Esapov’s “Dove of Ararat” preserves tin

The first cannery in Transcaucasia was founded by Petros Esapov in Yerevan in 1903. His father owned apricot and peach orchards on the Ararat Plain, and to solve the problem of preserving the fruit he sent his son to Europe to learn the finer points of canning.

As early as 1907, fruit preserves under the brand “Dove of Ararat” received the highest award, the Grand Prix, at the international exhibition in London. In Soviet times Esapov continued to work at his former factory as a technologist.

The photograph shows a rusty tin can with a red label. The Russian inscriptions include the name Esapov and the word “Erivan”, together with images of medals dated 1907 and, on the right, a white dove.