ART WITH A PEEL.

Byline: - Nicole Sunkes

The decorative citrus labels that adorned wooden shipping crates in the late 19th and early 20th century are enjoying newfound appreciation - you might say they're ripe for collecting. People with a zest for these colorful works of art can start their own collection by attending a meeting of the Citrus Label Society.

Society president Tom Spellman says the labels date back to the 1880s, during the height of the citrus industry. Spellman says there was such a glut of oranges, lemons and other citrus fruits that growers had to distinguish their product from the competition. The results were unique, colorful labels depicting different aspects of West Coast life. The labels - which can be stored in special notebooks but also look great framed and hung on the wall - celebrate Southern California life, both real and ideal, with finely drawn birds, flowers, animals and seascapes - and, of course, the fruits themselves.

Spellman, 45, owns more than 900 labels and sees them as more than just collectibles.

``These labels are beautiful, miniature pieces of art,'' says Spellman, an Upland resident who works in the wholesale nursery business. ``Anyone who has a passion for art in general would love citrus labels.''

Spellman says the labels fell out of favor when wooden crates were replaced by the cardboard box. He says packers kept labels in basements, attics and dusty corners for years until they realized they weren't going to use them. Beginning in the 1950s, people began to see the potential for citrus labels to become collector's items.

Society member Robert Booth has been collecting citrus labels for about five years and has 1,500 in his collection, specializing in labels from growers in the San Fernando Valley. He has been selling them full time on eBay for four years and says it is a hobby that is cheap enough for anyone to take up. Labels cost anywhere from $2 to $1,000.

``It's probably the only area of collecting where you could pick up a label that there are one or two of in existence and, at the most, it's a thousand bucks,'' says Booth, 37, a Panorama City resident. ``If there's a baseball card that there's one or two or three of, it'd be a couple thousand dollars.''

There are 260 members in the club, and they meet monthly to discuss their collections and buy labels from dealers. Meetings are open to the public.

The Citrus Label Society meets once a month, rotating meetings among Sherman Oaks, Orange, Riverside and Highgrove. The April meeting will held in Sherman Oaks at an entirely appropriate location - the headquarters of Sunkist Growers, where Spellman says the most sellers show up. The meeting will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 17, at 14130 Riverside Drive, Sherman Oaks. Visit the club's Web site at www.citruslabelsociety.com for more information.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Citrus labels from the San Fernando Heights Lemon Association celebrate California life with the ``Morning Sun,'' and ``Evening Star,'' brands.

(3 -- color) The Canoga Citrus Association tells grapefruit buyers when to eat their product - ``Brite 'n Early'' - on this label, one of many that Citrus Label Society members collect.