Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Food

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Food
Creators:
Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969
Dates:
circa 1795-1970
Languages:
Material is in
English
,
Japanese
,
German
, and
Spanish
.
Physical Description:
14.46 Cubic feet
consisting of 30.5 boxes, 1 folder, 11 oversize folders, 1 map case folder, 1 flat box (partial).
Repository:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Food forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This material consists primarily of advertising cards, bills/receipts, printed advertisements, catalogues, price lists, business cards, circulars, scattered correspondence on letterhead stationery, import/export documents, fruit crate and other types of labels, publications of various types and pamphlets and books from companies involved in the food industry. These businesses include manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers of food and food products, growers, commission merchants, importers and stores selling food either exclusively, as in grocery stores or food emporiums, or together with other products in general stores. The bulk of the material consists of bills and receipts and trade cards.
The large collection of fruit crate labels consists of three boxes, primarily from growers of apples and pears in the Pacific Northwest. The images on these labels range from caricatures, primarily of Indians, to lush images of the fruits being sold. There are numerous pictures depicting or related to the names of the growers or the brand name being used, such as Mountain Brand, Pyramid Brand, Eskimo Brand, a wren for F.O. Renn or a strongman for E.C. Sampson. Some of the more common images in addition to the Indians and fruit include cowboys, children, flowers, birds and river and mountain views. Several of the images and/or brand names appear on the labels of more than one company.
There are a number of publications included in the materials. There are magazines and journals, both for the trade and for the general public. There are books published about a particular type of food, often by a manufacturer or distributor of that food. There are also histories of some of the companies, usually written by or for the company. Also, in this category, are catalogs of large metropolitan food stores such as S.S. Pierce of Boston, the Joseph R. Peebles' Sons Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Park & Tilford and Francis H. Leggett, both of New York.
Materials in boxes one through eighteen are organized alphabetically by name of company. All materials relating to a particular company, with the exception of import/export documents, publications (if that is the only material) and fruit crate labels, are included with the company related materials.
Boxes eighteen through twenty-one contain the fruit crate labels. These are arranged alphabetically by company. The first folder of each letter contains labels of companies for which there is only one label. The last folder contains labels with no company name. Box twenty-two contains other food labels which are primarily from cans and jars. They are arranged alphabetically, first by type of product such as corn and corn products, ketchup, pasta and peaches, then alphabetically by company for companies with a large number of labels and lastly a folder containing labels with no company name. The labels in the product folders are arranged within the folder first alphabetically by company followed by labels with no company name.
Boxes twenty-three through twenty-seven contain import/export documents. These are also arranged alphabetically by company in the same manner as the fruit crate labels. The import/export documents are primarily from the Port of Philadelphia. The documents cover goods coming into the port on sailing ships and, starting in the 1870's, steam ships and leaving the port on rail and river conveyances. The products were imported from such places as Cuba, Antigua, Trinidad, England, Italy, Germany and Singapore and included cocoanuts, pineapples, dried fruit and nuts, macaroni, cheese, sausages, cooked meats, pickled fish, spices and coffee and tea.
Box twenty-eight contains magazines and periodicals. Some of the publications include What to Eat from 1896 and 1899, The Dietetic Gazette from 1889, Culinary Review from 1943 and Wholesale Grocer. This box also contains correspondence and order forms relating to magazines and periodicals.
Box twenty-nine contains miscellaneous food publications. These are such things as account books, articles from other publications, publications on diet and infants and children and newsletters. Box thirty contains food related publications that are published by or about specific companies for which there is no other material. Box thirty also contains material relating to food equipment and manufacturing. This is arranged initially by company and then contains folders on canning and preserving and patents. The equipment manufactured includes such things as evaporators, sorters and washers.
Box thirty-one consists of publications about specific types of food and general works. The food types include publications about such foods as asparagus, milk and rice. These folders are arranged alphabetically by food type. General works consists of material which is not, or cannot be, related to a specific company or do not fit into one of the major categories set forth above. These are: general images which are not labels, advertising cards, correspondence, food instructions, legislation, miscellaneous price lists, railroad receipts and claims, recipes, shipping and tax stamps.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Food is arranged in nine subseries:
  • Manufacturers and Distributors of Food and Food Products
  • Labels
  • Import/Export Documents
  • Magazines and Periodicals
  • Menus
  • Publications
  • Law & Legislation
  • Food Types
  • General Works and Miscellaneous

Administration

Author
Nicole Blechynden and Vanessa Broussard-Simmons
Sponsor
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
Food is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Processing Information
In 2016, with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund, the Archives Center at the National Museum of American History implemented the use of minimal level processing standards to increase information about and facilitate access to more of our collections.
Arrangement and housing (box and folder) was previously completed by the Archives Center Staff in conjunction with the development of the original oversize material guide, however no guide was completed (or did no survive) for the core material of this subject. Non-archival housing was replaced for long-term stability, but staples and other fasteners have not all been removed.
For the minimal level processing effort, box and folder contents were verified. Some rehousing and a small amount of arrangement was done on select portions. A trace amount of additional material was processed and added to this subject. A machine-readable, encoded finding aid was created by Nicole Blechynden, 2017 August.

