Crate Label: Lucerne Brand, California Thompson Seedless Grapes, Carnations, NOS, Vintage 1963

This is the darker, moodier sibling to the Carnation Brand label — same flower, same era, entirely different atmosphere.

• Brand: Lucerne Brand / Tri-Boro Fruit Co., Inc.
• Produce: Grapes (Thompson Seedless)
• Origin: California, USA
• Lithographer: Schmidt Lithographic Co.
• Materials: Paper, lithograph
• Dimensions: 13.0" wide × 4.0" tall
• Era: Vintage, 1963–1966
• Condition: New Old Stock (NOS) — unused, excellent condition, found in original factory stock, age-appropriate yellowing on the reverse only. Please review photos closely before purchasing, as all sales are final.

Four bright carnations in pink, red, and coral are arranged with confidence across a deep dark background, squared corners giving the whole composition a deliberate, modern feeling.

Strip labels like this one are perfect for grouping — the dark background makes the carnations pop against a light wall, so two or three framed together read especially rich.

Schmidt Lithographic Co. got its start in 1873, when German immigrant Max Schmidt became one of the first printers to bring lithography to the West Coast. His business burned down twice before he even reached San Francisco, and the 1906 earthquake leveled it a third time — yet he rebuilt each time, and the company thrived until merging with Stecher-Traung in 1966. It's easy to see, in the crispness of this label, why Schmidt was counted among California's great printing houses.

A wonderful gift for a carnation lover, a vintage floral decor collector, or anyone drawn to mid-century California lithography at its most dramatic.