Crate Label, Bronco Buster California Vegetables, Monterey Packaging CA, 7" Vintage, 1940's

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

This is an original California vegetable crate label — a 1940s lithograph produced for the Monterey Bay Packing Co. of Castroville, California, printed by Stecher-Traung Lithographic Co. — formed in 1933 by the merger of Stecher Lithographic Co. of New York and Traung Label & Lithographic Co. of San Francisco, and in business until 1966. It has never been used. Never folded. Never attached to a crate. It is New Old Stock in excellent condition, found in the original unused factory stock.

The label is extraordinary. A cowboy rides a bucking bronco at full intensity — the horse twisting beneath him, the rider holding on with everything he has. You can feel both of them in motion. The Stecher-Traung lithographers were among the finest in the business, and Bronco Buster is a superb example of their craft: vivid color, clean line, and a composition that doesn't quit.

Frame it as Western decor, display it in a collection, or use it in a craft or decoupage project — framing is recommended to maintain this condition. At approximately 7.0 by 5.0 inches it fits a standard 8x6 frame beautifully. Twelve available — a rare find in quantity.

A wonderful gift for a Western enthusiast, a rodeo fan, a vintage label collector, or anyone who loves the image of a cowboy and his horse locked in the oldest contest in the American West.

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: Bronco Buster Brand / Monterey Bay Packing Co., Castroville, California
• Lithographer: Stecher-Traung Lithographic Co. (1933–1966), San Francisco / New York
• Type: Vegetable crate label
• Made in: USA
• Dated: circa 1940s
• Dimensions: 7.0" wide | 5.0" tall
• Condition: New Old Stock (NOS) — unused, excellent condition. Age-appropriate yellowing on the reverse only. Please review all photos carefully — we cannot accept returns.
• Framing: Fits a standard 8x6 frame — ready to display