Through the early 1970s and perhaps later in some cases, oyster cans, emblazoned with bold graphics from dozens of area oyster houses, were common sights in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula area of Virginia.
Eaten fresh in coastal areas, first by Native Americans and then by early settlers, oysters have been an important part of Tidewater Virginia life since the 1600s. However, according to a 1996 article in Marine Fisheries Review, the first oysters may actually have been canned in tin crocks and sealed by soldering the seams in 1819 in New York City prior to oyster canning via metal cans starting around 1850 in Baltimore.
Dubbed “Oyster City” by 1870, Baltimore was the first large center for the Chesapeake Bay oyster trade. Population growth, development of railroad lines (with ice preservation for perishable items like oysters) and better sea transport all spurred on the oyster industry. While the first major commercial oyster markets were in Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia and New Orleans, packing plants had sprung up in Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia and along the Gulf Coast in the 1800s to meet increasing demand for oysters. Particularly during the 1920s-1960s, oyster cans featured colorful graphics and logos of individual oyster companies—but the cans usually wound up in the trash. Today, vintage oyster cans can fetch hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of dollars.
From consumers wanting a vintage can to display as home décor to serious collectors, oyster cans have become increasingly popular in Virginia and on the East Coast, offering nostalgia and providing a connection to an area’s past.
Ed Pittman, a financial advisor with Virginia Asset Group in Kilmarnock, traces his love of oyster cans to his own family history, calling it “part of my DNA.”
First Lieutenant W.R. Pittman in Army Air Corps, 1943.
“My granddaddy was Willard Pittman, and my dad was W.R. Pittman Jr. Willard started what became known as the Pittman Bewdley brand in the 1930s. When my grandfather passed in 1954, my dad and his brother Dorsey ran [the business] until 1994,” Pittman explains.
Willard Pittman cans are inscribed with the words Pittman Bewdley brand Rappahannock River Oysters distributed by W.R. Pittman and Sons, Inc. Lancaster, VA. However, the company’s oldest cans state Pittman Bewdley Brand Rappahannock River Oysters packed by W.R. Pittman Somers, VA.
Pittman explains, “There was a Somers, Virginia post office near Belle Isle State Park in Lancaster County—that was the community’s name back then. The oldest cans say ‘Somers’ on them. Our VA 10 number was one of the first issued licenses—our family company was one of the earliest [numbers/licenses]. We used eight-ounce, pint, half-gallon and gallon cans… we did not sell quarts, because we just did not have a market [for those size cans].”
The Pittman oyster house was located in Lancaster County at the end of Rt. 653 (Bewdley Road) just south of Belle Isle State Park. Ed Pittman worked at the family business for about fifteen years post-college before he moved into his current career as a financial advisor. Pittman, who calls the cans “buckets,” estimates he has about 50 Pittman cans in different sizes on display in his home, noting he collects them for his own enjoyment. His three children also have Pittman oyster cans.
“We sold oysters in a double-lacquered bucket (a double-lacquered can is a plain metal can that had lacquer applied to the inside and outside to seal the metal in so that it would not rust or contaminate the oysters) My dad was a pilot and would sometimes deliver oysters himself in the plane or drive the oyster truck to Waynesboro,” he recalls. “The double-lacquered cans typically went to restaurants. We sold to a lot of seafood shops and supermarkets, and they would buy lithograph buckets. Lithograph cans typically were sold more for retail. The double-lacquered cans had [embossed names], not painted—the double-lacquered are not (as) collectible (as lithographed cans) because even though they are rare, they are not as pretty.” Double-lacquered cans are more likely to be collected by people who are local to where the can was packed.
Pittman recalls that he got into collecting oyster cans “by default,” adding, “I had a guy come here that was trading [cans], and I traded with him.”
Pittman cans, and other vintage oyster cans today, can be found in antique shops, at nautical shows or shows featuring duck decoys, at various online shops, in online sites such as eBay or Craigslist, or at in-person or online auctions. There are also websites and some Facebook groups devoted to oyster can collectors where people also buy or sell and “talk cans.”
