Create Your First Project
Start adding your projects to your portfolio. Click on "Manage Projects" to get started
Unknown Southern 1930s Produce Catalog
Collection
The M. Gladden Staple and Fancy Groceries Collection
Format
Original paper catalog
Date
c. 1930
People
Michael Gladden Jr.; Michael Gladden
Location
Apopka, Florida, United States of America.
Historical Background
A produce catalog sent to Michael Gladden Jr. from an unknown Southern supplier, c. 1930s. The catalog separates its products into various categories, including confectionery, national biscuit line, extracts, feed, gelatine, grits & meal, hardware, jellies, preserves, jello, jello ice cream powers, dried fruits, drugs, honey, pesticides, apple butter, fruit jams in glass, lard compounds cooking oils, and macaroni products.
Michael Gladden Jr’s store stood tall at 27 West Ninth Street, now fittingly renamed Michael Gladden Boulevard. The exact year the store first opened its doors is unknown, but it’s believed that Michael Gladden Sr. began this solo enterprise sometime after 1918, after the company store he and his partners operated had shut down after only a few years in business. Michael Jr. quickly transformed his father’s storefront into a haven amidst hellish chaos, a place where neighbors found not only necessities but trust, reliability, and the profound dignity inherent in the youthful Michael Gladden Jr.
