The Story Behind the Orange Crate Labels on the Entrance Wall

K-Rental Home Entrance Wall with orange labels

What are crate labels?

The origin of crate labels dates back in the 1880s. Their use first appeared on the west coast of the United States, particularly in California and Washington, where growers shipped fruit eastward along the newly established transcontinental railroad.

These labels served two practical purposes: they identified both the fruit inside the crate and the packing house that had prepared it. Pasted onto the ends of wooden crates, they soon became much more than simple identifiers. To attract buyers in an increasingly competitive market, exporters commissioned brightly coloured, beautifully illustrated labels for advertising.

By the 1950s, wooden crates had been replaced by pre-printed cardboard cartons, and traditional crate labels disappeared.

Interest in them resurfaced during the 1960s, when historians, collectors, and enthusiasts of graphic design began recognising their artistic, historical, and cultural value. Today, unused original labels are prized for their rarity, exceptional printing, and visual appeal.

The Valencian labels

I have Spanish ones. All from Valencia, all about Valencia’s most famous export: Oranges.

For many years, Valencia oranges were considered a luxury throughout much of Europe—an exotic delicacy enjoyed only on special occasions.

As the export trade flourished, the labels became enduring symbols of Valencia's identity as one of the world's great citrus-producing regions.

Between the 1920s and the 1960s, printers in Valencia and the surrounding region drew inspiration from American commercial art, developing a distinctive style of bold, flat-colour illustrations. The result was a remarkable period of graphic design that is now regarded as a minor golden age of commercial illustration.

Printed on sturdy paper, generally between 20 and 30 centimetres in size, the labels were produced using chromolithography—the dominant colour-printing technique of the time before it was replaced by offset printing. Rich, almost ‘sticky’ glossy colours and bold compositions immediately caught the eye.

Selling more than oranges

Although every label identified a particular exporter, their real purpose was to spark curiosity and persuade buyers that these oranges were worth paying a premium for.

Surprisingly, many of the earliest labels did not depict oranges at all !

Instead, they presented an astonishing parade of seemingly unrelated images: a knight charging on horseback, gnomes carrying hammers around a red cross, fluffy chicks transporting bunches of grapes, elegant ladies, mythological figures, circus performers, saints, wild animals, steamships, racing greyhounds, or scenes borrowed from fairy tales and folklore.

Original vintage Spanish citrus crate label c1930s Talens Hermanos. Gnomes with Hammers Valencia Spain

At first glance, the connection to oranges seems almost nonexistent.

Many of the compositions are wonderfully illogical and surreal.

Rather than illustrating the fruit itself, the labels invited the viewer into a world of fantasy where symbolism mattered more than realism.

These curious images were chosen to evoke ideas rather than products. They suggested freshness, speed, luxury, beauty, adventure, prestige, or exoticism. Trains, ships, hares, and greyhounds implied swift transport and perfectly fresh fruit arriving from distant lands. Heroes, glamorous women, and mythical creatures transformed an ordinary orange into something magical, desirable, and unforgettable.

Designers drew inspiration from an extraordinary range of sources: Valencian and Spanish traditions, French, Dutch, and British folklore, classical mythology, literature, theatre, early cinema, religion, popular customs, and the rapidly modernising world around them.

The result was a rich visual language that feels as imaginative today as it must have appeared a century ago.

Ironically, it was only after the Spanish Civil War that oranges themselves began to appear consistently as the central motif. Until then, the fruit was often almost an afterthought.

Why they are on this wall

I have been captivated by the absurdity of the imagery and the bold graphic quality of these labels. Their vintage charm, vibrant colours, and wonderfully nonsensical, almost surreal imagery make each one feel like a tiny piece of storytelling.

Over many visits to Valencia, I gradually built my collection, often discovering treasures in the shop of an antique paper dealer in the city.

Those trips to Spain coincided with the renovation of this apartment.

Back in Kyoto, when I walked up the stairs, my eye was immediately drawn to the rather unattractive black intercom fixed in the middle of the entrance wall.

The device is a necessity but I desperately wanted to camouflage this black rectangle.

I wanted to disguise it somehow... With what? Plants came to mind, but artificial greenery never felt convincing.

Then the idea appeared almost naturally: why not create a gallery of framed orange crate labels? Their vibrant colours and playful imagery would bring good vibes, and turn the awkward intercom into a focal point.

To complement, I added a few vintage French postcards with cult quotations, creating a varied composition while balancing the different frame sizes.

I hope these cheerful orange labels will bring a smile to everyone who comes up to the door—and perhaps inspire a little curiosity about the remarkable story behind Valencia's etiquetas de las cajas de naranjas.