Some recent Pittman cans available for sale online listed prices ranging from $180 to $375. Oyster can prices vary, depending on rarity and collector demand. Can condition also impacts price. Those with no dents, no rust etc. bring higher prices.
Jay Wilkerson of Wilkerson’s Seafood Restaurant in Colonial Beach, serving customers since 1946, says he did not get into collecting oyster cans until he was an adult, despite a Colonial Beach family history that goes back to the 1700s and a history of being in the seafood business since the 1920s.
“My great-grandfather Herbert Wilkerson was one of four brothers. His (oldest) brother, W.E., was a captain for a time on the St. Johns steamer from Washington, D.C. to Colonial Beach. He saw an opportunity to start a snack shack for [passengers] who were waiting for the steamboat (at the Potomac Beach stop), and it did well,” Wilkerson explains. “The snack shack evolved into a restaurant, right down the street from where our current restaurant is located.”
Wilkerson’s great-grandfather, Herbert, ran the fishing/oystering side of W.E.’s business. After Jay’s grandfather Walter returned from service in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II, Herbert and W.E. “had a falling out” after Walter was told there was no room for him in the family business. This resulted in Walter’s dad Herbert buying property down the street and starting his own seafood operation and restaurant. From then on, the two brothers were competitors.
“The oyster business grew and at one point we had as many as 40 shuckers a day working six days a week,” Jay Wilkerson recalls. “We had our own oyster grounds- which we still have today- and we also bought oysters from others. At the beginning of Wilkerson’s oyster business, the oysters were (packed) in what was called a stock can, which is a generic can, some plain, some with a standard design. These ‘stock cans’ had the oyster packer’s name and Virginia health permit embossed into the side of the can to identify where the oysters originated.”
Jay added, “After the oyster business got on its feet and began to thrive, Herbert Wilkerson commissioned a custom design for his cans. Custom designs were created by a graphic artist and there was a minimum number of cans you had to purchase to have your own custom-designed cans. The designs applied to the flat sheets of metal by lithography, which was more expensive. The more colors your design had, the more expensive the cans became. The flat metal sheet was then cut, rolled and formed into a can with the side seam, top and bottom crimped together to create an airtight, sanitary container. In the end, this was advertising at its best. People were attracted to the beautiful artwork emblazoned onto the oyster cans and would choose to buy oysters from a neat looking can versus one that was plain.”
Jay grew up in the restaurant business and learned about the oyster cans and the history behind what his family did. As an adult, he recognized a cans’ artwork and regional significance and started searching for cans (his family’s as well as other local cans). He became friends with other collectors and admits, “The [collecting] bug bit me.” He adds, “Oyster cans are rare today, because the majority of these cans were thrown away. Back then, it was just a container for food with relatively no collectability and the empty cans were tossed in the trash after the delicious oysters were removed. In my grandmother’s attic, I found six months of records that show we shipped thousands of 8-ounce, 12- ounce, and pint cans in that small window of time and virtually all of them must have been thrown away after use. To this day, less than a handful of these small Wilkerson cans are known to exist.”
Today, his personal collection numbers around 1,000 cans from Wilkerson and other oyster companies. He also sells vintage oyster cans via his own website www.oystercans.com.
“During COVID-19, all of the shows where I bought, sold, and traded oyster cans were cancelled. I realized I could still buy, sell and trade via a website,” he explains.
Wild Duck Raw Oysters cans (originally manufactured by R.E. Roberts Company, Inc. of Baltimore) have been dubbed “the Holy Grail” by some collectors when it comes to oyster cans. In February 2020, a Wild Duck can sold via an online auction for $16,800. Wilkerson said several months ago another Wild Duck can fetched $36,000 at auction.
