiful Crops


An endless variety of fruits and vegetables could be successfully cultivated in California, and the state became known throughout the world for its bountiful crops. California’s produce could reach a wide and sometimes distant audience through distribution by ship, rail, and later by truck. Canned fruits and vegetables became another way that California’s crops reached far-flung consumers. As with crates, attractive labels were attached to cans.