By Brenda Eubanks Burnette
Bill Roe, of W. G. Roe & Sons, recently gave me a framed display of citrus revenue stamps that he had collected, which many people may not be familiar with. The stamps came about in the early 1900s when the industry was struggling to overcome early shipments of unripe fruit into the market because it ruined subsequent citrus sales. To protect the state’s reputation and prevent the shipment of green, immature fruit, the Legislature passed the first citrus maturity laws from 1911 to 1913. These laws made it illegal to ship fruit that had not reached a defined sugar/acid ratio. Subsequently, mature fruit tax stamps were developed. They certified that the fruit being shipped was properly ripened and fit for consumption.
By the 1930s, the industry was fragmented and needed stronger oversight. Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nathan Mayo pushed for laws to regulate fruit quality and prevent freeze-damaged or immature fruit from reaching the market. The stamps were pasted directly on all shipping containers of citrus to control market conditions and fund advertising efforts of the fledgling Florida Citrus Commission, whose first order of business was to create an Advertising Committee.
The Florida Department of Citrus website reports that, “In the 1930s, citrus was a burgeoning industry in Florida. It was also fragmented and disorganized. Recognizing this, several key opinion leaders sought to bring cohesion and leadership to the industry by establishing a body that could formally regulate and guide industry activities.
“From that effort was born the Florida Citrus Commission, which was brought into being in 1935 by an act of the state legislature. Then Governor David Scholtz appointed 11 men who he felt could solidify the industry and make it profitable. Nine of the original 11 appointees were sworn into office on Sept. 10. They immediately convened the first official meeting of the Florida Citrus Commission. Seventeen regulations were passed that day dealing with issues ranging from the definitions of ‘citrus fruit’ and ‘packing house,’ to grapefruit quality standards and sizes, to application of citrus fruit tax stamps.”
According to StampCommunity.org, there were four categories for the citrus advertising program: orange, grapefruit, tangerine and lime, followed by the generic citrus advertising stamps, as well as citrus inspection stamps to approve the maturity of the fruit being sold.
A post on Worthpoint.com mentions that Florida citrus tax stamps were used during the Great Depression, when “Florida established an inspection program to control conditions under which oranges, tangerines and grapefruit were brought to market. The taxes went into a special fund used to advertise the fruit. Because these revenue stamps were affixed directly to boxes, baskets and cartons, few survived, especially in used condition.”
Similar to the citrus crate labels that were used to market the crop, but not as well known, these stamps have become collectible in their own right due to their scarcity. So if you have any you would like to donate to the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, please contact me or Jeffrey Zines (JZines2@flsouthern.edu), archivist at Florida Southern College. We will be adding these stamps to our online digital database. Their importance in the growth of the citrus industry is often overlooked, but their evolution was instrumental in shaping and sustaining Florida’s citrus market at a time when fresh fruit was king, ultimately contributing to the state’s global leadership in the industry.
If you’re interested in learning more about these and other stamps, the Florida Stamp Show will be held Dec. 4–5 at the Volusia County Fairgrounds in Deland.
Brenda Eubanks Burnette is the former executive director of the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame and is currently president of the board of Vero Heritage, Inc., which operates The Heritage Center and Indian River Citrus Museum in Vero Beach, Florida.
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