Faking It

Jeremiah James Colman, et al., plaintiffs, against Isaac Dixon, defendant. Cases Related to Colman’s Mustard. [New York, 1872].

Sophisticated printing technologies developed in the second half of the 19th century helped counterfeiters of all sorts. Here are samples of labels from a lawsuit in the New York Superior Court brought by the J. & J. Colman Mustard Company against various people imitating its trademarks and branding. An actual Colman label is shown here warning people to beware of imitations, followed by two fake labels taken from inferior and spurious products.