It's All in the Packaging

 

QUESTION: I’ve been fascinated with food containers, especially old ones since I was a young adult. When I go to the supermarket, I’m amazed at the variety of the packaging. In that sea of colors and textures, I wonder how I find the items I need. I like to browse through antique cooperatives. Many of the booths selling old kitchenware also have a variety of old food containers—cans, boxes, and tins. What is the origin of food packaging? How did it develop over the decades? And how collectible is it?

ANSWER: Food containers have been around for over 200 years. At first they were basic but over time food packaging developed into a necessary form of distribution. Not only did the containers keep the food fresh, the labels on the outside helped to advertise the product on store shelves.

Because the focus of the Industrial Revolution was on mass production and distribution, food packaging had to be durable, easy to produce, and accessible. Food preservation was also a high priority, as new transportation methods allowed businesses to ship it further.

Back in 1875, French General Napoleon Bonaparte offered 12,000 francs to anyone who could preserve food for his army. This led confectioner Nicholas Appert to invent the first “canning” technique that sealed cooked food in glass containers and boiled them for sterilization.

Later in 1810, British inventor Peter Durand patented his own canning method using tin instead of glass. By 1820 he was supplying canned food to the Royal Navy in large quantities.

The second half of the 19th century brought further developments in manufacturing and production—among which included food packaging. In 1856, corrugated paper first appeared in England as a liner for tall hats. By the early 1900s, shipping cartons made of it replaced wooden crates and boxes.

In 1890, the National Biscuit Company, now known as Nabisco, individually packaged its biscuits in the first packaging to preserve crispness by providing a moisture barrier. Kellogg’s introduced the first cereal box for corn flakes in 1906, eighty-nine years after the first commercial cardboard box appeared in England.

Leo Hendrik Baekeland invented the first plastic, known as Bakelite, based on a synthetic polymer in 1907. It could be shaped or molded into almost anything, providing endless packaging possibilities.

Eventually, food manufacturers began using packaging containers that consumers were reluctant to discard. A tin of Sultana Peanut Butter, which came in a large pail with wire handles, made the perfect sand bucket to take to the beach in summer. Other similar containers included the log-cabin-shaped tin holding Log Cabin Syrup. People reused biscuit tins to hold everything from petty cash to old buttons and homemade cookies.

Lambrecht butter, found primarily east of the Mississippi, came packaged in an attractive gray or white stoneware tub with blue script while Kaukauna Klub cheddar cheese came in a clay crock with a heavy wire clamp.

By the dawning of the 20th century, package design was an important way to draw attention to a product. Manufacturers of drugs, paint, oil, as well as food items worked to establish a visual logo or trademark. Labels and magazines ads were the only means of communicating the goodness of a product.

One of the first national trademarks was the Uneeda boy, a little boy in a yellow slicker that represented freshness from the elements. Soon after came the Morton Salt girl, Aunt Jemima, Dutch boy, the Fisk Tire boy in Dr. Dentons holding a candle, and many other memorable logos. These symbols are all very collectible today. 

The widespread practice of packing food in tin cans and containers was a direct result of the public's acceptance of the Germ Theory of Disease. In the 19th century, many Americans were still oblivious to the research done by Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch in food preservation.  

Today, some people look down on those who eat canned or processed food as something people without access to fresh food eat. But in the late 19th century, food in tins was highly desirable. Consumers considered it more sanitary, and therefore healthier, than food offered in bins or barrels at the General Store. That’s when branding became particularly important; customers learned they could expect a certain level of quality from, say, Kellogg’s.

At first, manufacturers covered tinplate containers with paper labels, which had a product’s pertinent information and advertising stenciled or printed on them. Machines that could trim and stamp sheets of tin had been introduced around 1875, and between 1869 and 1895, manufacturers developed a process that allowed them to use lithography to transfer images directly onto the tin containers. Coffee and tea, as well as tobacco and beverages and snack foods came packaged in tins.

Today, all sorts of historic food packaging is collectible. In fact, it’s one of the most affordable and pleasurable of collectibles. 

