Can Label, Olney & Floyd Butterfly, Boston Marrow Squash, Lithograph, Antique 1899

This Butterfly Brand squash label dates to 1899–1900, one of the oldest labels in our collection — the absence of weight markings, required by law from 1906, confirms it predates that requirement entirely.

• Maker: Butterfly Brand (Olney & Floyd)
• Materials: Stone lithograph paper
• Dimensions: 14" wide x 4.5" tall
• Origin: USA
• Era: Antique, 1899–1900 (pre-1906)
• Condition: New Old Stock (NOS) — unused, good Antique condition. Tears on the left side border and very minor tears on the right and top borders.  Age-appropriate yellowing consistent with period. Please review photos closely before purchasing, as all sales are final.

One face of the label is devoted to the butterfly: large, detailed, rendered in rich browns, golds, and blues — a botanical illustration treated with the same seriousness a naturalist would give it. The other face shows a Boston Marrow squash in yellow and brown, painted with the accuracy of a field guide. Both sides are works of genuine craft, made entirely by hand, stone by stone, color by color, in a process that could take three to four months per design.

Frame it as Victorian natural history art, early Americana, or a piece of 19th-century entomology illustration that happened to wrap a squash can — at this size it commands any wall that earns it. A wonderful gift for a Victorian naturalist, a butterfly enthusiast, or an advertising ephemera collector.

The first offset lithographic press for paper wasn't produced until 1903, meaning this label predates that technology entirely. A companion label — the Olney & Floyd Electric Brand succotash label, from the same maker — is also available in our shop.

Browse our shop for more antique can labels and 19th-century ephemera to round out your collection.