Crate Label: Bonnie Babe Brand, Scottish Girl, Lettuce, Dan Danilson Packing Co., Salinas California, 1940s

A wide-eyed Scottish lass in tartan cradles a fresh head of iceberg lettuce against a plaid backdrop on this playful, pin-up-style crate label — one of the more charming character designs to come out of the Salinas Valley.

• Brand: Bonnie Babe
• Produce: Lettuce
• Lithographer: Stecher-Traung Lithographic Co. (1933–1966), San Francisco / New York
• Packing House / Grower: Dan Danilson Packing Co.
• Materials: Lithographed paper
• Dimensions: 7 x 9 in
• Origin: Salinas, California, USA
• Era: 1940s
• Condition: Excellent, New Old Stock — never applied to a crate. Please review photos closely before purchasing, as all sales are final.

Warehouse stock, never used: colors are bright and the tartan print pops against the crisp white lettering.

Stecher-Traung formed in 1933 from the merger of Stecher Lithographic Co. of New York and Traung Label & Lithographic Co. of San Francisco, and remained in business until 1966 — this label is a strong example of their output at its most kinetic.

Dan Danilson Packing Co. shipped lettuce out of Salinas, in the heart of California's Salinas Valley — long nicknamed "the Salad Bowl of the World" for its cool coastal climate, ideally suited to leafy greens. The label notes shipping in season from both California and Arizona, reflecting how growers followed the harvest between the two states to keep lettuce moving to market year-round. The playful "Bonnie" theme, tartan pattern, and tam o'shanter cap were a bit of whimsical branding, using a wholesome pin-up illustration style common on produce labels of the era to catch a buyer's eye.

A fun, colorful conversation piece for a kitchen or farmhouse wall, and a favorite among collectors of mid-century pin-up and produce advertising art.

Pairs nicely with our other Salinas Valley vegetable crate labels.