Fruit crate labels began to be designed at the end of the 19th century. As refrigerated railroad cars helped make the long distance shipping of citrus fruit possible, the industry developed labels so shippers and merchants could more easily identify what was in the crates. These vibrant and colorful paper labels were pasted onto the boxes they shipped around the country and were a lively mobile advertisement. Labels featured a wide range of designs and usually depicted fruit on the label, but that was not always the case. Labels drew on a wide range of in order to entice people to buy fruit. Early images included citrus groves, homes, historical or patriotic themes, animals, birds, flowers and scenic California views. In the 1920's with the urbanization of America and increased awareness of health issues, the images changed to reflect these concerns. The Corona Public Library Citrus Label Collection reflects the breadth of images used in crate label art. The labels are primarily lemon and orange crate labels with some grapefruit labels. The collection includes labels from all the major packing houses in Corona including the Jameson Packing House, the Orange Heights Orange Association and Foothill Lemon Company. In addition, the labels were designed by the major lithography companies in California including Schmidt & Co and Western Litho.