howeenterprise.com
Monday, September 28, 2015
Learn about antiques and collectibles with Georgia Caraway
Page #9
Blue Bell
continued from Page #4
Compacts with mirrors, holding loose or pressed powder and a puff, were developed. Finally the “carryall” which contained powder, rouge, lipstick, comb, money compartment, and sometimes a cigarette case and lighter, were introduced. During the 1920s and 30s, stores offered The compact is believed to have evolved from compacts at fairly reasonable prices. the patch box. During the 1600s, small pox Cosmetic houses such as Coty, Evening in swept through Europe leaving many of its Paris, Tre-Jur, Charles of the Ritz, Helena victims scard and disfigured. They began Rubenstein, Hudnut, Tangee, Woodbury, gluing silk or velvet beauty patches on their Yardley, and Elizabeth Arden mass produced faces and necks to cover the scars. These affordable compacts in hundreds of styles. patches came off with physical exertion, Many cosmetic houses contracted with metal requiring the need for a container called the firms to manufacture empty compact cases to patch box to hold replacements and the glue. hold their cosmetics. The most popular These fancy boxes usually had a mirror in the among these were Elgin-American, Volupte, top and were often bedecked with jewels. Whiting & Davis, Evans, Elgin, Stratton, and Wadsworth. A run-of-the-mill compact could The use of powder and paint goes back 8000 be bought for 10-25 cents; better ones for 39years to ancient Egypt and Greece. Some 49 cents. Sears and Montgomery Wards legislative attempts were made to prevent offered them through their catalogues from women from tricking men into marriage with 39 cents to $11.25. Gimbels sold them for $1 the use of cosmetics. A 1770 British law read to $1.75. Some very expensive, gold finish “women regardless of age, rank profession or with sterling and cloisonné enamel compacts degree, whether virgins, maids, or widows,” was offered at $35. would be tried for witchcraft and have their marriage terminated if the woman had seduced It is an open and shut case that Howe or betrayed a man into marriage by the use of Mercantile has a good selection of this scents, paints, cosmetic washes, artificial teeth, charming and useful collectible. So powder high heeled shoes, bolstered hips or false hair. your nose, and come see us. Jezebel introduced the use of eye makeup to Jewish women in 850BC. Jezebel was the predecessor to the Painted Hussy. Both of these derogatory terms are still used today to describe women of questionable character. Early powder was made of carbonate of lead that left the face looking like a white mask. Later shades of powder were developed to more closely match a woman’s complexion.
Dr. Georgia Caraway, former director of the Denton County Museums for 14 years, and her friends opened the Howe Mercantile at 107 East Haning. Store hours are Thursday through Saturday noon until 8 p.m. In addition to Tips, Tools, & Techniques: Caring for Your Antiques and Collectibles, she has written four Denton history books and is working on a 5th history about the North Texas State Fair and Rodeo.
Chris Cavender, the host, couldn't resist the urge to sample the product. Blue Bell has been revered as a centerpiece of the South - partly due to their wonderfully marketed program creating the identity as a small-town family business whose ice cream is a labor of love. “We eat all we can, and sell the rest,” says one longtime slogan. Blue Bell promoted its products as coming from “the Little Creamery in Brenham" even as the company grew to four factories. The Blue Bell radio jingle talks about a country home and momma hollering through the screen Would you kids like some homemade ice cream? That marketing resonated with Texans all over the state and in Howe on Thursday, about three dozen people thought that Blue Bell tasted just like the good old days. The P.T. Barnum of satellite services had a pretty good marketing plan himself. Mama Suzie's Sweets and Eats also capitalized as she brought several dozen mini cupcakes. It was a fun night in downtown.
