Another found object in the old warehouse, A vintage Baker-zied, Barrington Hall Steel Cut Coffee tin It took a little persuading to get the top of the tin off, but when we did we were excited to see that the tin had never actually been opened. The tin sounds hollow, but the seal is clearly untouched. Maybe it was a tin that was missed in the production line...who knows. A search of this item on eBay was a bit surprising. I found the exact tin with the bidding starting at $50.00 US dollars.
More on-line searching found that Baker-ized Barrington Hall coffee was a successful, early 1900s coffee company. During WWII the US government took over the company and converted productions to K-rations for the Allied troops. I was also able to dig up this 1918 Barrington Hall Baker-ized Coffee Ad with a WWI theme.
A search for info on the Good Housekeeping Bureau of Foods, Sanitation and Health conducted in 1914 tested and approved tab provided interesting FDA history. Mainly the large influence Harvey W. Wiley had with early food advocates back in the day.....
In the 1880s, when Wiley began his 50-year crusade for pure foods, America's marketplace was flooded with poor, often harmful products. With almost no government controls, unscrupulous manufacturers tampered with products, substituting cheap ingredients for those represented on labels: Honey was diluted with glucose syrup; olive oil was made with cottonseed; and "soothing syrups" given to babies were laced with morphine. The country was ready for reform … and for Wiley
All through the 1880s and 1890s, pure-food bills were introduced into Congress--largely through his work--and all were killed. Powerful lobbies had established themselves. To bring his cause to the public, and with a budget of $5,000, Wiley organized in 1902 a volunteer group of healthy young men, called the Poison Squad, who tested the effects of chemicals and adulterated foods on themselves. Women banded together, notably in the Federated Women's Clubs, for political clout. Major canners became supporters of the legislation and voluntarily abandoned the use of questionable chemicals. Finally, the battle was won on June 30, 1906, when President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Pure Food and Drugs Act, largely written by Wiley, who was then appointed to oversee its administration
There is history in everything, as long as you are willing to take the time to find it...
BarringtonHall Info found: Barrington Hall - Roswell
FDA history and Harvey W. Wiley info found: Harvey W. Wiley: Pioneer Consumer Activist
2 comments:
Dear MySell,
What a calming, peaceful web site... thank you. I found your site while searching for "Barrington Hall". My name is Sarah, and I was fortunate enough to have the privilege of restoring the antebellum home, Barrington Hall which is located in Roswell, GA (just north of Atlanta) and appears on the photo of your Coffee Tin. Barrington Hall is now open to the public as a non-profit museum, and I help collect well preserved Barrington Hall items. If you are ever willing to part with your Barrington Hall Coffee Tin, please let me know as it would be a wonderful addition to our collection. In case you are interested in more details - the Baker family owned Barington Hall and their 3 sons started a Coffee Importing Company. The photo on the front of the can shows the boys' parents seated on the front porch of Barrington Hall. The home stayed in the same family from 1842 until 2002 when I acquired the home and restored it. It is a lovely treasure - I hope you will come visit it one day.
When going through some of my mothers things after she passed away, I found an old aluminum coffee scoop. It has the name
BarringtonHall The Bakerized Coffee writen on the side. It also has measures for one quart and one pint. I can't seem to find anything on this. Would you know where it came from, and any other info on it? Thanks.
bblahue@iowatelecom.net
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