Oglesby Citrus Label Collection
Scope and Contents of the Collection
This collection contains over 80 citrus labels from Southern California from the late 19th century and early 20th century. The labels predominately originate from Claremont and North Pomona, California from as early as the 1890s and until the 1950s. In addition, the collection provides some historical insight into the culture of these areas through the art depicted on the labels, including artistic renditions of local packing houses, students and athletes from The Claremont Colleges, and Native Americans.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1890s-2014
Creator
- Oglesby, Larry C. (Collector, Person)
- Oglesby, Alice (Collector, Person)
Language of materials
Languages represented in the collection: English.
Access
Collection open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to reproduce or to publish must be submitted in writing to Special Collections.
Biography / Administrative History
Long-time Claremont residents, the late Professor Larry Oglesby and his wife, Alice began collecting Claremont and North Pomona labels sometime around 1990. They first became interested when Claremont Heritage started selling some of the more common Claremont labels, such as the "Athlete" labels and others relating to The Claremont Colleges. As history enthusiasts, the beauty of the labels' artwork and their connections to local history appealed to the Oglesbys.
Sometime in the early 1990s, the Oglesbys started attending the Citrus Label Society meetings every three months, especially those that were held at the Sunkist headquarters off the 101 freeway in Los Angeles. There the Oglesbys met a number of other people who were interested in labels. Before long, those selling labels started watching specifically for Claremont and North Pomona labels for the Oglesbys. Through this method, the Oglesbys were able to fill in any gaps in their collection by purchasing essentially every label offered from areas they didn't already have. The vast majority of the labels were purchased between 1990 and 2001 with a few as late as 2005. Several members of the Citrus Label Society "thought it was a good thing that these older Claremont and North Pomona labels were going back to Claremont."
When Pomona First Federal Savings and Loan started producing citrus label calendars, the Oglesbys discovered that the calendars helped them to find out about some other local labels that they hadn't known about. Box 2, folder 8 contains a "Morning Glory" citrus label as well as its calendar counterpart. The calendar label differs slightly from the authentic citrus label including the name of the packing house.
Source:
Oglesby, Alice. "Re: Invitation to the CCEPS final presentation." Message to Lisa L. Crane. 13 Dec. 2014. E-mail.
Larry C. Oglesby was born in Corvallis, Oregon on March 26, 1936, the son of Loris Calmer Oglesby and Margaret Elaine Williams. Oglesby attended Oregon State University where he completed his undergraduate degree in botany. He obtained his master’s degree in zoology from Florida State University in 1960. In 1964, he completed a doctoral degree in zoology at the University of California, Berkeley. During this same year, he met Alice Shoemaker, a microbiology graduate student from Lawton, Oklahoma, who would later become his wife. In 1968, Professor Oglesby joined the Pomona College faculty, where he spent 30 years as professor of biology. He died on April 16, 2001, in Claremont, survived by his wife, Alice Oglesby; two sons, Ian Bruce Oglesby and David Douglas Oglesby; and their respective families.
Source:
"Larry Oglesby, Ecological physiologist". Claremont Courier 21 Apr. 2001: obituaries. Print.
Extent
0.8 Linear Feet (2 oversized document boxes)
Abstract
This collection of over 80 citrus labels from Southern California, some dating as early as the 1890s, was collected by Alice and Larry Oglesby, long-time Claremont residents. Larry Oglesby was a professor of biology at Pomona College, where he taught for 30 years. The bulk of the collection originates primarily from Claremont and Pomona, California. Several books on citrus labels were also donated as part of the collection.
Organization and Arrangement
This collection is organized at the item level. Each item is sleeved, placed in its own folder and the folders are arranged in alphabetical order by citrus label name.
Physical Location
Please consult repository.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift from Alice S. Oglesby, 2014.
Accruals
No additions to the collection are anticipated.
Separated Materials
The following monograph items can be found in the Claremont Colleges online catalog using the keyword search term "Oglesby Citrus Label Collection":
- Barker, Richard H. Citrus roots, our legacy: citriculture to citrus culture. [Upland, CA]: Upland Community Foundation, 2004.
- California Citrus Institute. First annual report of the California Citrus Institute: for the Season 1919-1920. Riverside, Calif.: The Institute, 1920.
- Faye, Tom; Collings, Adam Randolph Collings. California Dreaming, the golden age of label art. Anaheim, Calif.: A.R. Collings, 1993.
- Jacobsen, Pat. Pat Jacobsen's collector's guide to fruit crate labels : 1994-97. Weimar, Calif.: Patco Enterprises, 1997.
- Jacobsen, Pat. Pat Jacobsen's millennium guide to fruit crate labels: a price guide and collector's reference. Weimar, Calif.: Crate Expectations Publishing, 1999.
- MacCurdy, Rahno Mabel; Lockabey, V. A.; Barker, Richard H. Citrus roots -- our legacy: selling the gold; history of Sunkist and Pure Gold. [Upland, Calif.]: Printed by Upland Public Library Foundation, 1999.
- McClelland, Gordon T.; Last, Jay T. Fruit box labels: a collector’s guide. Beverly Hills: Hillcrest Press, 1983.
- McClelland, Gordon T.; Last, Jay T. Fruit box labels: an illustrated price guide to citrus labels. Santa Ana, Calif.: Hillcrest Press, 1995.
- Merlo, Catherine. Heritage of gold: the first 100 years of Sunkist Growers, Inc., 1893-1993. [Los Angeles, Calif.]: [Sunkist Growers, Inc.], 1990s.
- Sunkist Growers, Inc. Brands of oranges and lemons controlled by the Southern California Fruit Exchange: February 1901. [Los Angeles]: [Times-Mirror Printing and Binding House], 1901.
Processing Information
Processed by Phoebe Huth in 2014 in the Claremont Center for Engagement with Primary Sources (CCEPS), with assistance from Lisa Crane. This collection was minimally processed. Materials are in their original mylar sleeves and retain their original folder titles and organization. Monograph items were removed from the collection, added to Special Collections' monograph collection and cataloged in the Claremont Colleges Library online catalog. These items can be located in the online catalog using the keyword search term “Oglesby Citrus Label Collection”.
Subject
- Clark, Ted -- Pictorial works (Artist, Person)
- Derby, J. (John) Frank -- Pictorial works (Artist, Person)
Genre / Form
Topical
- Carton Label Corp.
- Citrus crate labels
- Citrus crate labels -- California
- Citrus fruit industry
- Citrus fruits -- Marketing
- Citrus fruits -- Transportation
- Citrus fruits in art
- Fruit crate labels
- Los Angeles Lithographic Co.
- San Antonio Fruit Exchange
- Schmidt Litho. Co.
- Sunkist Growers, inc.
- Western Litho. Co. (-1907)
- Western Litho. Co. (1908-)
- Title
- Oglesby Citrus Label Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Phoebe Huth, CCEPS Fellow, Fall 2014
- Date
- 2015
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the 01 - Special Collections & Archives, The Claremont Colleges Library Repository
800 North Dartmouth Ave
Claremont CA 91711 United States
Email: specialcollections@claremont.edu