My Book

Mark Wickens

Collector of olive oil labels and fruit wrappers

Collectionneur d'étiquettes d'huile d'olive et de papiers d'emballage de fruits (papiers d'agrumes, papiers d'orange)

Collezionista di etichette di olio di oliva e incarti per frutta

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This book concerns itself with printed fruit wrappers as an art form. It provides a brief history of printed fruit wrappers, which, in North America, made their debut no later than about 1885, and explains how paper colour and design content, colour and shape all play a role in communicating various specific messages to the consumer. Also discussed are wrappers for gifts of fruit and wrapper designs that appeal to interests and sympathies or that make impressions and/or permit brand recognition.

The book measures 8 1/4 x 10 3/4 inches (ca. 21 x 27.5 cm). It contains 26 pages of single-spaced text, including a 3-page summary in French, and about 120 different mint unused wrappers, which were printed specifically for this book and hand-collated. They are neatly bound into the book like pages and are separated by blank sheets. Many of these wrappers are old or older designs stretching back to the 1970s. They are mainly from the United States, with a small number from other countries, including Canada, Jamaica and Venezuela. The wrappers serve to illustrate some of the points made in the text. Among other things, they depict fruit, of course, but also newlyweds, various animals, flowers, coats of arms, a knight, Amerindians, landscapes, boats and ships, and buildings.

The book was published privately in 2002.

The price of the book is 15 EUR or $22.00 US. Postage to United States: $10.50 US. To purchase the book or inquire about postage outside Canada and the United States, please e-mail me.