Most canned meat doesn’t have a devil on the label. Underwood Deviled Ham has had one for generations, and he’s still earning his keep.
The William Underwood Company was founded in Boston in 1822 and began producing deviled ham in 1868. On November 29, 1870, it registered its devil logo as a trademark. The original character looked considerably more sinister than today’s smiling, waving mascot. Even the devil, it seems, eventually gets a makeover.
The name refers to the spicy seasonings, such as mustard and cayenne pepper, traditionally used in deviled foods. So the little devil wasn’t just there to look cute. He was advertising the bite inside the can.
Remember Hot Stuff, the little red devil who looked like Casper’s mischievous cousin, only red, horned, and with a whole lot more attitude? Here’s a tasty theory: what if creator Warren Kremer was eating Underwood Deviled Ham when inspiration struck? Its little red devil had been raising hell since 1870, decades before Hot Stuff debuted in 1957. No proof, of course, but imagine if a comic-book legend was cooked up over a humble ham sandwich. Now that’s food for thought!
He’s also had a literary cameo. William Faulkner’s 1938 short story “Barn Burning” refers to the older Underwood devil logo. And in a rather unexpected historical twist, cans of Deviled Ham were supplied to Rose Kennedy in the late 1960s for the restoration of the Kennedy family home to its 1917 appearance. They’re still displayed in the kitchen at the John F. Kennedy National Historic Site.
Underwood’s devil is believed to be the oldest registered trademark still in use for a prepackaged food product in the United States. That’s quite a record for a character whose main job is selling canned ham.
The product is still available today, and the mascot remains instantly recognizable.
After more than 150 years, he’s still spreading the word. Talk about a devil of a salesman.
Sources: Underwood Spreads; National Park Service; Smithsonian Magazine.
Discover more from Grubbits
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.