Owl Drug Company album
Creation: circa 1919-1925Abstract
Owl Drug Company was a chain of apothecary retail stores that sold drugs and patent medicines at a reduced cost. The company also sold candy, soda, Kodak film, stationery, cosmetics, perfumes, and other toiletries. The first store opened in June 1892 at 1128 Market Street, San Francisco, California, advertised as the "Drug Palace of the Pacific Coast." The album consists of images of displays of items sold in the drug store, specifically the 5th and Broadway location in Los Angeles, which opened for business on January 2, 1904. The 5th and Broadway location was the fifth store of the company. The photographs are countertop and shop window merchandise displays. A few images consist of print advertisements and operational charts.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1919-1925
Creator
- Owl Drug Company (Organization)
Extent
1 volume(s)
Physical Description
90 photographic prints : b&w ; 10 x 13 in. or smaller. Removed from album for preservation purposes. Original album has not been retained.
Historical Note
Owl Drug Company was a chain of apothecary retail stores that sold drugs and patent medicines at a reduced cost. The company also sold candy, soda, Kodak film, stationery, cosmetics, perfumes, and other toiletries. The first store opened in June 1892 at 1128 Market Street, San Francisco, California, advertised as the "Drug Palace of the Pacific Coast." The directors Derwent W. Kirkland (1855-1915), Henry O. Trowbridge (1859-1926), P.J. Tormey (1874-1903), Richard E. Miller (1860-1934), and Frederick S. Stratton of Oakland (1859-1915) incorporated in March 1892.
Kirkland was president and Trowbridge was vice president, with Miller as the secretary and general manager. Before opening the Owl Drug Company, Kirkland and Trowbridge had been leading druggists in Oakland, California. The two had a hardware business, Kirkland & Trowbridge.
The first year of business was met with a boycott by the San Francisco Retail Druggists Association because the Owl Drug Company refused to join the combine and set their own prices below the established fee schedule of the association. The Owl Drug Company successfully outlasted the San Francisco Retail Druggist Association boycott and opened their second store in 1894 in Los Angeles.
Due to friction between Trowbridge and the other stockholders, Miller bought out his shares in 1906, and Stratton became the vice president. Miller became company president around 1907-1908, and by 1909 he was in majority control of the company.
By 1918 there were twenty-six retail stores in California, Oregon, and Washington. By 1937 there were more than 125 stores in the chain.
Around the time of Miller's death, the company went into bankruptcy and was purchased by Rexall Drug Co. The Owl Drug Company continued to operate as a subsidiary until 1970, when the name changed to Owl Rexall Drug Company, used unofficially throughout the years.
Rexall's business model consisted of unitary franchised stores, where each store was owned independently by the local pharmacist. Rexall began to decline in the late 1950s and was sold to private investors in 1977. A few stores kept the Rexall name and continue to operate.
Scope and Contents
The album consists of images of displays of items sold in the drug store, specifically the 5th and Broadway location in Los Angeles, California, which opened for business on January 2, 1904. The 5th and Broadway location was the fifth store of the company. The photographs are countertop and shop window merchandise displays. A few images consist of print advertisements and operational charts.
Featured products for counter displays are Varna Rouge, KCL Tooth Paste, Beech-Nut Gum, Jonteel Powder, Vernice Preparations, Owl Cold Cream, Mary Garden beauty products, Red Feather beauty products, Bay Rum, Owl Epson Salts, Lord Baltimore Linen, Mirimbi Lily products, and talcum powder.
There are displays for playing cards, razor blades, powders, wallets, fountain pens, toothbrushes, lipstick, sunglasses, pocket combs, and manicure aids that show a variety of brands, styles, and types.
There are composite images showing product posters for sale at Owl Drug. There are five photographic prints of print advertisements, a department analysis chart for September 1919, a sales comparison report for December 1919, a systematic plan for caring for routine store operation, a department sales and expenses chart for September 1919, and a jewelry sales comparison chart.
Shop window displays feature Kodaks and albums, Djer Kiss Talcum Powder, Keystone Shaving Cream, Creme Elcaya fragrance, Ezonall Shaving Cream, Bromo-Seltzer for headaches, Chlorox Tooth Paste, Star Vibrator for headaches, Clemente Soaps, Owl Drugs, stationery and stamps, prescription compounding, Melba fragrance and powders, Leone fragrance, Mary Garden beauty products, Ameroil Owl product for constipation, Owl thermos, Red Feather beauty products, Jonteel products, Cocoanut Oil Shampoos, and Todco Long waterbottles.
Store interior views show camera equipment, Kodak cameras, mirrors and hairbrushes, fragrances, soaps, compact powders, and Djer-Kiss fragrance.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Language of Materials
English
Subjects
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- Owl Drug Company album
- Author:
- Laurie Sather
- Date:
- 2021
- Description rules:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description:
- English
- Script of description:
- Latin
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Audiovisual Collections Repository
