1.45 Cubic feet (consisting of 2.5 boxes, 1 folder, 7 oversized folders, 3 map case folders, 1 flat box (partial), plus digital images of some collection material. )
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Black-and-white photographs
Posters
Business cards
Business records
Ephemera
Publications
Invoices
Business ephemera
Advertising mail
Patents
Illustrations
Mail order catalogs
Trade catalogs
Receipts
Catalogues
Sales catalogs
Periodicals
Printed ephemera
Photographs
Commercial correspondence
Letterheads
Manufacturers' catalogs
Business letters
Print advertising
Advertising
Advertising cards
Printed material
Commercial catalogs
Printed materials
Cabinet photographs
Samples
Catalogs
Advertisements
Advertising fliers
Correspondence
Price lists
Date:
1772-1948
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Hair 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:
The subject category Hair contains material pertaining to the manufacturing and distribution of hair-related products, including shampoos, wigs, hair dyes and tints, hair preservatives, hair oils, straighteners, combs, pressers, hair nets, and veils. Hair also contains material pertaining to hair-related services, including haircuts, hair removal, wigmaking, facial hair shaping, and hair styling. The material is not exclusively marketed to a single gender, but material marketed toward women is more prevalent.
The bulk of the subject category comprises business records, advertisements, import and export records, catalogues, and posters. Companies represented include Dr. J.C. Ayer and Company and Reuben P. Hall and Company.
Additional material includes images and poems related to hair. Portraits of people with long hair or certain hairstyles, images of salons, and caricatures. Realia in the collection consists of a black net veil. Subject- related material provides brief overviews of general hair care and maintenance, in-depth treatments for hair and scalp related problems, and samples of hair provided from people and correspondence describing them.
No particular depth is present for any singular subtopic within the collection, though images of hair styles, product advertisements and posters, and literature related to medical aspects of hair treatment are particular strengths of the collection. It contains a small amount of French, German, Japanese, and Latin language material, which is is within the collection and is indicated in folder-level descriptions when present.
Arrangement:
Hair is arranged in three subseries.
Business Records and Marketing Material
Genre
Subject
Brand Name Index:
The following is a list of brand names for various hair and related names that appear on this list is a compilation of those found on materials in the vertical document boxes. The list is intended to assist researchers locate desired materials when only the brand name is known.
Brand Name Index
Brand Name -- Manufacturer
American Girl -- R. Ginsburg & Bros.
Blue Grass -- Elizabeth Arden
Buckingham's -- R.P. Hall & Co.
Capillaris -- T. Hill Mansfield's
Capillina -- Wood & Sons
Cell-Life -- Susanna Cocroft Laboratories
Cupid -- Richardson & De Long Bros.
Fedora -- Silverberg Import Co.
Follicula -- Anglo-American Electric Ass.
Grace Darling -- The Fair
Jo-Cur -- Curran Labs
Kreml -- R.B.
Revivum -- C.N. Crittenton
Venida -- Rieser Co.
Vigorol -- J.B. Weis
Wear Rite -- R. Ginsberg & Bros.
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.
Series 1: Business Ephemera
Series 2: Other Collection Divisions
Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers
Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Hair 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, and it 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.
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Hair, 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).
