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- Yucca for the Hair and Scalp, 1890-1901 - People have sought a cure for hair loss for thousands of years. In the late nineteenth-century, the makers of "Yucca for the Hair" marketed their concoction as a cure for baldness, dandruff, and other diseases of the scalp. The proprietors of this patent medicine claimed the plant-based extract invigorated the scalp, promoted hair growth and rendered hair "soft, glossy and luxuriant."
- 1890-1901
- Collections - Artifact
Yucca for the Hair and Scalp, 1890-1901
People have sought a cure for hair loss for thousands of years. In the late nineteenth-century, the makers of "Yucca for the Hair" marketed their concoction as a cure for baldness, dandruff, and other diseases of the scalp. The proprietors of this patent medicine claimed the plant-based extract invigorated the scalp, promoted hair growth and rendered hair "soft, glossy and luxuriant."
- Product Label for Madam Jones Hair Dressing Pomade, 1944 - Valmor Product Company, founded in the mid-1920s, sold beauty products to Black Americans. The company's product packaging was designed by Charles Dawson, a successful Black commercial artist whose illustrations of attractive modern Black Americans contributed to a burgeoning culture of positive Black identity. But the company's legacy is complicated--many of its products pushed a white assimilatory ideal, promising effects like skin lightening.
- 1944
- Collections - Artifact
Product Label for Madam Jones Hair Dressing Pomade, 1944
Valmor Product Company, founded in the mid-1920s, sold beauty products to Black Americans. The company's product packaging was designed by Charles Dawson, a successful Black commercial artist whose illustrations of attractive modern Black Americans contributed to a burgeoning culture of positive Black identity. But the company's legacy is complicated--many of its products pushed a white assimilatory ideal, promising effects like skin lightening.
- Trade Card for Ayer's Hair Vigor, 1880-1900 - James C. Ayer (1818-1878), a purveyor of patent medicines in the 19th century, claimed his treatments could cure colds, coughs, and other ailments, purify the blood, and invigorate the hair. Ayer--and later his company--successfully marketed his products by printing thousands of trade cards, almanacs, and newspaper and magazine ads. Ayer's company continued production well into the 20th century.
- 1880-1900
- Collections - Artifact
Trade Card for Ayer's Hair Vigor, 1880-1900
James C. Ayer (1818-1878), a purveyor of patent medicines in the 19th century, claimed his treatments could cure colds, coughs, and other ailments, purify the blood, and invigorate the hair. Ayer--and later his company--successfully marketed his products by printing thousands of trade cards, almanacs, and newspaper and magazine ads. Ayer's company continued production well into the 20th century.
- Product Label for Sweet Georgia Brown Hair Glower, 1939 - Valmor Product Company, founded in the mid-1920s, sold beauty products to Black Americans. The company's product packaging was designed by Charles Dawson, a successful Black commercial artist whose illustrations of attractive modern Black Americans contributed to a burgeoning culture of positive Black identity. But the company's legacy is complicated--many of its products pushed a white assimilatory ideal, promising effects like skin lightening.
- 1939
- Collections - Artifact
Product Label for Sweet Georgia Brown Hair Glower, 1939
Valmor Product Company, founded in the mid-1920s, sold beauty products to Black Americans. The company's product packaging was designed by Charles Dawson, a successful Black commercial artist whose illustrations of attractive modern Black Americans contributed to a burgeoning culture of positive Black identity. But the company's legacy is complicated--many of its products pushed a white assimilatory ideal, promising effects like skin lightening.
- Product Label for Lucky Brown Cocoanut Oil Shampoo, 1936 - Valmor Product Company, founded in the mid-1920s, sold beauty products to Black Americans. The company's product packaging was designed by Charles Dawson, a successful Black commercial artist whose illustrations of attractive modern Black Americans contributed to a burgeoning culture of positive Black identity. But the company's legacy is complicated--many of its products pushed a white assimilatory ideal, promising effects like skin lightening.
