CONCORD, MASS. - The Welch's collection of advertising art provides a vivid record, reaching back more than a century, of the marketing of a remarkable product - the Concord grape. First cultivated in 1849 and introduced to the market in 1853, the "grape for the million," has become an American classic. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Ephraim Wales Bull's discovery of the Concord Grape, the Concord Museum opened "The Concord Grape: An American Classic," an entertaining and nostalgic tribute on exhibit through November 7, 1999.

The Concord grape was originally developed and promoted as a table grape by gold beater-turned-horticulturist Ephraim Wales Bull, a neighbor and friend of Concord's famous Transcendentalist philosophers, Emerson, Alcott and Thoreau. Thomas Bramwell Welch began experimenting with the unfermented juice of grapes in 1869. The company formed by his son and successors continued, over the rest of the century, to expand the production of Concord grape juice. From the beginning, the company took advantage of modern marketing strategies, then just being developed, to distribute their products.

Welch's made many novel introductions, including the invention of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Point-of-sale advertising from the 1940's introduced this combination as a novel idea.

Celebrity endorsements and linkage to popular entertainment are now familiar marketing strategies. Welch's developed some of the most successful with their associations with The Irene Rich Show, one of the most popular shows in the early days of radio, and with the pioneering television show Howdy Doody.

A humble but effective giveaway, the jelly jar glass has now achieved pop icon status. The Welch's collection includes all the familiar examples from their long (and continuing) series of decorated jars, including Howdy Doody and the Flintstones.

The exhibition begins with Ephraim Bull, developer of the Concord grape, and includes photographs, broadsides, and items associated with Bull and his initial efforts to sell Concord grape vines.

Photographs beginning with the period 1895 to 1910 through the 1960s document, decade by decade, Welch's trade exhibitions, grocery store displays, and other promotions. Some of the rarest and most visually exciting pieces in the exhibit are the point-of-sale materials.

Produced for grocery stores and soda fountains to appeal directly to the consumer, these signs, stand-ups, and banners were made to be used and discarded. The variety and impact of these items, most in perfect condition, convey visually the changing strategies on the part of the company and changing expectations on the part of the customer. The change in the color palette alone conveys a sense of the time period represented.

Also included in the exhibit are examples of beautifully designed and printed trolley car cards from the 1910s and 20s, recipe books from the 1940s addressing the war-time sugar shortage, and audiovisual clips of Welch's television advertising from the 1950s.

The Welch's collection ably illustrates the marketing of Concord's own grape, which is in itself an interesting chapter in the history of marketing and American pop culture. A gallery talk on June 25th at 10 am by museum curator, David Wood looked at the early development of the grape by Concordian Ephraim Bull, set against the background of the Welch's collection. Additional associated programs will be scheduled throughout the run of the exhibit. "The Concord Grape: An American Classic," is on exhibit through November 7.

The Concord Museum is at the intersection of Lexington Road and Cambridge Turnpike. Telephone 978/369-9609.