Oyster Tin, Foote's Best Oysters
date: label: date made
content: 1920-1930
name: label: maker
content: D. E. Foote & Co., Inc
notes: label: Description
content: This gallon tin once contained fresh oyster meats packed by the D. E. Foote & Co., Inc. Established in 1870 on West and Jackson Streets in Baltimore, D. E. Foote was one of a hundred oyster packing firms in the city that year, reflecting the enormous volume of trade in oysters from the Chesapeake Bay.
label: Description
content: In 1906 the U.S. Congress passed several pure food laws in response to outbreaks of typhoid fever and gastrointestinal ailments linked to poor sanitation. Several new regulations were imposed on the oyster industry after contaminated oysters were blamed for serious illnesses. The laws required inspections of oyster beds and packing houses, as well as the identification of shellfish sources and standardized labeling.
label: Description
content: This tin probably dates to the period 1920-30, when colorful lithographed tins became popular. It includes the old-style bail handle, a feature that was phased out around this time in an effort to reduce manufacturing costs. Like many Baltimore oyster packers, the Foote Company addressed consumers’ fears about sanitation by emphasizing the clean conditions under which the oysters were handled and citing its compliance with the law. The message to consumers on the reverse of the can reads: “THIS CAN CONTAINS STRICTLY FRESH SHUCKED SALT WATER OYSTERS PACKED UNDER PERSONAL SUPERVISION IN THE MOST SANITARY MANNER IN CONFORMITY WITH THE NATIONAL PURE FOOD LAW. KEEP ON ICE UNTIL USED.”
place: label: place made
content: United States: Maryland, Baltimore
topic: label: Subject
content: Fishing
label: related event
content: The Emergence of Modern America
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Food Technology
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content: Food
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content: Health & Medicine
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content: Advertising
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content: Work
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content: Industry & Manufacturing
label: Exhibition
content: On the Water
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: National Museum of American History. On the Water exhibition website
label: Related Web Publication
content: http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2007.0062.01
label: catalog number
content: 2007.0062.01
label: accession number
content: 2007.0062
objectType: label: Object Name
content: oyster can
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: ferrous tinned (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 7 1/8 in x 6 3/4 in; 18.0975 cm x 17.145 cm