An illustration of Mr. Pikle. The character is a smiling pickle body in striped pants carrying a cane and wearing a hat and oversized white gloves. Upper banner is in red with white lettering, lower text is in red with overall white background.
Litho Printing: PIKLE-RITE CO. - PULASKI WISCONSIN - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
P-R CO, COPR 1946
In 1946, the Pikle-Rite company began advertising their product on buttons with their mascot, Mr. Pikle. The Wisconsin-based company was begun when Pikle-Rite Company, a previously unincorporated entity, bought a pickle-making business in 1942. Through advertisements like this button, the pickle company grew from a small family enterprise to a franchise sold in grocery stores across the Midwest.
Interestingly, in 1959 the company was involved in a lawsuit for trademark infringement in Chicago. Pikle-Rite, which had begun to use the trademark name “Polka” in 1956, was suing a Chicago-based company that sold pickles under the name “Pol-Pak” on the basis that "Pol-Pak" was imitating their name. Pikle-Rite won the suit, though the judge conceded that there was no proof that Pol-Pak was guilty of any fraud.
Hoffman, Julius J. (1959, January 13). Pikle-Rite Company v. Chicago Pickle Co. Retrieved from: http://www.leagle.com/decision/1959842171FSupp671_1709.xml/PIKLE-RITE%20COMPANY%20v.%20CHICAGO%20PICKLE%20CO.