Crate Label, Festival Lemons Johnston Fruit Co, Original Lithograph, 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 produced for Johnston Fruit Co. of Santa Barbara, California. It has never been used. Never folded. Never attached to a crate. It is New Old Stock in excellent condition, found in the original unused factory stock.

The label is extraordinary. A gentleman in a top hat drives an elegant horse-drawn carriage, two women passengers dressed in Victorian-era finery beside him — bright lemons and delicate white citrus blossoms framing the scene. Marked California Red Ball, it is a large, luminous label that stops you cold. The Johnston Fruit Co. was a genuine institution of California's citrus industry, and this label is among the most graceful examples of the form.

Frame it as Victorian or farmhouse decor, display it in a collection, or use it in a craft or decoupage project — framing is recommended to maintain this condition. At approximately 12.5 by 8.75 inches it fits a standard 13x9 or 14x10 frame beautifully. Two available.

A wonderful gift for a vintage label collector, a citrus history enthusiast, a lover of Victorian illustration, or anyone drawn to the golden age of American agricultural art.

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: Festival Brand / Johnston Fruit Co., Santa Barbara, California
• Type: Citrus crate label
• Made in: USA
• Dated: circa 1930s
• Dimensions: 12.5" wide | 8.75" tall
• Condition: New Old Stock (NOS) — unused, mint condition. Age-appropriate yellowing consistent with period. Please review all photos carefully — we cannot accept returns.
• Framing: Fits a standard 13x9 or 14x10 frame — ready to display