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about the "Pottery Through the Ages" in the 2022 Winter Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Shining a Light on Flashlights

QUESTION: Throughout my life, I’ve owned a variety of flashlights. When I was a kid, my dad had a bulky one made of metal that was rather heavy. I’ve owned all sorts, from big ones that took four “D” batteries to a small one that took one “AA” cell. I still have several of these and was thinking of starting a flashlight collection. Are flashlights collectible? And can you tell me how they originated?

ANSWER: Flashlights are definitely collectible. Plus they have an interesting history beginning with the first one invented in 1888.

Most people most likely believe that the flashlight first appeared in the early 20th century. But actually its invention occurred much earlier. The development of the flashlight went hand in hand with battery production. A portable flashlight depended upon a portable battery, which first came to market in 1888. These early batteries, used to power telephone and telegraph lines, were six inches tall, so people referred to them as "#6" batteries. Around 1896, battery manufacturers began producing a smaller battery, known today as a “D” cell.



The earliest flashlights did not have an on/off switch, just a ring or tab that would push against a button or band of metal. These early flashlights suffered from inefficient bulbs and weak batteries that were short lived. People called them "flash lights" because the user would flash them on for a few moments and then turn them off. If just switched on, the battery would die within minutes. However, these were still a great improvement over candles and lanterns. As the technology improved, the bulbs gave off more light and batteries lasted longer.

Before 1920, consumers had to buy a multi-battery pack fitted to their flashlights. Owners of long tubular flashlights had to buy a battery pack with two or three cells permanently attached in a long, one-piece tube. Anyone with a vest pocket light, that was about the size and shape of a cigarette pack, bought a battery pack with the cells attached side by side. Merchants had to carry a variety of battery pack arrangements. The single battery or "unit" cell first appeared around 1920. After that, merchants only needed to carry unit cells.

Flashlight company batteries are difficult to come by since hundreds of companies came and went. Battery companies thrived and bought some of these flashlight makes. They knew that people could keep one flashlight for years, but they would need batteries every few months.

Battery companies began selling flashlights at cost during the 1920s to promote battery sales, causing many smaller companies to go out of business. Even Eveready, a well-known brand today, was bought by the National Carbon Company (NCC), which was Eveready's main supplier of the carbon used in making batteries. NCC also bought other flashlight companies, too. Eventually, NCC changed its name to Union Carbide, a union of carbon companies, to reflect what it had become.

 advertising campaign in 1916 attempted to change the name of the flashlight since flashlights could now be turned on to produce a steady beam. There was no longer any reason to call them "Flash Lights." In 1917, the company held a contest to select a new name for its product. The winning name for the flashlight was “The Daylo," a contraction of the phrase, "To and Behold, it is daylight."

While the campaign was a sales success, unfortunately the new name was not. Only Evereadys could be called Daylos. Other flashlight makers still called them flashlights so that's what the public called them.

Union Carbide dropped the Daylo name in 1921, which helps to date flashlights marked Daylo as having been made between 1917 and 1921. Daylo signs had been distributed to hardware companies across the nation. When the name charged, retailers discarded the Daylo signs and catalogs to make way for the new ad campaign. Only a few of these colorful advertising pieces remain, so they’re highly sought after by collectors.

Flashlight collectors also seek the advertising items put out by earliest flashlight makers. The brochures and catalogs provide information about what lights the companies’ produced  and when they sold them. Early flashlight maker companies included Ohio Electric, Electric Novelty Company, American Electrical Novelty and Manufacturing Company, Reliable Electrical Novelties, Interstate Electrical Novelty. and Western Electric.

As with other collectibles, there are rare flashlights that can sell for more than $1,000, while common ones can go for as little as $2. Generally, flashlights are, for the most part, very reasonably priced. Most people think of flashlights as being tube shaped which is the most common. There are thousands of nickel-plated or black tubular Eveready lights from the 1920s and 1930s that sell for only a few dollars.

