Hospitality soap wrappers collection
Creation: circa 1930s-1950sAbstract
Soap traces its history all the way back to the Babylonians in 2800 BC. However, bar soap only dates back to the late eighteenth century. The use of bar soap became the norm in the mid-nineteenth century. By this time soap could be mass produced and mass marketed. Many of the large bar soap companies were established during this time. This collection consists of 155 hospitality soap wrappers that have been flattened. The soap wrappers generally contain the name of the hotel, city and state, as well as a logo or graphic of some kind. Most wrappers include the brand name and product name, though a few do not have any information about the soap listed on the wrapper. All of the hotels are in the United States, not all of the states are represented in the collection. This collection would be useful for those researching package design, logos, or the soap industry. Potentially the collection also indicates relationships between specific hotel companies and their personal hygiene vendors.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1930s-1950s
Creator
- Unknown (Organization)
Extent
0.25 Linear Feet
General Physical Description
155 items (soap wrappers) ; 4 x 5 in. or smaller.
Historical Note
Soap traces its history all the way back to the Babylonians in 2800 BC. However, bar soap only dates back to the late eighteenth century. The use of bar soap became the norm in the mid-nineteenth century. By this time soap could be mass produced and mass marketed. Many of the large bar soap companies were established during this time.
Procter and Gamble was established by the candlemaker William Procter (1801-1884) and his brother-in-law James Gamble (1803-1891) in 1837 in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1872 Cashmere soap was introduced and is regarded as the first perfumed soap. Ivory soap was introduced in 1891 and became one of their most popular products. Ivory soap was known as “the soap that floats.” Another popular product, Camay soap was introduced to market in 1926 and marketed specifically for women.
Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Co. was formed in 1928 as a merger between Colgate (founded in 1806) and Palmolive-Peet Company (established in 1927, also as the result of a merger). William Colgate (1783-1857) like Procter, began his career as a candlemaker. The Peet Brothers Company was founded in Kansas City in 1872 by William, Robert and James Peet (dates unknown). In addition to laundry soaps, the company manufactured Creme Oil and Imperial Peroxide soaps. Founded by Caleb Johnson (circa 1858-?), Palmolive began as B.J. Johnson Soap Company in 1898 and changed its name in 1917 after its most popular product, Palmolive soap. Palmolive soap was made of palm and olive oils, hence its name. Palmolive merged with Peet in 1927. As Colgate-Palmolive-Peet, the company continued to make soaps from each of the individual companies.
Lever Bros. Co. was founded in 1899 by two brothers William H. Lever (1851-1925) and James Lever (1854-1910) in England. One of their most popular products was Lux soap. Lux soap began as as a laundry soap called Sunlight Flakes in 1899. The name was changed to Lux in 1900. In 1925 the company launched the soap in the United States. In 1930 Lever Bros. Co. became a subsidiary of Unilever.
Andrew Jergens Company was founded in 1882 by Andrew N. Jergens (1852-1929) in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1901 Andrew Jergens Company purchased the Woodbury Soap Company which manufactured facial soaps considered to be a remedy for eczema, acne and other complexion issues. The Woodbury Soap Company was founded in 1870 in Albany, New York by self-taught dermatologist John H. Woodbury (1851-1909), who went by Dr. John H. Woodbury despite not being a doctor. He also established the John H. Woodbury Dermatological Institute in New York. The details of the 1901 agreement are murky and what followed were a series of lawsuits between Andrew Jergens Company, John H. Woodbury, his cousin William Woodbury, and the John H. Woodbury Dermatological Institute. Initially the breach of contract lawsuit claimed that the Andrew Jergens Company altered the formula of the Woodbury soap, subsequent lawsuits were over the use of the name “Woodbury”. In 1908 a lawsuit against the institute resulted in preventing corporations practicing medicine and advertising. In January of 1909 John H. Woodbury committed suicide, however, the lawsuits continued well into the 1930s. The Andrew Jergens Company was acquired by KAO in 1988.
Armour and Company was a meatpacking company in Chicago, Illinois founded by Industrialist Philip Danforth Armour (1832-1901) in 1867. Soap was a by-product of the meatpacking process. As early as 1918, the company was manufacturing a soap named Flotilla. The company introduced Dial its most popular soap in 1948. Dial is credited as being the first deodorant soap. [Please note: Dial is not represented in this collection].
Manhattan Soap Company was founded by Frank G. Burke (1859-1929) in 1890 in New York, New York. The company was well-known for its Sweetheart and Garden Bouquet soap. The company was acquired by the Purex Corporation in 1956.
Scope and Content
This collection consists of 155 hospitality soap wrappers that have been flattened. The soap wrappers generally contain the name of the hotel, city and state, as well as a logo or graphic of some kind. Most wrappers include the brand name and product name, though a few do not have any information about the soap listed on the wrapper. All of the hotels are in the United States, not all of the states are represented in the collection. This collection would be useful for those researching package design, logos, or the soap industry. Potentially the collection also indicates relationships between specific hotel companies and their personal hygiene vendors.
There is an associated typewritten inventory which was created by the collector, who is unknown. On the back of each wrapper is a letter and number code which corresponds to the inventory. The code reveals what hotel, city, and state the soap wrapper was obtained in. There are three coding systems used. The first is in alphabetical order by state/city. The second arrangement is by region and the third is by soap product.
The circa dates of the 1930s through the 1950s can be ascertained by a number of factors. Lever Bros. and Co. was acquired by Unilever in 1930, though the company continued to use the Lever Bros. and Co. imprint for a period of time. Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Co. was first formed in 1928 and changed its name to Colgate-Palmolive in 1953. The Manhattan Soap Company was acquired by Purex in 1956. Additionally, the inventory only lists forty-eight states, indicating that the list was written prior to 1959, when Alaska and Hawaii became states.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Language of Materials
English
Additional Description
Provenance
These materials were found, in no particular order, in between the leaves of several books that were anonymously donated to the Clarke Historical Library in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
Subjects
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- Hospitality soap wrappers collection
- Author:
- Laurie Rizzo
- Date:
- 2015
- 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
