The following site gets various mentions from time to time on here. Worth another mention for those who may not have used it before. It is supported and hosted by the Smithsonian and free to use, download and print as you please. I just browsed the 1898 Stark Fruit Book. The photos alone are worth a look. Orchard fashion back then are much more interesting than today’s ball caps and jeans.
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Apple of Commerce *trademarked"!
Stark was a true carnival barker.
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indeed. its funny how something perceived to be catchy can seem so oddly obscure with the benefit of some years
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I love seeing those old catalogs and old " orchard fashion" art.
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Thank you for posting this. This is so neat. 125 year old literature brought back to life. A true piece of history, back when growing fruit wasn’t just a hobby, it sometimes made the difference of life or death. Love reading the descriptions. They even tell you if an apple they sell isn’t worth growing. Wouldn’t see that transparency now a days 
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Between the USDA and Biodiversity Library, most all catalogs of historical significance are online. I was looking at the Eastern Shore Nursery catalog from 1894 yesterday. 25 cents a tree or $20 a hundred. I do like that many of the heirlooms of today were commercial varieties back then and sometimes the description will mention particular areas that that variety has been very successful in.
Hah! Any Nurseries willing to have an 1894 prices day???
What a great way to move slow selling trees.
he’s sold me on the black ben Davis trees, I’m going to fill out the order form and send a check postdated to 130 years after the catalog was put out
also, forget about corn. all my homies grow apples
actually no I’ve found a source that says mangel is better than all these things; I’m mono cropping now.
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yeah, imagine a catchy jingle for mangels on the classic rock station , done in iambic pentameter. im sure itd really sell!
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