Browsing the fascinating website about the East End of London, Spitalfields Life, I was drawn to a story about one East Ender’s collection of vintage fruit wrappers. My guess is there aren’t many people with a vintage fruit wrapper collection, so this is probably something pretty rare.
She started collecting them when she was six years old, after a holiday to Spain in 1971. “Most of the papers stuck in my small scrapbook were picked up while shopping for groceries with my mother at the local greengrocers in Blackheath. They reminded me of that holiday with their bright and graphic imagery,” Keren McConnell tells Spitalfields Life.
“I was drawn to the designs and texture and feel of the crinkly tissue paper. I also collected carrier bags and paper bags for their graphics, but this collection did not survive all our house moves. This book of fruit papers may have even informed my career. I became a print and graphics designer for fashion brands and retailers, sometimes using this scrapbook as reference material to inspire a T-shirt design.” Her favourites were the designs depicting animals, beautiful ladies and the smiling face on the Sicilian lemon is particularly appealing.
3 Comments
Do you know any books written on fruit wrappers. I am in love with these designs! Beautiful. Thank you for sharing. I’d love to learn more.
I have a small stack of these fruit wrappers I found in a house I bought in Ozona Florida. The previous owners had a small orange and Grapefruit up until 1965 when the father passed. Email me for a picture.
Salve hai a disposizione incarti da frutta? Sono interessato anche ad acquistarli….contattami e mandami delle foto.
Attendo
by Jerry