Can Label, Flint River Tomatoes, Lithograph, NOS, Antique, RARE

Before the grocery store. Before the supermarket. Before the can aisle existed at all — someone printed these by hand, one color at a time.

This is an original tomato can label — a circa 1914–1918 stone lithograph for Flint River Brand, from the abandoned factory stock of the Hollonville Canning Co. in Williamson, Georgia. It has never been used. Never wrapped a can. It is New Old Stock in excellent mint condition.

The label is extraordinary — and historically precise. A De Havilland DH-4 biplane cuts across the composition, rendered in careful detail above a bright red tomato and gold-gilded ornamental borders. The DH-4 was a British aircraft produced for a short period during the First World War and also manufactured in the United States — its presence here dates the label to the WWI era of 1914 to 1918. The choice of a wartime aircraft for a Georgia tomato can was a statement of modernity and national pride at a moment when aviation was still new enough to inspire wonder. The gold gilding throughout the label makes it even more extraordinary — an expensive addition that the Hollonville Canning Co. chose deliberately. Two available.

Stone lithography of this complexity required three to four months of hand-work per plate. The labels were never used, abandoned at the cannery and eventually recovered. Frame it as WWI aviation history, as Southern Americana, as early 20th-century advertising art, or as simply one of the most unusual and compelling can labels you will find. At 11.375 by 4.0 inches it suits a standard narrow frame.

A wonderful gift for a WWI aviation enthusiast, a biplane collector, a Georgia history aficionado, a vintage ephemera collector, or anyone fascinated by the moment when the world was new enough that a warplane on a tomato can felt like progress.

A note on can label collecting: Original lithographic can labels from this era are far scarcer than crate labels — produced in smaller quantities, more fragile, and less often preserved. NOS examples like this one represent the finest of what survives from American food industry history.

• Brand: Flint River Brand / Hollonville Canning Co., Williamson, Georgia
• Type: Tomato can label — gold-gilded stone lithograph
• Made in: Williamson, Georgia, USA
• Dated: circa 1914–1918 (WWI era, dated by De Havilland DH-4 aircraft)
• Dimensions: 11.375" wide | 4.0" tall
• 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: Ideal for a narrow frame — ready to display