For sale is a 1930s era HARTZ MOUNTAIN SONG FOOD TIN No 209 from Hartz Mountain Products, NY, NY. This reddish-orange lithograph tin features a large bright graphic of a yellow canary. This 3 1/2 ounce size tin is in excellent condition. This song restorer seed originally sold for 35 cents. The tin measures 3 1/2 inches tall and 2 1/2 inches wide. A great collectible tin.
In 1926, Max and Gustav Stern emigrated from Germany to the United States with five thousand singing Harz Roller canaries. In 1932, they began manufacturing bird food under the Hartz Mountain brand. The United States went through a pet canary craze during the 1920s and 1930s. During the 1930s, U.S. radio stations even broadcast singing lessons for your pet canary. Your pet bird could listen to the singing of the American Radio Warblers. These famous feathered stars were broadcasted over the radios for years as teachers. All the pet owner had to do was to place your bird within easy hearing distance of the radio. First it will listen with interest, then join right in, allegedly learning new bird trills and melodies. The side of this tin notes the “famous Master Radio Canaries are fed exclusively on Harz Mountain Bird Foods.”