Digital Content

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Using the Collection

Preferred Citation note
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Food, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Conditions Governing Access note
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Conditions Governing Use note
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Materials in the Archives Center

Materials in the Archives Center
Archives Center Collection of Business Americana (AC0404)

Forms Part Of


More Information

Partial List of Company and Proprietor Names, General Materials

Partial List of Company and Proprietor Names, General Materials
American Fruit Growers Incorporated Ana-Co
Apple Growers Association
Associated Fruit Company Barnhill Fruit Company Bear Creek
Blue Mountain Fruit Exchange
Boehmer Incorporated Bolinger Orchards
Brewster Distribution Unit
Brewster-Bridgeport Growers Incorporated
Butler Trading Company Incorporated Buck Fruit Company
Casca Growers
Cascadian Fruit Shippers Incorporated
Cashmere Fruit Exchange Cashmere Fruit Growers Union Chelan Falls Orchards
Clark-Baker Company Columbia Basin Orchards Connell Brothers, Company D
Dahn, Floyd Fruits Incorporated
Davidson Fruit Company Del Rio Orchards
Denison, H.S. and Company
Denney and Company Dow Fruit Company
Duddy-Robinson Incorporated/ Thompson-Duddy-Robinson Company
Duthie and Company Earl Fruit Company
East Wenatchee Fruit Growers
Entiat Fruit Growers League
Fairview Ranch Company
Foster's, Myron Hesperian Orchards Fruitland Fruit Association
Fruit Sales Company Incorporated
Gellatly Fruit Company
Greig, W.M.-Bonanza Orchard
Growers Service Company
Hafener Fruit Company
Haskell Packing Company
Hood River Fruit Company
Hood River Produce Exchange
Independent Fruit Shippers
Jennings Fruit Company
Kelly Brothers Company Incorporated
Koon Tai and Company
Koop, The C.M. Company
Lake Chelan Fruit Growers
Lake Chelan Fruit Growers Union
Lake Entiat Growers, Incorporated
Lippmann, J & G
Lockwood, C.M.
Mad River Orchard
Malott Growers Union
Manson, A. Fruit Growers
Marsh, A.E. Company
Methow-Pateros Growers Incorporated
Mojonner & Sons
Monitor Federated Growers
Mutual Sales Agency
Nellis, F.E. & Company
North Pacific Sales Company
Northern Fruit Company
Northwest Wholesale
Northwestern Fruit Exchange
Nuchief Sales, Incorporated
Okanogan Growers Union
Olive Apple Company
Omak Sookum Growers
Oneonta Trading Corporation
Onnail Fruit Growers
Orando Community Packing
Pacific Fruit & Produce company
Paddock, C.R. & Company
Palmer Corporation
Paxton Rivers Company Incorporated
Perhann Fruit Growers
Peshastin Fruit Growers Association
Plummer & Edwins
Renn, F.O. Fruit Company
Richey & Gilbert Company
Rivers, Burnand & Rivers
Robertson, D.O.
Rock Island Unit
Ryan Fruit Company
Sampson, E.G.
Segerstrom, H.N.
Sellers, Ben F. /Spinner Fruit Corporation/Sellers & Spinner
Sgobel & Day
Sisler, J.A.
Smith & Holden
Spokane Fruit Growers Company
Stadelman Fruit Incorporated
Standfield Fruit Growers Union
Steinhardt & Kelly Incorporated
Sterlin-Slater Fruit Growers
Stratford Orchards Company
Stubbs Fruit & Storage Company
Sunnyslope Fruit Exchange
Tedford, R.A. & Company
Tonasket Federated Growers
Trunkey-Wolfe Company, Incorporated
Vernon Orchards
Wade, J.M. Fruit Company
Wagner, E. & Son
Washington Fruit & Produce Company
Weaver, C.H. & Company
Wells & Wade Company
Wenatchee Apple Land Company
Wenatchee District Co-Op Association
Wenatchee Fruit & Storage Company
Wenatchee Fruit & Warehouse Company
Wenatchee North Central Fruit Distributers
Wenatchee Produce Company
Wenatchee Valley Fruit Exchange
Wenatchee-Beebe Orchard Company
Wenatchee-Northern Warehouse and Marketing Company
Wenatchee-Okanogan Warehouse Company
Wenatchee-Skookum Growers
Western Fruit & Produce Company, Incorporated
White Brothers & Crum
Wright Fruit Company
Yakima County Horticultural Union
Yakima Fruit Growers Association
Yakima Fruit Growers Exchange

