Apple Box Attractions, Part 3

“I talked to an old man who’d designed the label

for his orchard and sent it off to lithographers

in Seattle to be printed. But I didn’t have the heart
to ask him why it was so ugly when most of them

were beautiful,” she says candidly.  In those days,

the price of labels was often based on how many

colors were in the design, she adds, “probably he

just couldn’t afford a label with lots of color.”

During the Great Depression, when farmers were

only getting 26 cents a box for their apples, some

farmers couldn’t afford to pay 3 or 4 cents for a

label, Waverak says.  Yet farmers couldn’t ship

their apples without a label. “I met one old farmer

who said he was so poor he had to borrow labels

from his neighbor so he could ship his apples during

the Depression.”

Today rare labels may be prices as high as $300. 

Common labels are still plentiful in antique shops

for as little as $1, Waverak says.  The same label,

mounted and framed, may fetch $50 or more in an

art gallery. (These prices were current in 1982 at

the time of her interview.  It’s doubtful today that

you could purchase a Washington vintage apple
box label for $1.00)

Part 3