Crate Label, Strathmore Sunkist Oranges, Original Lithograph, 1930's NOS, Vintage

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

This is an original California citrus crate label — a 1930s lithograph from the factory stock of the Strathmore Packing House, Strathmore, Tulare County, California — Sunkist. It has never been used. Never folded. Never attached to a crate. It is New Old Stock in excellent mint condition.

The label is commanding. A Scottish bagpiper — in full Highland dress, pipes raised, posture erect — stands against a deep solid blue ground. Framing him: a red and green Scottish plaid border that runs the full perimeter of the label. At the lower left, the Sunkist orange logo. At the lower right, a thistle — the national emblem of Scotland, carried on their labels by the Strathmore Packing House as a mark of deliberate identity. Of the three Scottish labels the Strathmore Packing House produced, this one is the most purely Highland: no female figure, no castle, no sentiment. Just the piper, the plaid, and the blue.

The Strathmore Packing House in Tulare County, California built their entire brand identity around Scotland — an extraordinary choice that speaks to both the Scottish diaspora in California's agricultural valleys and the romantic appeal of the Highlands to American consumers of the 1930s. All three of their Scottish labels are among the most distinctive citrus crate labels produced in California.

Frame it as Scottish heritage decor, as tartan wall art, as a piece of Highland graphic design, or alongside the Annie Laurie and Scotch Lassie Jean labels for a complete Strathmore Scottish collection. At approximately 11.0 inches wide it suits a standard 11x14 frame. One available.

A wonderful gift for a piper or pipe band enthusiast, someone proud of Scottish heritage, a Highland games devotee, a tartan decor collector, or anyone who wants the full force of Scotland's national imagery on their wall — rendered in California lithographic ink.

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: Strathmore Brand / Strathmore Packing House, Strathmore, Tulare County, California — Sunkist
• Type: Citrus crate label
• Made in: USA
• Dated: circa 1930s
• Dimensions: 11.0" wide
• 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: Fits a standard 11x14 frame — ready to display