Crate Label, Schooner, Santa Barbara County Lemons, Original Lithograph, Vintage NOS

Before supermarkets. Before plastic wrap. Before everything was the same everywhere — there were crate labels.

This is an original California lemon crate label — a 1930s–1940s lithograph printed by Schmidt Lithography Co. of San Francisco for the Goleta Lemon Association, Goleta, Santa Barbara County, California. Marked California Red Ball. It has never been used. Never attached to a crate. It is New Old Stock in excellent condition, found in the original unused factory stock.

The label is alive with weather and motion. A full-rigged schooner — sails set, hull driving forward — makes way through a running sea, clouds building behind it, a mountain rising in the distance. The composition has real drama: this is not a peaceful harbor scene but a ship under way, doing what ships are built to do. Schmidt Lithography Co. was founded in 1872 by German immigrant Max Schmidt and became the largest printing company on the West Coast, eventually occupying the famous clock tower building at Second and Bryant Streets in San Francisco — a landmark that still stands. In 1966 the Schmidt name merged into Stecher-Traung. This label is one of the company's finest surviving examples.

A note on condition: there are a couple of light creases on the bottom corners — please review all photos carefully. Two available.

Frame it as coastal or nautical decor — it works in any interior that wants the open sea on its walls. At 10.75 by 8.5 inches it fits a standard 11x14 frame beautifully. A natural companion to the Corinthian sailboat label (U223) also available in our shop — the two together make a superb coastal pair.

A wonderful gift for a sailor, a maritime history enthusiast, a coastal decor collector, a vintage label collector, or anyone who wants the feeling of being underway without leaving the room.

A note on crate label collecting: Original lithographic crate labels from this era are increasingly scarce. NOS examples like this one — never used, never attached to a crate — represent the best of what survives. Collectors prize them for their graphic quality and the window they open onto a vanished chapter of American agricultural and commercial history.

• Brand: Schooner Brand / Goleta Lemon Association, Goleta, Santa Barbara County, California — California Red Ball
• Lithographer: Schmidt Lithography Co., San Francisco, California (est. 1872; merged into Stecher-Traung 1966)
• Type: Lemon crate label
• Made in: USA
• Dated: circa 1930s–1940s
• Dimensions: 10.75" wide | 8.5" tall
• Condition: New Old Stock (NOS) — unused, excellent condition. Light creases on bottom corners — please review all photos carefully. Age-appropriate yellowing consistent with period. We cannot accept returns.
• Framing: Fits a standard 11x14 frame — ready to display