Food packaging: Barnum's Animal Crackers box, ca. 2008 - 2010
2008 – 2010 (Date manufactured/created)
2 11/16" H
X
5 1/16" W
X
1 5/8" D
Box of Barnum's Animal Crackers cookies, Nabisco brand, circa 2008 - 2010, 2 1/8 oz. or 60 grams. The colorful design shows eight large wild animals with their young, four on each side of the box, plus the group altogether on the top of the box. The animals depicted are a lion, polar bear, tiger, giraffe, zebra, hippo, elephant, and gorilla. Aside from the animal portraits, red and yellow are the predominant colors. The box is designed to look like an old-fashioned wild animal circus wagon, although the division into four cages is not realistic; one cage per wagon would be the norm. The box has a woven tape carrying handle. This design represents the last of the cage boxes before the update to "free," uncaged animals. The change to depicting cage-free animals was announced by the parent company of Nabisco, Mondelez International in August of 2018. It was said to reflect the widespread interest in maintaining "displayed" wild animals in habitats that mimic their original environments, allowing them to roam free within a large area. Though not incorrect, the change was also brought about by the animal rights activist group PETA which had been lobbying the company since 2016. The date of this box is based on the "Best When Used By" date of 17 Jul 2010. On the box side it also flogs nutritional value with statement "Good Source of Calcium." The white twill tape or "string" type of handle may allow for a more precise date of this package with further research. Other boxes with the same animal illustrations show a simple cardboard handle that lays flat on the top and has to be released and pulled up to use, which presumably are more recent. It seems likely that the all-in-one cardboard handles replaced the traditional woven tape or string handle, since that would make the packaging less expensive. Barnum's Animal Crackers have been a favorite with young children for decades and there are many imitations of the product. Although they are called crackers, they are lightly sweet cookies which are animal-shaped, and are made with basic ingredients. The idea of the small box with a handle that a child could carry added to their appeal to parents and kids--an early version of a portable snack. Additionally, in years past, boxes were made in multiple designs and colorways, all available at the same time. This meant that a small collection of boxes could be used as toys, with kids creating a multi-color circus wagon train. String handles could be used to tie the wagons together.
Source unknown
2023.003.001