{"product_id":"vintage-1940s-california-state-pride-melon-label-fresno-ca-unique","title":"Vintage California State Pride Melon Label 🍈 from 1940s Fresno","description":"\u003ch2\u003eWho Packed State Pride Melons? 🍈 State Pride Melon Label, Mosesian \u0026amp; Sons, Fresno, California\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 3 1\/4\" x 1\" ~ Little to no wear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/d8bR17mKngU\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSmall but mighty! This is a vintage 1940s State Pride melon label from the Mosesian family of Fresno, California. A shiny gold-foil map of California sits right in the middle on a deep red ground, with two dark blue-green ribbon banners curling around it reading STATE and PRIDE, and the whole little label is edged in gold foil. It's only 3 1\/4 inches long, and that's the point.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese labels were applied to enormous melons instead of crates as the size limited that, but this practice also served to differentiate between iconic brands. My pictures seriously don't do it justice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏷️ What's Printed on It\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePAUL A MOSESIAN \u0026amp; SONS INC\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMAIN OFFICE FRESNO, CAL\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSTATE PRIDE BRAND\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFULL RIPE CALIFORNIA MELONS\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🍇 Paul Mosesian, from Harpoot to Fresno\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe man behind this label has a story worth telling. Paul Agop Mosesian was born on March 21, 1871 at Bazmashen, near Harpoot in the Armenian highlands of what was then Ottoman Turkey. In 1887, when he was just sixteen, he came to America and went to work in a shoe factory in Lynn, Massachusetts for 50 cents a day, and worked his way up to head leather cutter at $40 a week.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen the Klondike gold rush broke in 1898, he and his friend Markar Shahbazian headed north together. They had plenty of adventure and found very little gold, and when they got back to San Francisco they had $307 between them. Hearing about Fresno, they came down and rented a fig orchard at Del Rey together, and did well at it. Next they leased land for Muscat grapes near Parlier and eventually bought it for $12,000.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom there Paul Mosesian became one of Fresno's leading growers. In 1913 he helped organize the California Associated Raisin company, and he developed two brands of fruit of his own, \"State Center\" and \"State Pride,\" which, as his biography puts it, always sold at a premium. So this is his own brand. In 1922 he incorporated his big properties in Fresno and Tulare counties under the family name printed right on this label. Sadly, he was hurt in an automobile accident on April 6, 1929 and died five days later, but his sons carried the business and the State Pride name on.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏡 Display\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCrate Labels are a reminder of a bygone era but the amazing lithography process is unparalleled even to this day in my opinion. Museums and Art Institutes have galleries dedicated to them and more and more collectors are seeking these out to preserve their history. Once the limited supply for sale is gone and on display with collectors or in galleries then they will be very difficult to acquire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eImagine this amazing vintage advertising hanging as home decor in any room of your home instead of a museum! A tiny label like this looks great in a small frame or a shadow box, and it's a perfect gift for anybody from Fresno, any California melon lover, or anybody with Armenian roots in the Valley.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-cowboy-firewood-label-brings-winter-nostalgia-life-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1978 Bloomfield Farms Firewood Crate Label 🪵 Cowboy Cabin Snow Scene Santa Clara Valley California Advertising Ephemera\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/very-rare-antique-1910s-massage-cream-gold-embossed-label-paris-montreal\"\u003eAntique 1910s Massage Cream Label 💆 from Paris Montreal Chicago\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/antique-1910s-new-england-vermont-maple-sap-syrup-label-boston-ma\"\u003eAntique 1910s 🍁 New England Vermont Maple Sap Syrup Label NOS Boston MA\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46537493840104,"sku":"VAG-8902451101928","price":5.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.6179105485_9v9k.jpg?v=1785441391","url":"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-1940s-california-state-pride-melon-label-fresno-ca-unique","provider":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","version":"1.0","type":"link"}