Sunkist Egg Crate??

[pantrwrstl]

So I bought this crate the other day, and can't really seem to find anything about it...


It measures 26x13x12, and doesn't seem to have any signifigant markings except for this,



as well as a few illegible scribbles I didn't take pics of.

The inside is filled with dozens of small compartments for eggs and I can't seem to figure of how it opens, so I am just assuming it was opened at one point and then resealed. Which leads me also to believe that it maybe originally help oranges, and was repacked with the cardboard dividers. The auction it came from was a part of a large barn clean out, and was packed with stuff that hadn't sen the light of day for decades, so I'm guessing its from the 40's 50's. Anyway, I can take more pictures if needed, but let me know what you think and if you have any fresh ideas to pitch towards me as to its origins. Thanks!

[mart]

Would be an orange crate !!  I think Sunkist is still in operation !!  Lid would likely be tacked on !!  All I have seen were held with tacks !! The label is a shipping label I think !!

[Rauville]

The wooden orange crate was a true recyclable. I'm using about a dozen of them in the chicken coop for nesting boxes. I can remember when you could buy a ready made cover at the dime store to convert them into an upright night stand.
Actually, the wooden lid is harder to find than the box. Just that would make a neat piece of wall art.

[talesofthesevenseas]

Definitely for oranges, especially considering the reference to juice on the side, unless you're into drinking egg juice... Ewww!

[KC]

That would be some big eggs!!!! 

Definitely for oranges, tangerines or grapefruit!

[ricer]

I am not 100% convinced it was used for eggs, it's kinda hard to tell from the pic. Are the compartments inside big enough to accomodate clementines?

[pantrwrstl]

i doubt it, the compartments are each 1x1"

[wendy177]

Could you post a photo of the crate open so we can see the compartments??

[KC]

If the slots are that small, then I am betting it was for kumquats, lemons or limes.  What material is the inside made of? 

My family has owned orange groves for over 100 years and did business with Sunkist, Donald Duck, Florida's Best, etc.

[frogpatch]

They often have gorgeous graphics as labels on the end that are sold as repros in all the Florida tourist shops. If you find a good one they can fetch a nice price.

[pantrwrstl]

hold tite packing pat'd 9-12-22






put an egg in the last one for size comparison

[fancypants]

Cool little fun/funky shipping-crate , pantrwrstl , esp. since it's got all of it's components .

I think KC hit it with the lemon/lime opinion !

Oddly enough , I can't seem to read the hand-written portion of the 'date' section of the shippers lable (@ least in some way that makes sense to me) ...

I'd say somebody wanted this produce to arrive in fine shape , for top dollar @ the time.

Maybe it was for a lemonade social , hoedown, chivaree , etc. , down on the farm .....

Lettering on the crate itself suggest 1930's-40's to my eyes , but that's just my (non-expert) impression of the style/font .


I bet you a bright shiney nickle that a citrus collector would like yours (& that maybe Sunkist Co. would be a shot-in-the-dark , for dating it ) !

The 'cheapo' versions of wooden fruit crates were usually made in a twisted-wire & lathe-strip (or thinner wood) style , requiring few-to-no fasteners ... just sayin' that yours is nice , braced & hevi-duty (for a fruit-crate) .

[pantrwrstl]

Yeah, thanks for the thoughts, I took a few more photos of the writing on the end and can make out some of it, but not all. The end opposite of the the shipping label used to have some other piece of paper attached to it, which I'm guess was one of those fancy labels mentioned earlier. The compartments still seem small for lemons, but maybe limes. Any chance anyone knows if the size of produce has increased considerably over the last century with the improvement of agriculture and addition of various growth chemicals and/or steroids? Thats the only thing I can think of for the size difference. I also wrote Sunkist an email a day or two ago, but haven't heard back form them yet, so who knows if they can shed any light on it. Let me know if these pics help...


Sheboygan(?) Produce co.

Big green APK

Can't make this one out... vaguely looks like For/From for the top word, Sweet?-for the 2nd and the third one might say Lime but there is a letter or two after it which is confusing me

Swift Co. Brekenridge

30 DZ? which would correspond to the 30 dozen compartments inside, but can't make out the bottom word, looks like 'W R ??'

again, no idea, mi(?)??

From the top that I popped off... 'APKERCH'

[Rauville]

This is turning into a real detective story! From your latest photos, I'm "assuming" that A.P. Kerch was using a Sunkist crate to pack 30 dozen eggs in. Somehow it appears to have been sent from Swift in Trenton, MO(?) to Swift & Co., in Bre(c)kenridge, Minn.
Do a search for "Kerch, Breckenridge, MN", and you'll come up with results that make this story sound plausible. The Kerch family was/is involved in farming and business in the Breckenridge area.
The shipping label has a code of 10-38 that would indicate use of sometime after October 1938. The Swift Packing Company was a major buyer of eggs during that time period.

[KC]

The box shows that it originated in Trenton.

Upon investigation regarding Sunkist in Trenton  reveals that  Sunkist took over two companies there 1) The Exchange Orange Products Company and 2) The Exchange Lemon Products Company.  This was during the 1950's through 60's.  So, lemons are still in the running!  Sheboygan Produce Company was just one of many individuals that produced citrus and sold to Sunkist.

You need to understand the industry at that time...Sunkist didn't own the groves but bought/controlled the citrus of the growers/co-ops.

So, could someone have sent eggs?  Yes...but I would NOT have sent eggs RAILWAY (the end of the box indicates a railway system was used).  This was a common way to ship citrus if it was further than the fruit trucks would venture.  IN addition, all the packing doesn't look uniform and complimentary to eggs....

However, could it have been reworked and used by someone else?  Yea.....but.....