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Size: 13" x 3 3/4"
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Size: 13" x 3 3/4" ~ Minor edge wear.
This is a label that is almost extinct. The very limited supply that is left all has minor edge damage. Doubt you would notice it on display but please see the pictures and judge for yourself. A big, heavy bunch of glowing red Tokay grapes hangs across the left end with green and russet vine leaves and a curling tendril, Towne Tokays is set in an elegant italic across a golden-yellow panel, and GRAPES FROM SUNNY CALIFORNIA sits on a deep navy band below, all inside a bright red border.
That's all it says, no packer and no town, just the grapes and California. The back is plain, with the lettering showing through.
Tokay was the king of California table grapes, and Lodi was its capital. The Flame Tokay most likely arrived in the 1850s, and in 1864 George J. Leffler planted six acres of it at Lodi. Growers there could get that "flaming" pinkish red color that made those big heavy clusters so popular as an eating grape, and by 1879 Lodi grapes were riding the railroad in cattle cars to New York City, sixteen days on the rails. The 1907 season came to 1,141 carloads, and the saying went, "Grapes means money; Tokay means more money." That fall Lodi threw a three-day Tokay Carnival with a Tokay Grape Competition, and fun coincidence, one of the three top prizes went to Tokays grown and packed by a B.A. Towne.
The best years ran from the 1930s into the 1980s, and in 1974 the Lodi area alone shipped 2.7 million boxes of Flame Tokays. Then the new seedless grapes took over, and by 1990 Lodi's total had dwindled to 100,000 boxes.
Crate 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.
Imagine this amazing vintage advertising hanging as home decor in any room of your home instead of a museum!
This is within 20 years of full antique status.
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Take your time — you've got a full six months. If a piece isn't right for you, send it back the way it reached you and we're good.
In the first 30 days your money goes straight back the way you paid. After that it's store credit, so you can put it toward something you'd rather have.
Return shipping we sort out between us, case by case. I don't make this difficult.
If something arrives damaged, or it isn't what I said it was, send me a photo within 48 hours and I'll make it right.
Email info@vintageantiquesgifts.com or call 802-356-9872 — that's me answering, not a call center.
The only things I can't take back are custom or special-order pieces and gift cards.
Preserving History: Authentic Objects Across Eras
