Finding Aids

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.

Irv Koons (1922-2017) was a graphic artist, designer, and illustrator who became one of the leading consumer package designers of the twentieth century. The photographic collection contains slides, negatives, color transparencies, and prints documenting all of Koons's major design projects over the course of his long career as a package designer.