Box:Shredded Wheat

Despite fierce competition in the cereal business, Nabisco Shredded Wheat has remained a staple of nutritious breakfasts for more than a century. Originally developed in 1892 by Denver lawyer Henry Perky, who sought to cure his chronic indigestion with a mild cereal, Shredded Wheat contains no sugar, salt, or artificial flavors. Launching America's ready-to-eat cereal industry, Perky built a state-of-the-art factory at Niagara Falls, New York, in 1901. After the company was sold to the National Biscuit Company, today known as Nabisco, the cereal marketing campaign began in earnest. Images of the American side of Niagara Falls, with Canada's Horseshoe Falls in the background, appear on this box from 1939. The Falls reinforced the cereal's image of natural healthfulness. The sprawling, spotless Shredded Wheat factory became another major tourist destination, touted as "The World's Finest Food Factory." Ironically, "The Original Niagara Falls Product," manufactured in one of the many factories powered by the falls, used pristine, romantic images of the region even as the landscape became increasingly industrial.