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Box of oranges greeting card, California, circa 1940

Subjects
Agriculture & FarmsGeneral Greetings
Card type
Linen
Date
c. 1930 (White Border)
Front of Box of oranges greeting card, California, circa 1940, Elaine Steele, WI, USA, c. 1930 linen postcard
Front
Back of Box of oranges greeting card, California, circa 1940, Elaine Steele, WI, USA, c. 1930 linen postcard
Back

About this postcard

A wooden crate heaped with ripe oranges and sprigs of white orange blossoms sits against a flat teal background, with a few loose oranges and blossoms scattered on the ground before it. The crate front carries the greeting "THE BOX of ORANGES I Promised YOU from CALIFORNIA," a standard linen-era souvenir format that played on California's identity as the nation's leading citrus producer. By the 1930s and 1940s, orange-crate imagery had become a staple of California tourism advertising, and growers shipped fruit east in labeled wooden boxes much like the one shown.

Postcard Details

Message · English, in pen

Tues. eve. Dear Sis, Bev, Billy & Rodney, How are you all? Wish these could be real ones. Saw Trees and Trees full of them. Hope to see you real soon. Love Caroline & Norton

PublisherLongshaw Card Co.
844 GREETINGS FROM CALIFORNIA THE BOX of ORANGES I Promised YOU from CALIFORNIA. --- California's famous orange industry produced forty-six million boxes of this golden fruit last year. The large Navel orange (seedless) is a native of California, and prized the world over for its fine flavor. MANUFACTURED BY LONGSHAW CARD CO., LOS ANGELES, CALIF.
PostmarkedNorth Hollywood, CA, April 19, 1954, 11:30
Stamp
Addressed to
Elaine Steele

217 Walnut St., Oconomowoc, WI

Postcard record

Postmarked, North Hollywood, CA
PublisherLongshaw Card Co.
Series844
ConditionVery good
Place addressedElaine Steele, 217 Walnut St., Oconomowoc, WI
Place mentionedCalifornia, CA
PublisherLongshaw Card Co., Los Angeles, CA
Stamp2c John Adams, red
NotesLinen-textured stock with a cream border; printed number 844 at upper left. Light edge and corner wear. Postmark: NORTH HOLLYWOOD APR 19 11:30 AM 1954 CALIF. Divided-back chrome-era card with printed orange-industry blurb; light creasing at top right, corner wear and faint edge staining.

Cite this card

Box of oranges greeting card, California, circa 1940, postcard, c. 1930. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/box-of-oranges-greeting-card-california-circa-1940. Accessed October 24, 2026.