Crate Label, Vandalia 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 lithograph produced between 1937 and the 1940s for the Vandalia Packing Association of Porterville, 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 stunning. A peacock in full display stands against a deep blue and black ground, a great yellow sun rising behind her. The plumage — green, teal, gold, cobalt — radiates outward in the Art Deco manner: geometric, saturated, impossibly beautiful. This label was designed by Al Clark, a freelance artist who ran a studio in San Francisco from 1934 well into the 1950s. Clark's hand is unmistakable — the composition has the confident, jewel-like quality of commercial Art Deco at its finest. A named artist. A documented commission. A label that was always more than a label.  This is one available. There will not be another.

Frame it as Art Deco art — because that is what it is. At approximately 11.0 inches wide it commands any wall it occupies. The deep ground and luminous peacock work in both light and dramatic rooms, and the piece has a presence that modern prints simply cannot replicate. It is equally at home in a formal room, a maximalist study, or anywhere that welcomes something genuinely exceptional.

A wonderful gift for an Art Deco collector, a peacock enthusiast, a Sunkist or California citrus label collector, or anyone who recognizes that the finest commercial art of the twentieth century was sometimes printed on paper meant for fruit crates.

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: Vandalia Brand / Vandalia Packing Association, Porterville, California — Sunkist
• Designer: Al Clark, freelance artist, San Francisco (studio 1934–1950s)
• Type: Citrus crate label
• Made in: USA
• Dated: 1937–1940s
• 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 or 12x12 frame — ready to display