Jack Sprat Coffee 1 ½ oz. Free Sample Box & Store Window Sign

1 ½ oz. Free Sample

Jack Sprat Coffee

Box & Store Window Sign

This set came from the large Blauls Iowa warehouse auction in 2002. John Blaul's & Sons were a major player in the coffee bean importing, and roasting then selling to re-packagers from the early 1900's through WW II. They brought up shiploads of imported foods on the Mississippi to their Cedar Rapids and Burlington Iowa processing plants and then shipped them west on trains to the new western frontier towns.

They would ship large barrels and gunny sacks of roasted coffee beans along with retail packaging materials so the Ma & Pa General stores could fresh grind and bag their coffee on the premises.

See Photos Below

This box is 3 ¾ inches high, 2 ¼ inches wide and an inch thick. It held enough to brew a sample pot of Jack Sprat Coffee. Free samples were a method to compete even though the coffee beans were roasted by the same processor, other major shippers would make up a brand name and supply retailing materials.

See Photos Below

This brand was Packed by Western Grocer Mills of Marshalltown Iowa. The side panel says it was distributed by several wholesalers; H.L. Spencer Co. Oskaloosa, Iowa ~ Letts-Fletcher Co. Marshalltown & Carroll Iowa ~ Letts-Spencer-Smith Co. Sheldon & Mason City Iowa ~ Letts-Melick Grocer Co. St. Joseph, Mo. & Eldorado Kas. & McCook, Nebr. ~ Western Grocer Co. Alberta Lea, Minn. & Dubuque, Iowa & Clinton, Iowa & Owatonna, Minn. & Cedar Rapids, Iowa & Minneapolis, Minn. ~ Western Grocer Mills, Marshalltown, Iowa. These were all cities with Railroad heads for tracks that led west to supply the growing population centers west of the Mississippi. Here is a photo of the box flap with the printers logo.

See Photos Below

Each 100 Lb. gunny sack of roasted coffee beans would be shipped with several Jack Sprat 5 Lb. coffee bags (Sorry, none left), several 1 Lb. Boxes (Sorry, none left) and a dozen or so "Free Sample Boxes" like these, and a few window or counter sign that advertised Jack Sprat Coffee. The sign is 13 inches by 3 ½ inches. These were sealed in a cardboard box in a dry warehouse. Minor age condensation marks, some warpage on the sign, otherwise no fading, no mildew. Excellent Condition!

This lot consists of one of the sample boxes and one of the point of sale signs as shown in the photo below.

See Photo Below

You get both the unused sample box and the sign! We carefully package them and send it first class mail.

Illinois residents pay sales tax. We're happy to combine shipments where practical to save you $$$. We accept personal checks or money orders, Paypal, etc. To see our list of Unique and Unusual Items on Ebay, Click Here, Then Bookmark it! Check us occasionally. We list neat stuff like this all the time!

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Esnarf Item . #5752

Price . . $17.85