4.65 Cubic feet (consisting of 9 boxes, 2 folders, 19 oversize folders, 8 map case folder, plus digital images of some collection material.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Business ephemera
Ephemera
Date:
1885-1960
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Soap forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Scope and Contents:
This material consists primarily of printed advertisements from magazines, bills/receipts, scattered correspondence on letterhead stationery, price lists, business cards, handbills, labels, premiums, advertising cards, leaflets, patents and trademarks from manufacturers and distributors of soap. There is a substantial amount of material from some of the larger soap manufacturers which include Procter & Gamble, Lever Brothers and Colgate. Soap manufacturers tended to distribute products to consumers. There are some businesses that created products for manufacturers and exporters. There are also a number of references to perfumers, chemists and dermatologists.
A large majority of the soap manufacturers also tended to make candles. These businesses sold other products including baking powder, yeast, baking soda, saleratus, blacking, polish, leather preservatives, grease, swine, neats foot oil, hides, scraps, stocks, tallow and wool skins. Products associated with the laundry including starch, bluing, washing powders and washing fluids were also sold. Personal products such as perfumes, creams, and lotions were available.
There is a wide variety of soap consisting of bars, powders, liquids, crystal and granulated types, The soap was manufactured for personal hygiene, commercial laundry, household, chemical and medical purposes.
Images are found predominantly on the advertising cards. Most of these images are of different ethnic groups and tend to be stereotypical in nature. Irish, Native American, German and African American images represent the majority of these images. Women, children and pets, birds and scenic vistas are also visually represented.
Most of the publications are included with company related materials. Many of these publications discuss the history of the company. Other publications include a copy of Consumer Report and a book of photographs of soap bars available prior to 1940 and the wrappers published by the National Soap Sculpture Committee in New York.
Materials are organized alphabetically by name of company. There are a number of materials arranged by type including official documents, patents, trademarks, recipes, photographs and import/export documents.
Materials in the Archives Center:
Archives Center Collection of Business Americana (AC0404)
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.
Missing Title
Series 1: Business Ephemera
Series 2: Other Collection Divisions
Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers
Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Soap is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Genre/Form:
Business ephemera
Ephemera
Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Soap, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