Partial List of Company and Proprietor Names, Oversize Materials

Partial List of Company and Proprietor Names, Oversize Materials
An & Company, Shredded Coconut, Location unknown
Armour Packing Company, White Label Soups, Kansas City, MO
Atlantic Macaroni Company, Long Island City, NY
Bajata, P. and Company, Palermo, Italy
Baker-Langdon Orchard Company, Walla Walla, WA
Beamsville Preserving Company, Peerless Brand Apples, Beamsville, Ontario
Bell, William G. Company, Bell's Spiced Seasoning
Beutel, Robert Company, West Bay City, MI
Bloomfield Packaging Company, Ltd., Quaker Hand Packed Tomatoes, Standard Lombard Plums, Bloomfield, Ontario
Brandts, William Sons and Company, London, England
British Canadian Canners Limited, Britannia Brand Choice Standard Apples, Hamilton, Ontario
Burnett's Vanilla, Location unknown
Burnham & Morrill, Portland, ME
California Associated Raisin Company, Sun-Maid Raisins, Fresno, CA
California Fruit Growers Exchange, Sunkist Oranges, Chicago, IL
Campbell , Joseph Company, Campbell's Soup, Camden, NJ
Carle, John and Sons, Imperial Granum "The Great Medicinal Food", New York, NY
Cerere Macaroni, Location unknown
Clark, William, Commission Merchant, New York, NY
Colburn, A. Company, Mustard, Philadelphia, PA
Connor, John T. Company, Wholesale Grocers, Boston, MA
Cowan and Staley, Anaheim, CA
Davis, Frank E.Fish Company, Gloucester, MA
Del Monte Brand, Raisins and Dried Fruits, Location unknown
Dewey Brand, Fancy Stem-Cut Louisiana Oranges
Ferris & Caywood, "The Walter Grape", Poughkeepsie, NY
General Foods Corporation, Jell-0, La Roy, NY
Genesee Pure Food Company, La Roy, NY
Gorton-Pew Fisheries Company, Gloucester, MA
Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, New York, NY
Griffin and Skelley Company, California Raisin Packers
Gurley, R., New Milford, OH
Harriman, Charles, Curer and Wholesaler in Dry and Pickled Fish, Gloucester, MA
Hazard, E.C. and Company, Shrewsbury Brand White Cherries, Shrewsbury, NJ
Heinz, H.J. Company, Spaghetti, Tomato Ketchup, Pittsburgh, PA
Hershey Packing Company, Pioneer Brand Quick Frozen Green Peas, Seattle, WA
Illinois Canning Company, Joan of Arc Brand French Red Kidney Beans, Hoopeston, IL
Importers and Dealers in Fine Groceries Philadelphia, PA
Jersey Biscuit Company, Newark, NJ
Johnson, C.J. and Company, General Commission Merchants, Location unknown
Kensett, Thomas and Company, Oysters, Baltimore, MD
King, William, Grocer, Philadelphia, PA
Larkin Company, Grocers, Buffalo, NY
Lester, Frank, New York, NY
Libby, McNeil and Libby, Luncheon Meats, Chicago, IL
Little Gem Cream Com, Company and Location unknown
McCormick and Company, Bee and Banquet Brand Products, Importers, Exporters, and Packers, Baltimore, MD
McQuestin, G.B., Nashua , NH
Mellins Food, For Infants and Invalids, Boston, MA
Meloripe Fruit Company Boston, MA
Minnesota Valley Canning Company
Mitchell, Fletcher and Company
Montgomery Ward and Company, Chicago, IL
Natural Food Company Triscuit, Niagara Falls, NY
Niblets Brand Mexicorn and Whole Kernel Com La Sueur, MN
Northwestern Fruit Exchange Skookum Apples, Seattle, WA Peebles and White
Penguin Brand Quick Frozen French Style Green Beans Seattle, WA
People's Tea, Spice, & Baking Powder Company, Cincinnati, OH
Pomeroy English Walnut Farm Lockport, NY
Price, Joseph J., Dealer in Family Groceries, Wines, Liquors, and Imported Cigars, Albany, NY
Procter & Gamble Company Crisco, Cincinnati, OH
Rowland, James and Company Fancy Groceries, Teas, and Coffees Location unknown
Royal Cocoanut Company, New York, NY
Schepp, L. and Company Schepp's Cocoanut, New York, NY
Snow, F.H. Canning Company
Stickney & Poor's, Premium Spices and Mustards Location unknown
Stone, Arthur and Company Wholesale Grocers, New Orleans, LA
Thurber, H.K. & F.B. and Company Grocer, New York, NY
United Fruit Company Bananas, Boston, MA
Washington Dehydrated Food Company Washington Brand Dehydrated Apples Yakima, WA
Washington Frosted Foods, Inc.
Wells, Miller & Provost Wholesaler Warehouse New York, NY
Wendell, Jacob L. Pickling and Preserving Philadelphia, PA
Wholesale Grocers and Commission Merchants Petersburg, VA
Worth, William E. and Company Wilmington , NC
Young & Lyon, Providence, RI


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
advertising -- Confectionery Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Agriculture Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Baking Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bakers and bakeries Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Beverages Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Business ephemera Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chocolate Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Coffee Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Corn Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ephemera Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Food Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Food habits Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Food -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Meat industry Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Poultry industry Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Recipes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Refrigeration and refrigerating machinery Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Salt Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Seafood Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tea Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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