The Colorful History of Lipstick

Lipstick by definition is a cosmetic used to color lips, usually crayon-shaped and packaged in a tubular container.  No individual inventor can be credited as the first to invent lipstick as it is an ancient invention.  The history of lipstick, however, can be traced to the use of lipstick by crediting individual inventors for creating certain formulas and methods of packaging.

The actual term "lipstick" wasn't first used until 1880 though people were coloring their lips long before that date.  Upper-class Mesopotamians from an historic region called Mesopotamia in the Middle East applied crushed semi-precious jewels to their lips while Egyptians made a red dye for their lips from a combination of iodine and bromine mannite to create a red-brown color.

Historians note the first cosmetic lipstick manufactured commercially occurred around 1884. Parisian perfumers had begun to sell lip cosmetics to their customers made from castor oil and beeswax.  By the late 1890s the Sears & Roebuck catalog started to advertise and sell both lip and cheek rouge.  Early lip cosmetics were not packaged in their familiar tubes we see used today.  Lip cosmetics were then wrapped in silk paper placed in tinted paper tubes. 

In 1915, Maurice Levy of the Scovil Manufacturing Company invented the metal tube container for lipstick which had a small lever at the side of the tube which lowered and raised the lipstick.  Levy called his invention the "Levy Tube". 

In 1923, James Bruce Mason, Jr. of Nashville Tennessee patented the first swivel-up tube.  Since then, the Patent Office has issued countless patents for lipstick dispensers.

In 1927, French chemist, Paul Baudercroux invented a formula he called Rouge Baiser.  It was considered to be the first kiss-proof lipstick!  Ironically, rouge Baiser was so good at remaining on one's lips it was banned from the marketplace after being considered too hard to remove.  Years later, in 1950, chemist Helen Bishop invented a new version of long-lasting lipstick called No-Smear Lipstick.  It was commercially successful. 

Another element of lipstick formulas was the lipstick's finish.  Max Factor invented lip gloss in the 1930s.  Like much of his other cosmetics, Max Factor "The Makeup of Make-Up Artists" first invented lip gloss to be applied to movie starlets though it was soon worn by regular consumers, as well.

 

The History of the Popsicle

The Popsicle was invented by an 11 year old boy in 1905 and it was a fluke!  Frank Epperson didn't set out to create a treat that would keep kids happy and cool on summer days for generations to come.  He mixed some soda powder and water in a glass with a small wooden stir stick then adventure called and he wandered off and forgot about his drink.  It remained outside overnight. It was cold in the San Francisco Bay area that night so when Epperson went outside the next morning, he discovered the first-ever Popsicle waiting for him, trapped frozen inside its glass.  He ran the glass under hot water and was able to pull the icy treat out using the stick He licked the frozen treat and decided it was pretty good.  History was made and a young entrepreneur was born!  Frank named the treat an Epsicle, taking credit where it was due and began selling them around the neighborhood.

Fast-forward 18 years to 1923.  Epperson saw a bigger and better future for his Epsicle applying for a "frozen ice on a stick" patent. He described the treat as a "frozen confection of attractive appearance which can be conveniently consumed with the hand and without need for a plate, spoon or fork".

Now a grown man with children of his own, Epperson deferred to their judgment and renamed the treat Popsicle, as in "Pop's Sickle".  He moved beyond the neighborhood and began selling his Popsicles at a California amusement park.

Unfortunately, Epperson's Popsicle business failed to thrive .. at least for him, personally.  He fell on hard times in the late 1920s and sold his Popsicle rights to the Joe Lowe Company of New York.  The Lowe Company took the Popsicle to national fame with more success than Epperson had enjoyed.  The company added a second stick, effectively creating two Popsicles stuck together and selling this double-sized version for a nickel.  It's rumored that approximately 8,000 were sold on just one hot summer day at Brooklyn's Coney Island.

Then Good Humor decided all this was an infringement of its own copyright for ice cream and chocolate sold on a stick.  A series of lawsuits ensued with the courts ultimately deciding that the Lowe Company had the right to sell frozen treats made from water while Good Humor could continue to sell its "ice cream pops". Neither side was particularly pleased with the decision.  Their feud continued until 1989 when Unilever purchased Popsicle and, subsequently, Good Humor, joining the two brands under one corporate roof.

