1949 Birds Eye Grocery Store Frozen Food

Description: These fantastic grocery store relics are now more than 70 years old and have been kept in superb condition—even the original authentic box is present and everything which was intended to be used is still included.  The magnificent in-store kit was produced in 1949 and was used to advertise up to 20 different Birds Eye frozen food boxes in a freezer display fixture where the (14 11/16" by 8 5/16") colorful cards would be inserted five at a time in convenient custom holders directly above the products being sold.  The cards are very interestingly composed of a high density board and then coated with celluloid as well as reinforced with metal corners--the design is ingenious as it meant that the cards would survive freezing temperatures, be easy to handle, keep their bright imagery, and maintain their structural integrity.  Clarence Birdseye largely created as well as popularized frozen foods and we have him to thank for the frozen food aisle—this advertising medium was the impetus behind it!

The 20 different Birds Eye Frozen Foods Advertising signs (14 11/16" x 8 5/16") are meant to attract customers as a result of the bright array of colors—this is in very sharp contrast to the traditional white and blue boxes.  A customer might see readily identifiable signs for Peaches, Strawberries, French Fried Potatoes, Orange Juice, Frying Chicken, Haddock Fillets, Ocean Perch Fillets, Cod Fillets, Asparagus Spears, French Green Beans, Cut Green Beans, Lima Beans, Small Variety, Fordhook Lima Beans, Broccoli, Corn, Mixed Vegetables, Green Peas, Spinach, Squash, and Succotash.  They are all here along with prices and the original authentic condition box which was the property of Birds Eye-Snider Division, General Foods Corporation.  Given that Birdseye supplied the freezer display fixture, it should stand to reason that they also kept close control over the advertising related to their famous products.

This (15 7/8" x 9 7/8" x 4 3/4") boxed kit could be used to create a display fixture for a motion picture.  In fact, a director could film an entire authentic sequence in front of a display fixture which was created using this advertising tool.  Additionally, it is very important part of the history of Bird Eye, post World War II advertising, and a rare piece of period grocery store memorabilia which has stood the test of time.

Born in New York City, Clarence Birdseye became interested in the frozen preservation of food during the course of working as a fur trader in Newfoundland, Labrador between 1912 and 1916. You just had to deal with the odd -40c winter afternoons.On one of those cold afternoons, Clarence was fishing with a group Northern Inuit hunters when he noticed something strange about the condition of Atlantic salmon after they were caught.
They froze.
Almost immediately after being exposed to the crisp winter wind, the fish, which were one of his favorites, were frozen.And his fellow huntsmen didn't seem to care.
It was business as usual.
Clarence only knew of only two ways to eat fish: canned or fresh. But northern native communities knew there was little to do to prevent these flash frozen conditions, and they also knew fish tasted just as good after they thawed as they did fresh.
Clarence was fascinated.
Believe it or not, to a Westerner from Brooklyn in the 1900’s, that was a hugely innovative notion. Clarence ate a lot of canned food and the thought of having fresh fish stored for longer than a few days without being canned got his entrepreneurial ideas in motion.
He moved back to the temperate east coast and formulated a plan that became the still famous Birdseye Frosted Foods. 

The last three images are pictures from that era including one of Clarence Birdseye.

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