Thursday, April 11, 2013

The name bewilders me, but the fonts enchant, especially on "tomatoes".




Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Ignorance: egregious.  Design: near-flawless.  What does a collector do?  (One purchases bulk lots unknowingly containing beautiful but racist can labels, in this case.)




I'm so fond of vintage Sunkist that sometimes I forget Dole's triumphs in the '20s through '40s.  1938 here:


Approximately 0% of magazine ads produced in the last 50 years are that attractive, if you ask Inflammammal.  And it's not even necessarily the best, just the one I looked at most recently.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

As I've not mentioned it before, and as its packaging is rightfully among the top handful of American commercial design icons:



Postmarked in 1949; the writer notes he is having a "swell" time.


Monday, April 8, 2013

I don't have anything to add to it, today; these German cherries are beautiful.  The leaf edges, too, the gently curling ones.


Sunday, April 7, 2013

Postmarked 1900, "A California Paradox", oranges growing with snowy peaks behind.  (Indeed I live in the greatest state.)  


Sometimes, the humble seed packet took a leap toward greatness.



Thursday, April 4, 2013

Lacks the detail I usually crave, yet still perfectly captures persimmonness.  This is the tsuru-no-ko or stork's egg persimmon, depicted in an illustration for the US Dept. of Agriculture in 1890, painted by William Prestele.


Tuesday, April 2, 2013

In 1900, even ketchup ads had smoothy class, in the right hands.


People seem to use the word at any opportunity so it's a bit shopworn, but this, this is bucolic.  How I love an overbright vintage postcard!


Monday, April 1, 2013

Cover of an 1875 seed catalog - not from my collection - that approaches but does not cross the line into garishness.  I just wish my source had scans of the inside as well.