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Black History ➔ Glossine Hair Pressing Oil
Identifier:
156156Description:
This yellow tin contains "Glossine", a haircare product by the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company around 1910. Advertised to beautify and soften the hair, it was one of the company's best-selling products. Packaged in a small cardboard box, it has a label that reads "None Genuine Without This Signature".Madam C. J. Walker was an African American entrepreneur and is recorded in history as the first self-made millionaire in America. She, along with other businesswomen like competitor Annie Turnbo Malone, paved the way for Black women in the marketing and manufacturing industry.
Date:
circa 1910Materials:
Tin, CardboardCurrent Location Status:
In StorageCollection Tier:
Tier 2Source:
Gift of Richmond Cut-RateExhibit/Program:
Innovators: Celebrating Black History (January 2024)This one-day program showcases local collaborators initiatives that have impacted local, national, and global communities in innovative ways. Additionally, this program will kick off the Museum’s STEAM month with programming through the month of February as well as an exploration of local community leaders through exhibit and artifact highlights. Community partners will share information, prototypes, products, creations, ideas and more with museum guests. Visitors will explore artifacts from our collection that highlight African American innovations. Museum guests can also explore temporary display: Booker T Washington Visits Grand Rapids.
Related Entities:
Madam C. J. Walker (creator)Alternate names: Sarah Breedlove
Sarah Breedlove was born on December 23rd, 1867 on a Delta, Louisiana plantation where her parents had been enslaved. At the age of seven, she was orphaned and worked in cotton fields until she married Moses McWilliams seven years later. Her daughter A'Leila was born on June 6th, 1885 and two years later, her husband passed away. Following his death, Breedlove relocated to St. Louis to be with her four brothers who had established themselves as barbers.
In the 1890s, Breedlove began to suffer from a scalp condition that caused her to lose most of her hair. She tried many homemade remedies and products including Annie Malone's hair grower. After becoming a sales agent for Malone and moving to Denver, Colorado in 1905, she married Charles Joseph Walker a year later and became Madam C. J. Walker. That same year, she started her own company and began selling Madam C. J. Walker's Wonderful Hair Grower.
The Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company opened its first factory in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1910 and also opened hair and manicure salons and training schools. The business expanded to New York while Ransom and Alice Kelly continued to oversee the Indianapolis office.
In New York, Walker became involved in political and social life, donating $5,000 to the NAACP's anti-lynching movement. She used her platform to promote the success of Black businesswomen as well as encourage their political activism.
Madam C. J. Walker died in 1919 but her legacy lives on as the first recorded self-made millionaire in America. She paved the way for Black businesswomen in the marketing and manufacturing industries and created hundreds of jobs for Black women through her factory, training schools, salons, and sales teams. Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company (creator)
Alternate names: Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Co., Madam CJ Walker, The Walker Company
Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company was founded by Madam C. J. Walker in 1906. The first factory was built in 1910 in Indianapolis, Indiana and Walker continued to expand her business to include hair and manicure salons as well as training schools. After her death in 1919, her daughter A'Leila Walker became president of the company until her own death in 1931. The company continued for many decades until it closed its doors in 1981. In 2013 Sundial Brands purchased Madam C. J. Walker Enterprises and in 2020 it launched the Madam C. J. Walker Beauty Culture line sold at Sephora. Richmond Cut-Rate (donor)