Tru-Tex Antique Prints is a third-generation family business.
More than 45 years ago, Eunice and Dick Day began framing and selling their collection of antique crate and can labels at arts and crafts shows. Dick was an avid collector of coins and ephemera over the years, and they relied on the sale of his collection to bring them financial freedom during their retirement. Eunice would cut the mats, and Dick would craft the frames by hand. They’d load everything into their truck and travel from town to town selling their wares and telling their tales.
Their nephew, Larry Lohn, and his wife, Carol, always showed an interest in Dick and Eunice’s labels. They regularly bought from the Day’s and decorated their home with the labels, enjoying telling visitors the history of the labels and the family connection to the antiques.
Not much has changed in the past 45 years.
When Dick passed away in 1996, Larry and Carol helped to renovate Eunice’s home, and Eunice paid them in labels. That’s how the Lohn’s collection began. Like Dick and Eunice before them, Carol still cuts the mats by hand and Larry still custom builds each frame with care.
Eunice still assists Larry and Carol with her vast knowledge and skill, and their children, Carl, Chris and Sarah (and daughter-in-law Vlada), help out with the building, selling and promoting of the labels. This is truly a family business. Whenever possible, Eunice and Carol still like to hop in the car and track down the history of an obscure label from a small town.
Our frames are custom made in Larry's workshop located a few short steps outside the back door of our family home. We purchase pre-milled frame stock from Elm Mott, Texas and cut each frame to order. This frame stock receives a dark cherry/walnut stain.
Tru-Tex Antique Prints is owned by Carol and Larry Lohn. The entire Lohn family enjoys building and creating things, and our labels provide a great outlet for this. This business is our attempt at sharing our love of label art and the rich history of the packing and canning industries that are such a vital part of our country’s history. The U.S. is known as a country where food is abundant, and early farmers, packers and canners made this possible.
About Tru-Tex’s Labels
Original labels are collectables that increase in value with scarcity and demand. In order to be able to share the variety and breadth of our collection, the crate and can labels that are featured on this Web site are not original antiques. They are reproductions. We create all our reproductions ourselves and take care to differentiate originals from reproductions in our collection. If you have a strong preference for original labels, please contact us for pricing and availability.
We custom craft our mats and frames by hand. Our wooden frames are made of poplar and feature a stain that is similar to a traditional cherry wood.
Got questions? Let us know.