“The value of oyster cans depends on rarity and collector motivation. They go up and down [in value] like anything else. You can find some oyster cans for $50.00. Wild Duck cans are so valuable, because there are only a few in existence,” Wilkerson says. “Oyster cans have a very wide range in value. Ironically, the bigger companies’ cans are not valued as high because their cans are plentiful. The cans from small companies with outstanding graphics seem to command the most money from collectors. Regional location has a lot to do with the value of cans as well, with cans from certain areas drawing more interest than others. Condition plays an important role in the value as well, with clean, rust-free cans being more sought after than rusty, dented ones”
Regarding buying oyster cans, Pittman says he was outbid at a recent auction where a can he wanted sold for $2,000, and he did not want to pay that much. He observes, “Serious bidders at auctions have run the prices up. Sometimes you can find someone willing to sell theirs.”
No one seems to know how many Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck oyster houses once operated in the area. Cans for sale seen online include not only Pittman Bewdley and Wilkerson, but also names like J.W. Ferguson Seafood Company, Inc. Remlik, Virginia [near Urbanna]. The Ferguson cans read J.W. Ferguson Seafood Company, Inc. Remlik VA USA Choice Salt Water Oysters shucked daily with the greatest of care given to cleanliness and sanitation along with a note to keep on ice. Another brand was York Brand Oysters (“a gem of an oyster”) from Cook’s Seafood Company in Gloucester. Cook’s was operated by Eldridge Cook, who was mentored by T.C. Walker (1862-1953), an attorney, entrepreneur and civic leader born into slavery in Gloucester County.
Other area vintage cans seen online include a King Carter Brand gallon-size can from Irvington, reading “Supreme in Taste and Quality from the famous waters of the Chesapeake Bay Oysters Pearl of the Sea”, Conrad’s Superior Green Vale Brand from E. J. Conrad & Sons Seafood Inc. in Lancaster; Kellum Brand Oysters from W. Ellery Kellum Inc. in Weems, Morgan Oysters from W.F. Morgan& Son in Weems, Sparrer Brand packed by C.K. Parker in Waterview, Lancaster Seafoods Inc. in Morattico, L.L. Curley Oysters from L.L. Curley in Colonial Beach, Hogg’s Oysters from Hogg’s Oyster Company in Gloucester Point and Allen’s Fresh Shucked Oysters from Allen’s Oyster House Inc. in Coles Point. These are among many others.
Cans emblazoned with an eagle and proclaiming “King of Them All Famous Rappahannock Oysters” from J.W. Hurley & Son Seafood in Urbanna were primarily sold to O.E. Wentworth Company in Baltimore. Under the words “Rappahannock Oysters” are two lines reading “Direct to You From J.W. Hurley & Son Oyster Grower and Packer.” Hurley had one of the largest shucking houses in the region at one point in the 1920s.
Wilkerson says his family company stopped using metal oyster cans in the mid-1970s when plastic buckets became cheaper than a metal cans. Pittman says his family oyster business also went to plastic buckets in the 1970s. Today, raw oysters are usually sold at retail to consumers in glass jars.
“I think it [collecting oyster cans] goes in cycles. It’s popular, then flattens out and then it becomes popular again. It’s a novel thing. People are willing to pay for historical things but for me [collecting] is mainly because of my family,” Pittman says.
“Oyster cans represent hard work, innovation and a regional history in the Chesapeake Bay area that was very unique at the time and not duplicated in other places,” Wilkerson notes. “These cans are works of art and come down to the value of advertising at its finest. Collecting has been a nice way to meet good people and forge friendships with collectors of a common interest.”
He adds, “There’s a lot of strong interest in oyster cans from people of all ages. The internet has changed the game a lot. The cans are harder to find in antique stores. People have learned they are valuable.”
Collecting vintage oyster cans can be an enjoyable hobby. They can have beautiful unique artwork and a true connection to a significant part of Chesapeake Bay history. They tell a story and are nostalgic of a different era. Happy hunting and exploring into the deep rich history of our region.