Hurff Canned Goods
Once upon a time, a company with the somewhat off-putting name of Hurff was big enough to advertise in a top-of-the-line national magazine like LIFE.
Here's the backstory, so far as I can find out.
I have found ads from them as late as 1948. Does that mean that store was selling three-year-old cans of food, given the plant-closing date of 1945? Or maybe the plant did not close, but Hurff himself was forced out? We will probably never know...
Hurff is a fine forgotten piece of what cartoonist Robert Crumb calls "weird old America."
Comments
See http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/del-monte-foods-company-history/
Looks like the Hurff company still existed in 1948, when it was bought by Calpak, which later changed its name to Del Monte.
Looks like the Hurff company still existed in 1948, when it was bought by Calpak, which later changed its name to Del Monte.
Posted by Rene on 12/16/16 at 07:34 AM
Excellent sleuthing, Rene! That puts a period to the tale of Hurff!
Posted by Paul on 12/16/16 at 10:26 AM
Was Mr. Hurff forced out? His age at the time he relinquished control of the company was 66 or 67. A good retirement age for mid 20th century America.
Del Monte Foods was a well known label on the Left Coast. Not sure about other parts of the U.S.
Del Monte Foods was a well known label on the Left Coast. Not sure about other parts of the U.S.
Posted by KDP on 12/16/16 at 11:58 AM
The time I tried aspic, I thought I had bitten into something 3 years old.
Posted by Virtual on 12/16/16 at 12:03 PM
Never really could get into Aspic. I guess I associated it too closely with jello.
Posted by GFinKS on 12/16/16 at 01:22 PM
In south Jersey, the Hurff name still appears in street names and a long vanished town called Hurffville.
Posted by Brian on 12/17/16 at 12:11 AM
I wasn't even aware of aspic until I began listening to the music of King Crimson.
Posted by Fritz G on 12/17/16 at 06:43 AM
@KDP We definitely had Del Monte in the south in the 70s-90s when I lived there. I'll have to check the grocery in California next time I go in (I rarely buy canned veggies) but I'm pretty sure it's nationwide.
@FritzG I think the title "Lark's Tongues In Aspic" may be the reason I've never had an urge to try Aspic. And yeah, never heard the word until that title.
@FritzG I think the title "Lark's Tongues In Aspic" may be the reason I've never had an urge to try Aspic. And yeah, never heard the word until that title.
Posted by PupTentacle on 12/17/16 at 01:48 PM
@PupTentacle: I've never tried it and probably never will. Actually, the only time I ever see the word aspic is when I'm doing crossword puzzles.
Posted by Fritz G on 12/17/16 at 01:55 PM
Aspic would be ok for ammo in a food fight. I can think of no other point for it.
Posted by Virtual on 12/18/16 at 11:57 AM
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.
Category: Food | Regionalism | Advertising | 1930s | 1940s