One of the most valuable flashlights is the 1898 Eveready. It isn’t marked "Eveready," The patent dates are stamped on a metal ring around the middle of the light. There’s no switch, just a metal ring that presses against the metal band. The end caps don’t screw on, but the lens side is held on by friction and the other end cap has a bayonet latch. Most collectors will gladly pay $1,000 to acquire it.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about  La Belle Epoque in the 2020 Spring Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

The Way to a Mother’s Pocketbook was Through Her Children

QUESTION: I discovered my first child’s advertising booklets quite by accident. I was actually looking through a box of assorted vintage paper goods at a local flea market when I noticed a tiny booklet. It was an illustrated nursery rhymes distributed by Clark’s O.N.T. Thread. I’ve seen other advertisements from the late 19th century but never thought anything about it. Why did advertisers use children in their ads? And why did they distribute children’s books to promote their products? I’d like to start collecting these little books, but I don’t know where to begin.

ANSWER: While there’s a dedicated group of children’s advertising booklet collectors, many people have never heard of them. However, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, children’s advertising booklets were a common item in many households. Everything from coloring books to junior cookbooks caught the eyes of advertisers.

As early as the 1850s, manufacturers realized the way to a mother's purse strings was through her children. What mother could resist the purchase of Clark's O.N.T. thread when doing so would include an educational booklet of rhymes for her little one? Besides, O.N.T. Black fast thread was "guaranteed never to show white on the seams after being worn or washed” –clearly a win-win situation.

But Clark's O.N.T. thread wasn’t the only company to take advantage of a mother's love for her children. The heyday of consumer advertising in the United States was in the last quarter of the 19th century. This was a time when steam presses and chromolithography made visually appealing promotional material relatively inexpensive, and when manufactured goods proliferated.

The great Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, with its myriad of domestic exhibits, inspired thousands of different advertising handouts. Advertisers began to use the image of a comfortable middle-class life as an inducement to purchase their products. Well-fed babies and well-dressed children at play were themselves symbols of material accomplishment. Plus, they portrayed the picture of wholesomeness.

At the same time. advertisers became aware that the woman in the household made most of the buying decisions, especially of household goods. The logical conclusion was that promotions which doubled as toys for children might also attract sales.

Many of these little promotional booklets have survived. So what affects their value? Condition, subject matter, general appeal, author, and illustrator are all important when determining the value of a children’s advertising booklet or an ad with children in it. Though companies hired prominent illustrators to create these booklets, many of them aren’t given credit. Among the more famous ones are W.W. Denslow who illustrated The Wizard of Oz, Johnny Gruelle who did Raggedy Ann, and Maxfield Parrish, who became known for his high fashion Art Deco paintings. So booklets that feature these artists are likely to command a premium.

The Wonderful Lunch Boxes, illustrated by 20th century children's book illustrator Shirley Kite is a good example. Printed in 1925 and 1927, the book came inside boxes of a variety of Post cereals, including Bran Flakes, Instant Postum and Postum Cereal, Grape-Nuts, Toasties, and a cereal that obviously didn't go over too well----Bran Chocolate.

There was also a wide variety of advertising booklets available. Coloring books, nursery rhymes, and alphabet booklets were particularly successful as advertising promotional material. In most cases, advertisers created ingenious tie-ins with their products, using verse, parody and caricature. Occasionally, advertisers included watercolor “chips” in coloring books, and sometimes interleaved the pages with glassine to protect the images from smearing once children colored them.

However, not all advertising booklets were aimed at children. In 1910, Ivory Soap issued “Elizabeth Harding, Bride,” an advertising booklet with instructions on how to clean everything from blankets and brassware to hardwood floors and rubber plants all using Ivory Snow. It seems new bride Elizabeth feared her housekeeping abilities would be unacceptable to her new husband until Ivory Snow saved the day.

Jell-O was America's first packaged dessert, and owner Orator Woodward had a tough time convincing the public that combining water with white powder would produce tasty fruit-flavored gelatin. In 1902, Woodward hired door-to-door salesmen to hand-deliver Jell-O recipe booklets. The strategy was a key part of Jell-O's marketing for decades. And as with previous booklets, prominent artists illustrated many of them. One of the most famous is Rose O'Neill, best known for the Kewpie doll. A 1915 mint condition example of Jell-O and the Kewpies now sells for over $100.

