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Description
Red tin of Libby's Soup on plexiglass stand with label commemorating "Oldest existing Libby canned product packed 1883" A: Large four-pound red and white cylindrical tin can with sealed top and bottom. The can labels reads: 'Palestine Soup, four pounds, Libby, McNeil & Libby." B: Clear plexiglass stand with printed label: "Oldest existing Libby canned product, packed 1883". According to the University of Illlinois digital library, this four-pound can of 'Palestine Soup' was packed by Chicago's Libby, McNeil & Libby to assist in the rescue of the Lieutenant Adolphus with Greeley Expedition, a science research team based at the North Pole. Greeley's expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, in the arctic regions, was undertaken in 1881. It was a United States Government project and its objectives were exploration, the collection of specimens, and the establishment of polar stations. After two unsuccessful attempts, ships carrying relief supplies finally reached the expedition party in 1884. Because there were only seven survivors, the remainder of the canned food was warehoused. Forty-nine years later during the Great Depression, Libby executives publicly ate some of the soup to prove that the company's canned food would remain edible over long periods of time. (See
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