Crate Label, Duckwall, Hood River Pears, Original Lithograph, NOS, Vintage

Before supermarkets. Before plastic wrap. Before everything was the same everywhere — there were crate labels.

This is an original Oregon pear crate label — a 1940s lithograph from the factory stock of Duckwall Bros. distributors, Hood River, Oregon. It has never been used. Never folded. Never attached to a crate. It is New Old Stock in excellent mint condition.

The label is extraordinary. A wood duck — one of the most vividly colored birds in North America — fills the composition in full lithographic splendor: the iridescent green and purple of the head, the chestnut breast, the white facial markings, the red eye. The label carries no image of pears. It didn't need one. The Duckwall name said everything, and the duck more than delivered. This is the kind of decision only a confident grower makes — lead with the bird, trust the bird, let the bird be the brand.

Copies of this label are widely reproduced. Original examples are genuinely hard to find, and in this condition rarer still. One available.

Frame it as wildlife art, as Pacific Northwest nature illustration, or simply as one of the finest bird images in the crate label canon. At approximately 10.5 inches wide it suits a standard 11x14 frame and works beautifully in any room that appreciates color and natural history — a study, a den, a kitchen, a hallway.

A wonderful gift for a birder, a wood duck admirer, a Pacific Northwest enthusiast, a vintage label collector, or anyone who wants a piece of authentic 1940s wildlife illustration that most people will mistake for a fine art print.

A note on crate label collecting: Original lithographic crate labels from this era are increasingly scarce. NOS examples like this one — never used, never folded, in original unused condition — represent the best of what survives. Collectors prize them for their graphic quality and the window they open onto a vanished chapter of American agricultural and commercial history.

• Brand: Duckwall Brand / Duckwall Bros., Hood River, Oregon
• Type: Pear crate label
• Made in: USA
• Dated: circa 1940s
• Dimensions: 10.5" wide
• Condition: New Old Stock (NOS) — unused, excellent mint condition. Age-appropriate yellowing consistent with period. Please review all photos carefully — we cannot accept returns.
• Framing: Fits a standard 11x14 frame — ready to display