There has always been speculation as to who the baby Gerber’s face is. Some people still think they are Humprey Bogart, Elizabeth Taylor, or Ernest Borgnine when they were babies. Well, bad news for them because none of the aforementioned celebrity faces appear on Gerber’s baby food jars. But who is he then? Who is the mysterious boy?
The history dates back to 1928 when Gerber Products Company, formerly Fermont Canning Company, owned and operated by Frank Daniel Gerber and his son Daniel Frank Gerber, began producing Gerber baby food. They wanted to find a baby face to represent their company and they organized a contest that same year.
Unsurprisingly, they received hundreds of paintings, drawings, and sketches. Surprise, surprise, back then they didn’t have digital cameras. The winner was Dorothy Hope Smith from New England, who submitted an unfinished charcoal drawing, or rather a sketch of a baby who had messy hair, big blue eyes, and round lips. She told the judges that if her sketch wins the competition, she will finish it professionally. There was no need for that because the judges liked it just the way it was. It was exactly what they were looking for; a healthy and beautiful baby face.
And who was the baby? Well her name is Ann Turner (Cook) and she was a five month old baby then. It is the best known baby in the world because in a very short time, approximately 60 days, the Gerber baby symbol had achieved national recognition; a little later international too. Since 1928, his face appeared on all Gerber products and in advertising, and in 1931 it became the company’s official trademark.
By the way, she is a retired English teacher living in Florida. She raised four children and became a mystery novelist. His books include Trace Their Shadows, Shadow over Cedar Key, and Homosassa Shadows. She received a one-time cash payment from the company ($ 5000) in 1951 and Dorothy Hope Smith received $ 300 for the rights to her drawing, but neither of them received royalties for the famous image.
So this is the story of Gerber’s baby face!