Vintage Decker's "Piqua-lity" 8-Pound Pure Lard Tin Bucket Piqua, Ohio

Description

Val Decker built a slaughter house on the end of East Ash Street, next to the Great Miami River, in Piqua, Ohio, in 1887. His son William took over the business in the 1900s, and the William Decker Packing Co. processed 3,500 hogs and 750 cattle per week at its height of production in the 1930s.
The company distributed its products in a radius of 250 miles throughout Ohio and portions of Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Michigan, mainly by refrigerated motor vehicles. A mighty fleet of huge yellow trucks blanketed the highways bearing the name of Piqua afar. As time went on, the facility even made use of refrigerated rail-cars and shipped its product as far as New Jersey, New York, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Oregon, Massachusetts, Washington State, and California.
The company operated until 1981 as a producer of hams, hot dogs, meats, and lard, under the tagline "Piqua-lity." The red steel cans which contained the lard are now a much sought after collector's item. This is the smaller 8-pound tin can and will take up a lot less room on the shelf in your kitchen than its 50-pound cousin. Hard to say when it was made, probably between the 1930s and the 1970s. The can has quite a bit of rust, but the red paint still shows through as does most of the lettering and it is solid, no holes or rust flakes. If you're looking for a lard can with a patina, this is it. It measures 8.5 (22 cm) inches high and 7.5 (19 cm) inches in diameter at the top, slightly smaller at the bottom. No dents, cracks, or major dings and the bail handle is solidly attached on both sides, swings freely, and holds the can nicely.
Besides a kitchen decoration, this would look great in a country store or kitsch or rustic country setting. Kids used to take their lunches to school in tin lard cans, you could too! Free shipping in the US. While you're at it, check out our other advertising collectibles at the Agitprop Shoppe ebay online store, including other antique and vintage tin lard and coffee cans.
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