Unilever continues to sell Popsicles to this day to the tune of an estimated two billion of them a year in flavors as exotic as mojito and avocado although cherry still remains the most popular.  The double-stick version is gone, however.  It was eliminated in 1986 because it was too messy and more difficult to eat than Epperson's initial accidental brainstorm.

I recall the nostalgic double-stick Popsicle!  My favorite Popsicle flavors were banana and root beer! 

 

Wurlitzer 1015 Jukebox

"1015 Bubbler"

Circa 1946

The first coin-operated phonograph was installed in San Francisco's Palais Royale Saloon on November 23, 1889 which made the jukebox one hundred years old in 1989.  It's appropriate the Wurlitzer 1015 was produced at about the midpoint of that century.  No jukebox before it was as beautiful and none since has been as popular!

The first 1015, considered a pop culture icon, offered 24 selections and came along at a time when the jukebox was ubiquitous or ever-present. The jukebox had flourished in the 1930s in the depths of the Great Depression so at a nickel a play .. it was the best thing to free.  By 1940, Americans were dropping five million nickels a day into the nation's 250,000 jukeboxes which were located not just in bars and diners, but in bus stations, beauty parlors, airport waiting rooms, hotel lobbies, passenger liners and excursion boats. By February 1946 the New York Daily News would be quoted .. "There is no such thing as a quiet saloon or eatery, these days, because of a loud and garish cabinet that stands in the corner.  This is the jukebox."

Into this setting came the designer, Paul Fuller of the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company.  A man of modern sensibilities, he moved Wurlitzer juke-boxes away from the boxy lines of the early 1930s to streamlined curves and the rest of the industry followed.  But since May of 1942, like everyone else in the business, he had been operating under wartime production restrictions.  Before the war he had done brilliant things with plastics, culminating in his 1941 Model 850 which spun polarized acetate disks in front of incandescent light bulbs to creat a prism effect.  In wartime, he was limited to glass and wood, old-fashioned materials.  He did the best he could, but his wartime Model 42, the "Victory" model had a stodgy look.  It waa a step back at just the moment when Fuller most wanted to move forward.

It shouldn't be surprising then, that when controls came off in 1946 Fuller came up with the most beautiful juke-box he, or anyone else, had ever designed.  With the 1015 model Fuller broke away from the Art Nouveau decorative motifs he had used before the war. The 1015 was the perfect machine for a war-weary nation wanting to dance ahead into the future!

The arching side, top and center tubes were fabricated of formed plastic.  The trim was bright chrome and moled plastic, fire-engine red.  The New York dealer, John Johnston describes the 1015 as the "most animated" jukebox ever made, and indeed, even when it wasn't playing, the long bubble tubes made the machine seem to move.  These may have been Fuller's greatest touch.  The tubes were filled with a chemical selected for its low boiling point and small heaters were attached at the base.

The response to Fuller's new machine was immediate!  Although at $750 the 1015 sold to distributors for about twice as much as pre-war models as demand was enormous!

In 1946 and 1947 .. a time when the average manufacturing run for a new jukebox was 10,000 being produced .. Wurlitzer shipped 56,246 of the 1015s.  The company stoked the public's appetite with the largest promotional campaign in the industry's history through billboards.  The success of the 105 ushered in a great postwar boom in the juke business.  The number of jukeboxes soared from  four hundred thousand just after the war to a high of about seven hundred thousand in the fifties. 

What happened then is a sad, familiar story.  The interstate highway system drove countless little roadhouses out of business.  Portable radios and home phonographs became smaller and cheaper..  Top 40 radio took over as a arbiter of the hits.  Wurlitzer saw the writing on the wall and diversified.  By 1973, jukeboxes which had once accounted for 80 percent of its revenues, make up just 15 percent.  In 1974, Wurlitzer shut dow its jukebox production line.  Today, there are only about 225,000 jukeboxes operating in America.  

Traditional jukeboxes were once an important source of income for record publishers.  Jukeboxes received the newest recordings first.  They became an important market-testing device for new music since they tallied the number of plays for each title.  They let listeners control the music outside of their home before audiio technology became portable.  They played music on demand without commercials.  They also offered high fidelity listening before home high fidelity equipment became affordable.

In 1995, the United States Postal Service issued a 25-cent stamp commemorating the jukebox.

