Can Label, Foodland Evaporated Milk, Original NOS Lithograph, Antique 1920s

This Foodland Brand evaporated milk label carries gold leafing over the lithography — an expensive, deliberate touch for something as ordinary as a milk can.

• Maker: Foodland Brand
• Materials: Gilded lithograph paper
• Dimensions: 9.75" wide x 3.5" tall
• Origin: USA
• Era: Antique, circa 1920s
• Condition: New Old Stock (NOS) — unused, excellent mint condition. Age-appropriate yellowing consistent with period. Please review photos closely before purchasing, as all sales are final.

A Holstein cow stands in a field in full pastoral detail — the black and white markings rendered with true-to-life accuracy, the setting composed with real care. The offset press was introduced in 1911 but companies were slow to adopt it; this label has the characteristics of a transitional piece, carrying the quality standards of stone lithography into the new era.

Frame it as farmhouse or dairy decor, or as a piece of 1920s American commercial art at its most lavish — beautiful alone or grouped with other milk labels from the era. A wonderful gift for a dairy history enthusiast, a farmhouse decor collector, or a gold-work admirer.

Adding gold to a can label was expensive, deliberate, and rare — someone decided that a can of evaporated milk deserved that treatment. Original lithographic can labels from this era are far scarcer than crate labels — produced in smaller quantities, more fragile, and less often preserved. NOS examples like this one represent the finest of what survives from American food industry history.

Browse our shop for more antique can labels and vintage ephemera to round out your collection.