Collectors can still find great examples of charming booklets for under $100, and many are still priced for less than $50.

Along with the promotional booklets, advertisers also used children in illustrations for some not-so-common products. One of the most bizarre was “The Dutch Boy’s Lead Party,” a paint book for children. Considering that housepaint used to contain lead, it seems a bit noxious to promote it with children. Then again, maybe that’s supposed to be pronounced “leed.”

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about the Retro style in the Fall 2020 Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

What's the Scoop?

QUESTION: I’ve loved ice cream ever since I was a kid. And today, I even make my own. I’ve been around for a while, so I’ve seen a variety of items related to ice cream changeover the years. I’d like to begin a collection of ice cream collectibles but have no idea what all there is out there besides ice cream makers and ice cream scoops. What sort of items related to ice cream would be good to collect?

ANSWER: Surprisingly, there are lots of items that would make a good ice cream memorabilia collection. But first, let’s take look at ice cream in the past.

Believe it or not, George Washington loved ice cream, too. He purchased a pewter “cream machine for ice in1784. Newspapers at the time occasionally advertised commercially made ice cream, but most people prepared it at home.

The first hand-cranked ice cream machine received a patent in May, 1848. Butby the end of the Civil War, ice cream makers could be found in most homes. These became popular with the extensive development and manufacture of ice boxes. This made it easier for Victorians to obtain and store ice to freeze the milk, eggs, fresh cream and eggs needed to make ice cream. Back then, it took lots of cranking, but the results were worth it.

By the 1880s and 1890s the ice cream freezer was a significant item in leading department stores and in catalogs. In 1884 one catalog featured selections from the American Machine Company which produced both single action and double action crank freezers, but also offered models which claimed to take less effort.

By the late 19th century, those making homemade ice cream also bought ice cream dipping spoons. They could purchase a variety of dipping spoons, including round ended spoons, pointed ended spoons, and square ended spoons—all 12 to 18 inches long.




Still another popular feature of the making delightful ice cream at home were the amazing array of molds. The ice cream could be pushed and shaped into all matter of images from cupid and Mother Goose to a rocking horse or George Washington himself. By the late 19th century even a battleship mold was available to for preparing ice cream in a big way, it held two quarts. Most of these molds were made of pewter.

Ice cream got a promotional boost at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1904.

To help sell their products, commercial ice cream producers published and gave away booklets with ice cream recipes and instructions. The Snow Ice Cream Makers Guide in 1911 and the Ice Cream Maker's Formulary and Price List were just two of them. And commercial producers also sold their products at retail shops, serving it on store advertising trays.

The number of brands of commercially produced ice cream skyrocketed in the 1920s. While commercial producers like the Carnation Milk Company offered prepared ice cream, most of it came from local dairy farms. Most of the companies gave away premiums, such as calendars and buttons bearing the their names.

In 1927, the Sears Roebuck catalog began featuring not only ice cream makers, but scoops, and even pressed glass footed sherbet glasses for ice cream, sherbet, and sundaes.

Commercial manufacturers inaugurated National Ice Cream Week in the l930s. Hendler's Ice Cream handed out brass rests for ice cream scoops, Puritan Dairy Ice cream issued toy whistles. As the 1930s drew to close the Howard Johnson's restaurant began offering what would ultimately become 28 different flavors of ice cream Back then, Americans consumed nearly three gallons of ice cream per person per year.

In 1949, hoping to encourage in commercial ice cream, Sealtest published and distributed a vivid booklet of recipes entitled, New Ways With Ice Cream.

To promote their products even further, many commercial producers took out colorful advertisements in magazines.

Related to ice cream distribution was the ice cream parlor, with its myriad of equipment. One such device was the ceramic dispensers for Coca Cola, Hires Root Beer, and Dr. Pepper. These were usually large one or two-piece china urns. There were also straw holders. milk shakers, and assorted glassware. And don’t forget all the signs and advertising.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Article section of my site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 18,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about the Victorians in the Winter 2018 Edition, "All Things Victorian," online now.