The 1015, though, has survived its time.  It is the single most sought-after piece among jukebox collectors.  Today, a reconditioned 1015 may fetch as much as thirteen thousand dollars.  Scholars of pop culture may see in it the perfect expression of a precise moment in twentieth century history or a confluence of trends in economics and entertainment.  The 1015 is just that, but to collectors it is something else: a gaudy, romantic, beautiful thing that stands five feet high, glows in the dark and plays great music.

That's plenty!

 

The Etch A Sketch was introduced near the peak of the Baby Boom on July 12, 1960 for $2.99 (equivalent to $31 in 2023).  It went on to sell 600,000 units that year and is one of the best known toys of that era.  In 1998, it was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.

French electrical technician, Andre Cassagnes applied his experience with the clinging properties of an electrostatic charge to invent a mechanical drawing toy with no spare parts!  He called his creation L'Ecran Magique, the magic screen.  Introduced at the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany in 1959 the gadget failed to draw much attention.  Numerous manufacturers passed over a chance to pick up the new toy concluding Cassagnes wanted to much money for it.  However, the Ohio Art Company took a second look and invested $25,000 which was more than they had ever paid for a license!  

Ohio Art renamed the toy Etch A Sketch and began mass production. Saturation advertising on television turned the toy into a must-have item for Christmas, 1960 and Ohio Art's factory worked feverishly until noon on Christmas Eve. Etch A Sketch has changed little since then.

Static charges hold a mixture of aluminum powder and tiny plastic beads to the inside of a clear plastic screen.  Knobs control the horizontal and vertical rods that move a stylus where the too meet.  The point scores a line across the screen's reverse side.  Experts can draw a curved or diagonal line.  Turning the screen over and giving it a shake erases the picture.

Many of the Products Ohio Art made through the Years

located in

Bryan, Ohio

Among these Toys is the Etch A Sketch!

Second Row

Factoyd:  The Etch A Sketch Club was formed in 1978 and today includes more than 2,000 Etch A Sketch artists and enthusiasts.

Did you give or receive a nostalgic Etch A Sketch this Christmas?

 

This small North Carolina town transforms 

into a

 Whimsical Holiday Wonderland  

every winter.

The  population of McAdenville, North Carolina is less than 1,000

but

their Christmas spirit is UNMEASUREABLE!

Back in 1956, W.J. Pharr, the founder of the textile company, Pharr was searching for a way to bring more holiday spirit to the 1.5 square mile North Carolina town of McAdenville. He, along with the town's men's club came up with the idea to decorate the trees around the community center with red, white and green lights. Now, nearly 70 years later, the tradition has grown into one of the nation's most famous celebrations, as the town of 1,000 transforms into Christmas Town USA.  There are more than 250 evergreens, 100 meticulously decorated homes, half a million lights and most impressively, a lake full of floating Christmas trees .. all in the three original colors.  It is estimated some 600,000 people pass through to catch a glimpse of the magical scene.

It was the First Lady of McAdenville, as townfolks called Mrs. Catherine Pharr who wanted the town to stick to the traditional red, white and green lights which it still does.  After a trip to Europe in the late 50s Mr. and Mrs.Pharr brought back another idea.  They instituted a Yule Log parade and lighting ceremony for the start of every holiday season.  The log is placed on a wagon and pulled down Main Street by dozens of local children to the Community Center. That's where William Pharr would light the Yule log.  Now,  the center is Legacy Park where a more modern lighting ceremony takes place and Pharr's grandson, Bill Carstarphen welcomes guests.  With the help of a lucky student chosen from McAdenville Elementary, they throw the switch, an entire town applauds and for 26 glorious days McAdenville becomes .. Christmas Town USA. 

This isn't just a one-day parade or event .. Christmas Town USA is a 26-day lifestyle!  Every night, it transforms into this magical place where people are driving, walking and enjoying the lights with their families and friends.

John Searby, CEO and Executive Director of Catawba Riverkeeper 

During the 26-day event, the holiday lights stay on from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Merry Christmas from McAdenville

On a personal note, during our time in North Carolina for several winter seasons my husband and I had the opportunity to experience Christmas Town USA, first-hand.  Our friend Steve Rankin, official photographer of Christmas Town USA, greeted us at the Yule Log ceremony and the first night of the town's 26-day holiday celebration. 

Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Steve Rankin. 

