• A rectangular vintage-style label or sticker for Polar Bird, featuring large orange-to-yellow gradient lettering on a dark purple background, with a penguin illustration on the right and text reading 'Produce of U.S.
  • A rectangular vintage crate label with a magenta background, large gradient text reading 'POLAR BIRD,' a penguin standing on white ice, and smaller text including 'PRODUCE OF U.S.
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Royal Valley Fruit Growers Ass'n

Crate Label: Polar Bird Brand, Penguin, Royal Valley Fruit Growers, Reedley California, 1950s

Crate Label: Polar Bird Brand, Penguin, Royal Valley Fruit Growers, Reedley California, 1950s

$13.00
$13.00
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A lone penguin stands on an ice floe beneath dripping icicles and a bold sunset-gradient wordmark on this striking lug label — a vivid, authentic New Old Stock graphic standout, even among mid-century crate art.

  • Brand: Polar Bird
  • Produce: General fruit (not specified on label)
  • Lithographer: A. Carlisle & Co
  • Packing House / Grower: Royal Valley Fruit Growers Ass'n
  • Materials: Lithographed paper, printed by A. Carlisle & Co.
  • Dimensions: 13 x 4 in
  • Origin: Reedley, California, USA
  • Era: 1950s
  • 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: the sunset gradient lettering and icicle border are crisp and unfaded.

Royal Valley Fruit Growers Association was formed in 1951 in Reedley, California, and packed and marketed grapes, plums, peaches, and nectarines from the region — notably running a cooling plant that used ice rather than mechanical refrigeration, a detail that likely inspired the Arctic imagery here. The cooperative used several brand names across its output, including this one, Red Wagon, and Royal Mountain, each aimed at a different segment of the fresh fruit trade. The incongruous pairing of a polar penguin with California stone fruit was a deliberate visual hook, meant to catch a buyer's eye on a crowded auction floor rather than describe the contents.

This label was printed by A. Carlisle & Co., a commercial lithography firm whose roots trace back to 1858 in San Francisco, with the Carlisle name formally established in 1917. The company later relocated its operations to Reno, Nevada, where it continued printing into the 2000s before being acquired in 2025 — closing out more than 165 years of continuous operation.

A bold, graphic centerpiece for any Central Valley or mid-century advertising art collection.

Pairs well with our other Royal Valley Fruit Growers and Reedley-area crate labels.

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