This is a cast iron figure in the shape of Mr. Peanut®, the Planters® Nut and Chocolate Company spokes character. This object weighs over 300lbs and was placed on a fence post surrounding the Planters® factory in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Planters® company has been using Mr. Peanut® as their trademark since 1916 when they held a contest asking participants to draw a logo they thought best represented the company. A young school boy, Antonio Gentile, drew the winning character, a peanut with arms, legs and in some instances a cane performing different tasks. The drawings were refined by a graphic artist, a top hat, monocle and spats were added and Mr. Peanut® was born.

Planters® was founded in 1906 by Amedeo Obici and his partner, Mario Peruzzi in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Obici got his start working at a local store selling peanuts, before casting out on his own, selling nuts from a cart. Two years later, they incorporated the business as Planters® Nut and Chocolate Company. They eventually moved to Suffolk, Virginia to be closer to the peanut farms. In 1961, the company was sold to Standard Brands, which merged with Nabisco in 1981. In 2000, Kraft Foods acquired Nabisco, but the Planters® brand is still in use today (2014).

National Museum of American History

Credit Line

Gift of Kraft Foods Group, Inc.

Physical Description

iron (overall material)

brown (overall color)

black (overall color)

white (overall color)

Measurements

overall without base: 38 in x 18 1/2 in x 8 in; 96.52 cm x 46.99 cm x 20.32 cm

See more items in

Work and Industry: Retail and Marketing

Advertising

American Enterprise

Exhibition

American Enterprise

Exhibition Location

National Museum of American History

1920s

Object Name

statue

ID Number

2013.0308.01

catalog number

2013.0308.01

accession number

2013.0308