Believe

 https://weather.com/travel/video/tiny-north-carolina-city-transforms-into-christmas-town-usa?pl=pl-the-latest

 

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle.  And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.  But I heard him exclaim 'ere he drove out of sight ..

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

 

The jigsaw puzzle .. the delightful and perplexing challenge wherein a picture made of cardboard or wood has been cut into differently shaped pieces that must be fit together. It is widely thought of as an entertaining pastime, but it didn't start out that way.  Believe it or not, the birth of the jigsaw puzzle was rooted in education.

Englishman John Spilsbury, a London engraver and mapmaker, invented the jigsaw puzzle in 1767.  The first jigsaw puzzle was a map of the world.  Spilsbury attached a map to a piece of wood and then cut out each country.  Teachers used Spilsbury's puzzle to teach geography.  Sutdents learned their geography lessons by putting the world maps back together.  By 1880, jigsaw puzzles were being machine crafted and although cardboard puzzles entered the market, wood jigsaw puzzles remained the bigger seller.  

Mass production of jigsaw puzzles began in the 20th century with the advent of die-cut machines.  In this process sharp, metal dies for each puzzle were created and, operating like print-making stencils, were pressed down on sheets of cardboaard or softwoods to cut the sheet into pieces.   This invention coincided with the golden age of jigsaws of the 1930s.  Companies on both sides of the Atlantic churned out a variety of puzzles with pictures depicting everything from domestic scenes to railroad trains.

The jigsaw puzzle remained a steady pastime .. reusable and a great activity for groups or for an individual .. for decades.  With the invention of digital applications, the virtual jigsaw puzzle arrived in the 21st century and a number of apps were created allowing users to solve puzzles on their smartphones and tablets.

Jigsaw puzzles make great gifts throughout the year though especially during the holiday season when friends and family gather 'round.

 

From the Heimann Collection

The History of  the Soda Fountain

From the early 20th century into the 1960s, it was common for small-town residents and big-city dwellers to enjoy carbonated beverages at local soda fountains.  Often housed together with apothecaries the ornate baroque soda fountain counter served as a meeting place for people of all ages.  By the 1920s, just about every apothecary had a soda fountain.

The term "soda water" was first coined in 1798 and in 1810 the first U.S. patent was issued for the mass manufacture of imitation mineral waters to inventors Simmons  and Rundell of Charleston, South Carolina.  The soda fountain patent was first granted to U.S. physician Samuel Fahnestock in 1819.  He had invented a barrel-shaped pump and spigot to dispense carbonated water.

In  Lowell, Massachusetts Gustavus D. Dows invented and operated the first marble soda fountain and ice shaver which he patented in 1863.  It was made of eye-pleasing white Italian marble, onyx and glistening brass with large mirrors. Boston-based manufacturer, James Walker Tufts patented a soda fountain in 1883.  Tufts went on to become a huge soda fountain maker, selling more soda fountains than all of his competitors combined!

Unfortunately, the popularity of soda fountains collapsed in the 1970s with the introduction of fast foods, commerical ice cream, bottled soft drinks and restaurants.  Today, the soda fountain is nothing other than a small, self serve soft drink dispenser.  Old-fashioned soda fountain parlors within apothecaries where druggists would serve syrup and chilled, carbonated soda water are most likely found in museums nowadays.

Until the 1960s, both small-town and big-city dwellers enjoyed carbonated beverages at the soda fountain or ice cream parlor.  Often houses in the drugstore, the soda fountain counter served as a meeting place for people of all ages.  Often combined with lunch counters, the soda fountain declined in popularity as commerical ice cream, bottled soft drinks and fast-food restaurants became popular. 

 

The exact origin of the name "7 Up" is unclear, but theories include: it could refer to the seven main ingredients in the original recipe, a reference to the lithium that was one included in the drink or the fact that it was originally sold in 7-ounce bottles, unlike most other sodas which were 6 ounces.

The creator, Charles Leiper Grigg, never publicly revealed the exact reasoning behind the name "7 Up".  The "Up" is generally interpreted as signifying a positive, uplifting feeling associated with the drink. 7 Up is an American brand  of lemon-lime-flavored non-caffeinated soft drink.  The brand and formula are owned by Dr. Pepper (7 UP merged with Dr. Pepper in 1988) although the beverage is internationally distributed by PepsiCo. In 1995, 7 Up was bought by Cadbury Shweppes.  That company spun off the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group in 2008.

