Orange Wrappers

This is the season for oranges and lemons, when every morning I begin the day by consuming a juicy blood orange. So I was more than delighted when Keren McConnell kindly sent me her glorious fruit wrapper collection from the seventies to share with you. 

“I started collecting fruit papers when I was six years old, possibly inspired by a holiday in Spain in 1971. Most of the papers stuck in my small scrapbook were picked up while shopping for groceries with my mother at the local greengrocers in Blackheath. I think they reminded me of that holiday with their bright and graphic imagery.

I was drawn to the designs and texture and feel of the crinkly tissue paper. I also collected carrier bags and paper bags for their graphics, but this collection did not survive all our house moves.

Who knows? This book of fruit papers may have even informed my career. I became a print and graphics designer for fashion brands and retailers, sometimes using this scrapbook as reference material to inspire a T-shirt design.

As a child, particular favourites were the designs depicting animals, beautiful ladies and the smiling face on the Sicilian lemon is particularly appealing. I have no idea why the Tower of London was on a fruit paper from Spain. Perhaps the designer thought London was an exotic place, just as I had found Spain so exotic? Some of the designs seem to have been inspired by sport, such as horse racing and Formula One.

Are children today inclined to make collections like this? Mine was born out of boredom, particularly on wet Sundays when the days felt so long.”

Keren McConnell

You may also like to take a look at

John Gillman’s Bus Ticket Collection

Laurie Elks’ Bottle Label Collection