Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a Fruit Crate Label? see below.
2. Does labelcollector.com sell REPRODUCTIONS? No.
3. Is there glue on the back of labels, like stickers?No glue.
4. Why are they still available today? Click to see below.
5. How did you acquire so many "original" labels? Click to see below.
6. How do you determine prices?Click to see below.
7. Do you have them in stock? Do you ever run out of them?Yes, and yes.
8. Why are there different sizes of labels?Click to see below.
9. Do you have vintage labels other than crate labels?Yes.
10. Are they copyrighted? Can we copy and mass-reproduce vintage labels?Click to see below.

1. What is a Fruit Crate Label? Fruit crate labels were printed on paper for the purpose of being glued to the end of a wooden crate. These crates were transported to markets to display fruits and vegetables for consumers. Graphically attractive labels were an important part of selling the produce. Today, pre-printed cardboard boxes are used.
2. Does labelcollector.com sell REPRODUCTIONS? Is there glue on the back of labels, like stickers? No. There are some modern labels (beverage, etc.) that are peel back stickers, but NOT for most of the vintage labels.
3. Why are they still available today? Labels were printed on relatively acid-free paper. They had to be strong enough to survive abrasion and dampness of refrigerated railroad cars as wooden crates were shipped to market. The labels we offer were never used, being stored forgotten in dry packing houses for decades.
4. How did you acquire so many "original" labels? We have been searching and collecting labels since the 1980's. Labels came from sources such as packing houses, former employees, family members of growers.
5. How do you determine prices? The price of a label is determined by known quantity found, age and graphic appeal. There are many attractive labels as old as the 1920s that we offer for $3 to $10. The price is reasonable because the demand hasn't caught up with the supply yet. Squaw printed circa 1920's, lithograph, $4.00
6. Do you have them in stock? Do you ever run out of them? Yes, and yes. In our ONLINE CATALOG, we only list the labels we have in stock. However, the supply is limited. When we run out of an item, we will quietly remove it from our catalog. Generally speaking, all labels currently listed on our website are available for you to purchase. Browse catalog from any of the category pages on the left. All pages are inter-linked for easy browsing.
7. Why are there different sizes of labels? The size of the fruit or the softness of the fruit determines the size of the crate; therefore, the size of the label. For example, since tomatoes are soft, you could not pack them as high as you could oranges. Therefore, tomatoes as well as grapes were packed in shallow boxes, which are called "lug boxes". Grape and tomato labels are long and narrow, about 5"-6"x14", apple and orange labels are about 10"x10"-11", lemons 9"x12", pears 8"x10", and vegetable labels mainly came in "5x7" or 7"x9".
8. Do you have vintage labels other than crate labels? We have original can labels, which were printed to be used around cans for various food items. Usually, can labels have a glue margin on one end and often you can find date codes there. The codes were covered when labels were applied to the cans. Most can labels are 5"x11", some are 5"x14", but we also have some attractive large commercial size labels. We also have other kinds of vintage labels. See our sets page and cigar page for example.
9. Are they copyrighted? Can we copy and mass-reproduce vintage labels? Short answer is; "We don't know." Each label should be researched for its copyright issues and we don't know because we are not involved in reproductions. (see Copyright Office, Library of Congress.) However, we've seen graphic designers using vintage labels in their creative process to produce their own original designs.