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In the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia and many places in between, Fall is harvest time from coast to coast for Canada’s rich variety of apples. That variety is also reflected in the colorful artistry of numerous vintage apple crate labels — such as the incredible OgoPogo one above — which recently caught my eye and which I thought would be worth collecting here to share. (You can click through the slides below.)
O' Canada 
Childhood memories of stopping for cider along the road in the Okanagan. Thanks.
Those sound like great memories. We used to have apple cider all the time when I was a kid, but I think that is more of a northern thing. Down south (at least in the U.S.) it is less common.
This year we pressed our own…..continuing the memories.
They are some of the most delightful and evocative labels I’ve seen. Thanks for sharing them.
Yes, some of them are very cool.
Those crate labels are superb–love the colors and graphics!
Aren’t they though!
Brilliant.
A sure fire way to make me want apples, a crate with a serpent holding the fruit in his mouth – not! I think the reference to Genesis is a fail here.
Great observation! I was wondering about why the snake image and had not picked up on the literary reference.
Ahh .. they don’t make ads like this anymore … and yet, it would most probably be well received as the babybooners (?) make up a great part of the population. Thanks for these! 🙂
Where did you find the pics of these? Very cool indeed… although I am disappointed there weren’t any from the Niagara Fruit belt 😉
I tracked them down through various sources. I think I saw a few from the Niagara area and many from other regions in the U.S.
😉 I was curious about the Niagara area since that is where I grew up.
But it saddens me that a lot of the apple /peach orchards in the Okanagan Valley, B.C. are gone and in place of more “cash” crops like vineyards for wines..
Great labels showcase.
Ogopogo is the best: ancient tale.
Oh, you already got me with this one to follow you.Thanks a lot highly entertaining. Now off to the pictures. I read this one today, might interest you. Although I am not certain if Americans want to be reminded of such behavior: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/10/18/genocide-first-nations-aboriginals-canada-un_n_4123112.html?utm_hp_ref=canada
I hope this will not be marked as spam. If so bad luck for me. Have a nice day
Jona, thanks. It’s interesting to observe how Canada is handling its difficult history with aboriginal peoples. Closest analogy seems to be the issues of racism in America and our own unfortunate history when it comes to native peoples here, full of mistakes and tragedy. As best I can tell, though, the Canadian people appear to be dealing with much of this head on, even recently issuing official apologies.
Oh, that’s good to hear. I live in Europe so we don’t really have these kind of problems. Well, I live in Germany perhaps we can relate to that pretty good. I witness mostly ignorance on behalf of Americans regarding the genocide of native Americans. But well, not my cross to bear.
Wonderful! I used to have some labels from U.S. growers out of Washington and Colorado. I’ve long been impressed by the effort that went into the designs.
As for being offered an apple by a serpent–now, will that give me the wisdom of the gods?
A lot of artistry in some of these designs, for sure. I think we’re on our own with the wisdom part.
Love these bright and beautiful colors!!
Thanks!
Where can we purchase these? Love them!
Jennifer, thanks and they do have neat design elements going on! I’m not sure about where to purchase such things but ebay might be a resource. Happy antiquing! Best, Brett
Thanks — going to check out ebay. I’d love to reproduce them somehow into prints or cards. The colors are awesome and they are so different.
BTW love your blog. I have traveled to Canada many times as a kid and an adult. Nova Scotia and Banff remain my favorite areas. Great up there.
Have a great week!
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It would be great to do these up as posters. I wonder what the copyright situation would be.
Christine, I agree — those would be cool!
You zapped me back to the prairies in the late 1940s, when the arrival of new season apples in wonderful wooden crates was a big deal for young me. I can still taste those crisp, juicy Macintosh apples. Thanks for the memory …
That sounds like some wonderful memories! 🙂