Grigg who launched his St. Louis-based company, The Howdy Corporation in 1920.  Grigg came up with the formula for the soft drink on June 19, 1929 and was launched two weeks before the Wall Street Crash of 1929.  Its original named was "7 Up Lithiated Lemon Soda" becoming just "7 Up" by 1936.  Grigg never explained the name, but he did promote 7 UP as having effects on mood.  Because it debuted at the time of the stock market crash and the onset of the Great Depression, this was a selling point. 

7 Up Bottling Company Building

in

Portland, Oregon

Circa 1976

7 Up is commonly served cold with ice.  It is also used as a mixer for cocktails called 7 and 7 (Seagram's and 7 Up) or CC and Seven (Canadian Club and 7 Up).  7 Up is also used in both non-alcoholic and alcoholic punches.

SEVEN-UP

"You Like It .. It Likes You"

www.7up.com

 

Cheerwine bottle

circa 1920

on display

North Carolina Museum of History

Raleigh, North Carolina

(Bicentennial Plaza)

Cheerwine is a cherry-flavored soft drink by Carolina Beverage Corporation of Salisbury, North Carolina.  It has been produced since 1917, claiming to be "the oldest continuing soft drink company still operated by the same family".

When the Maysville Syrup Company of Maysville, Kentucky went bankrupt in 1917 L.D. Peeler, Hughston Kirby, Kurt Weinmann and other invested businessmen purchased the company's assets, moved them to North Carolina and set up the Carolina Syrup Company. That same year, these investors purhased a recipe for a cherry-flavored soda from a St. Louis flavor salesman which was then sold as a product for the new company under the name "Cheerwine". Though it has been around since 1917, Cheerwine first became a registered trademark in 1926. 

The family of Lewis Peeler has run the Cheerwine company since its founding and his great-grandson, Charles Clifford "Cliff" Ritchie has been CEO and president of Cheerwine's parent company, Carolina Beverage Corporation since 1992.

Cheerwine has a mildly sweet flavor with strong cherry notes, most notably black cherry, is burgundy-colored and has an unusually high degree of carbonation compared to other soft drinks.  The product was named for its color and taste.  The company website states that "it made sense to name a burgundy-red, bubbly, cherry concoction .. Cheerwine." Despite its name, Cheerwine is not really a wine and contains no alcohol.

In 2010, Cheerwine partnered with the north Carolina based doughnut company, Krispy Kreme and released a limited-offered Cheerwine flavored donut on July 1 of that year. It was sold only at select grocery stores for the month of July and at the Salisbury Krispy Kreme. The Cheerwine doughnut returned again in July 2011.  In 2010 Canton, Ohio-based Old Carolina Barbecue also became the first restaurant chain in Ohio to offer Cheerwine as a fountain drink.  By 2014, Cheerwine-based products including Cheerwine cakes and Cheerwine floats had become a signature part of the Old Carolina concept. During the summers of 2016 and 2017, Cheerwine Kreme, a soda with the flavors of Cheerwine and Krispy Kreme was sold.  In 2017, the Cheerwine Recipe Book was published by Sandy Carol Sider.

Cheerwine is somtimes mixed with Captain Morgan rum to make a drink called "Captain Cheerwine" or the "Whining Pirate".  Slogans have included "Born in the South, Raised in a Glass", "Nectar of the South", "Betcha can't not smile" and "Uniquely Southern". 

www.cheerwine.com

Cheerwine is also on Facebook with 164K followers!  "

"The South's unique cherry soft drink.  Since 1917."

Merry Christmas 

from

Cheerwine

Happy New Year

from

Cheerwine

 

William Wallace Denslow

(1856-1915)

W.W. Denslow was an American illustrator and caricaturist remembered for the work in collaboration with author L. Frank Baum, especially his illustrations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.  Denslow was an editorial cartoonist. Denslow's education included the National Academy of Design which is an honorary association of American artists, founded in NYC in 1825.  Membership is limited to 450 American artists and architects who are elected by their peers on the basis of recognzed excellence.  Among the members are Norman Rockwell, I.M. Pei, Louis Comfort Tiffany and Frank Lloyd Wright, 

The footstone of William Wallace Denslow 

featuring his seahorse insignia and images 

of the 

Scarecrow and Tin Woodman