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"Seeman Bros., White Rose products." The Magruder grocery at Connecticut Avenue and K Street in Washington circa 1925. National Photo. View full size.
White Rose is still in business and a major supplier to the supermarkets and bodegas in the NYC metro area. I wonder if they incentivised the grocers for the window and in-store displays featuring their products. Was the display merchandise supplied gratis or they could have been given cash or credits on their invoices for their cooperation. The soft drink industry fights for end of aisle space and will give the refrigerated display cases and a lot more for the right positioning on the floor. In 1985 the Dr Pepper distributors sued because they were being shut out of the better locations in the stores because of payoffs by Coke and Pepsi. I wonder if Magruder was getting his fair share of the promotional rewards.
Magruder's is still in business. When I moved to DC in the 1980s, the Connecticut Avenue store looked very much like the one in the photo, except it had migrated north from K Street to Dupont Circle. There's a Connecticut Avenue store today, miles north at Chevy Chase Circle.
I really like the graphic layout of the labels on the cans. Might anybody provide a close-up image?
Although I bow with deep respect toward the effort it took to balance the accent cans at 90 and 45 degree angles, there's something about the shape of a food can that just needs to be straight up and down to please this customer's eye.
Anything else sends the subliminal message: These cans are not sturdy, and your kitchen will not be neat.
Also, I wouldn't have blocked out my slogan, even with the product. That's not reasonable.
As a kid growing up in the 50's and early 60's, I remember that brand up in the Northeast but haven't seen it for quite some time.
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