- 1936
- Collections - Artifact
Product Label for Lucky Brown Cocoanut Oil Shampoo, 1936
Valmor Product Company, founded in the mid-1920s, sold beauty products to Black Americans. The company's product packaging was designed by Charles Dawson, a successful Black commercial artist whose illustrations of attractive modern Black Americans contributed to a burgeoning culture of positive Black identity. But the company's legacy is complicated--many of its products pushed a white assimilatory ideal, promising effects like skin lightening.
- Product Label for True Love 6Way Jockey Club Hair Dressing, 1926-1946 - Valmor Product Company, founded in the mid-1920s, sold beauty products to Black Americans. The company's product packaging was designed by Charles Dawson, a successful Black commercial artist whose illustrations of attractive modern Black Americans contributed to a burgeoning culture of positive Black identity. But the company's legacy is complicated--many of its products pushed a white assimilatory ideal, promising effects like skin lightening.
- 1926-1946
- Collections - Artifact
Product Label for True Love 6Way Jockey Club Hair Dressing, 1926-1946
Valmor Product Company, founded in the mid-1920s, sold beauty products to Black Americans. The company's product packaging was designed by Charles Dawson, a successful Black commercial artist whose illustrations of attractive modern Black Americans contributed to a burgeoning culture of positive Black identity. But the company's legacy is complicated--many of its products pushed a white assimilatory ideal, promising effects like skin lightening.
- Product Label for Madam Jones Hair and Scalp Shampoo, 1944 - Valmor Product Company, founded in the mid-1920s, sold beauty products to Black Americans. The company's product packaging was designed by Charles Dawson, a successful Black commercial artist whose illustrations of attractive modern Black Americans contributed to a burgeoning culture of positive Black identity. But the company's legacy is complicated--many of its products pushed a white assimilatory ideal, promising effects like skin lightening.
- 1944
- Collections - Artifact
Product Label for Madam Jones Hair and Scalp Shampoo, 1944
Valmor Product Company, founded in the mid-1920s, sold beauty products to Black Americans. The company's product packaging was designed by Charles Dawson, a successful Black commercial artist whose illustrations of attractive modern Black Americans contributed to a burgeoning culture of positive Black identity. But the company's legacy is complicated--many of its products pushed a white assimilatory ideal, promising effects like skin lightening.
- "Sparkle Pretty Kenya" Doll, 1995 -
- 1995
- Collections - Artifact
"Sparkle Pretty Kenya" Doll, 1995
- Yucca for the Hair and Scalp, 1890-1901 - People have sought a cure for hair loss for thousands of years. In the late nineteenth-century, the makers of "Yucca for the Hair" marketed their concoction as a cure for baldness, dandruff, and other diseases of the scalp. The proprietors of this patent medicine claimed the plant-based extract invigorated the scalp, promoted hair growth and rendered hair "soft, glossy and luxuriant."
- 1890-1901
- Collections - Artifact
Yucca for the Hair and Scalp, 1890-1901
People have sought a cure for hair loss for thousands of years. In the late nineteenth-century, the makers of "Yucca for the Hair" marketed their concoction as a cure for baldness, dandruff, and other diseases of the scalp. The proprietors of this patent medicine claimed the plant-based extract invigorated the scalp, promoted hair growth and rendered hair "soft, glossy and luxuriant."
- Trade Card for Hall's Vegetable Sicilian Hair Renewer, 1870-1900 - In the last third of the nineteenth century, an unprecedented variety of consumer goods and services flooded the American market. Advertisers, armed with new methods of color printing, bombarded potential customers with trade cards. Americans enjoyed and often saved the vibrant little advertisements found in product packages or distributed by local merchants. Many survive as historical records of commercialism in the United States.
- 1870-1900
- Collections - Artifact
Trade Card for Hall's Vegetable Sicilian Hair Renewer, 1870-1900
In the last third of the nineteenth century, an unprecedented variety of consumer goods and services flooded the American market. Advertisers, armed with new methods of color printing, bombarded potential customers with trade cards. Americans enjoyed and often saved the vibrant little advertisements found in product packages or distributed by local merchants. Many survive as historical records of commercialism in the United States.