Riceland Mill Products Co.

Rice Mill Batch Sample Box

1900's ~ Stuttgart Arkansas

This hinged edge box is 4 ½ by 3 by 1 inch. It was used by large rice buyers to send batch samples off of the Mississippi river barges. This box was for the John Blaul's Grocer Supply in Burlington Iowa, a large wholesaler who would repackage goods into 1, and 5 pound boxes and 50 Lb. gunny sacks and send them out west by train for the expanding frontier.

It came from the Riceland Mill Products Co. of Stuttgart, Arkansas. It has a place for the inspector / buyer to write in the lot number and barge pockets number that the sample was taken from. It was a common practice at the turn of the century for bulk food goods like coffee, rice and other barge goods to be bought and sampled before delivery so the re-bagger could prepare their warehouses and marketing accompaniments for the product before in arrived at their river dock. Things like boxes and bags that had to be printed, etc. needed the weight and size ratios from the samples to be properly distributed and marketed. This box is in near Perfect Condition and about a century old. Unique Americana merchandising item.

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