Crate Label: The Blue and the Gray Brand, Florida Citrus, Civil War Generals, NOS, Vintage 1930

A Florida citrus company built its brand around the end of the Civil War, and that decision alone makes this one of the more historically loaded labels a crate ever carried.

• Brand: The Blue and the Gray Brand / Milne-O'Berry Packing Co. — federally patented design
• Origin: St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
• Lithographer: Brandau Craig Dickerson Co.
• Materials: Paper, lithograph
• Dimensions: 8.75" wide × 8.75" tall
• Era: Vintage, circa 1930
• Condition: New Old Stock (NOS) — unused, very good vintage condition, some rippling on upper left side, age-appropriate yellowing. Please review photos closely before purchasing, as all sales are final.

Two army generals shake hands, a scene drawn directly from the imagery of the Civil War's end — the Blue and the Gray meeting in reconciliation. The label's full text reads "The Blue and the Gray Brand, Reg. U.S. Pat. Off., Oranges and Grapefruit, Milne-O'Berry Packing Co., Incorporated, St. Petersburg, Fla."

Frame it as American history, Civil War memorabilia, or Southern Americana — the nearly square format stands out in any gallery arrangement.

Brandau Craig Dickerson Co. was founded in Nashville in 1912; their 90-year-old brick building still stands and sold for $3.97 million in 2014, a reminder of just how substantial these regional lithography houses once were.

A wonderful gift for a Civil War historian, an American history collector, or a Southern Americana enthusiast.