 | |
 | |
| Industry | Cosmetics |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1927 |
| Defunct | 1982 |
| Headquarters | , United States |
| Products | Lotion |
| Parent | Purex |
The Campana Company of Batavia, Illinois, was a major manufacturer of cosmetics in the 20th century.
| | |
| | |
| Industry | Cosmetics |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1927 |
| Defunct | 1982 |
| Headquarters | , United States |
| Products | Lotion |
| Parent | Purex |
The Campana Company of Batavia, Illinois, was a major manufacturer of cosmetics in the 20th century.
The Campana Company was incorporated in Illinois in 1927. Its first product was Italian Balm, a hand lotion. The formula was purchased from a Dr. Campana, from where the company derives its name. Although the company first operated only two years before the start of The Great Depression, it was initially very prosperous due to innovative advertising promoted by its owner, Ernest Morgan Oswalt. Campana was one of the first companies to offer free cosmetics samples in magazines, a method that is still extensively used. A second method of advertising was the use of radio commercials. Oswalt hired writer Florence Ward to create a radio variety show that would feature commercials for the company. The show, The First Nighter Program , was very successful and ran for 22 years. The company's treasurer and Oswalt's nephew, I. Willard Crull, would write over a hundred radio plays for the program under the pen name Anthony Wayne. [1] Due in part to these commercials, Italian Balm became one of the best-selling hand lotions in the United States. Spinoffs from First Nighter also included Grand Hotel. Campana sponsored First Nighter also premiered on ABC Television's prime time schedule in 1950. Its Wednesday night time slot was eight p.m., which had it competing against NBC's Four Star Revue and CBS's Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (a program that had already "shot to the top of the TV ratings and stayed there for several years"). [2]
By the late 1930s, The Campana Company wanted a new factory to keep up with the high demand for their product. Oswalt wanted a building that would reflect the modern appeal of his products, and commissioned a Streamline Moderne building in Batavia, Illinois. The Campana Factory featured many new technologies, including air conditioning. At this time, an adage was added to the English lexicon, "To work at Campana is like being a member of Frederick Stock's musical ensemble". [3]
The Campana Factory had to change the name of its popular lotion to Campana Balm after World War II due to growing anti-Italian sentiment. [4] By the late 1940s, I. Willard Crull (he had been president since 1942 but spent more time developing perfume lines) took full rein of Campana. He would serve as its president until his retirement in the mid-1970s. He had already expanded the company in the 1940s with Parfums Anjou and would thereafter acquire Old South Toiletries. They would provide stiff competition for French perfumers as Cosmopolitan Magazine highlighted in 1956. [5]
Campana's takeover of Carlay Company brought the "Ayds Reducing Plan vitamins and mineral candy" (commonly known as Ayds ) into the Campana product line. A merger with Allied Laboratories of Kansas City in 1958 [6] left Crull in charge. Allied was sold to Dow Chemical in 1960. [6] Although Campana's product line was not compatible with Dow's, Crull was still tapped to serve as an interim president of Dow for a few months, which allowed him time to seek a more compatible suitor for Campana. In 1962 [6] Purex would buy Campana, with Crull serving as the head of its toiletries division, while Campana was able to function as a separate company with Crull at its head. After Crull retired in the 1970s, Purex retained some of Campana's product lines while selling off others. [7] Thereafter, Purex relocated the workers and shut down Campana operations in 1982. [8]
Batavia is a city mainly in Kane County and partly in DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in the Chicago metropolitan area, it was founded in 1833 and is the oldest city in Kane County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 26,098.
Cosmetics are composed of mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes, including personal and skin care. They can also be used to conceal blemishes and enhance natural features. Makeup can also add colour to a person's face, enhance a person's features or change the appearance of the face entirely to resemble a different person, creature, or object.
Max Factor is a line of cosmetics from Coty, founded in 1909 as Max Factor & Company by Maksymilian Faktorowicz.
Burt's Bees is an American multinational personal care product company. The company is a subsidiary of Clorox that describes itself as an "Earth-friendly, Natural Personal Care Company" making products for personal care, health, beauty and personal hygiene. Its products are distributed globally.
Ayds Reducing Plan Candy is a discontinued appetite-suppressant candy that enjoyed strong sales in the 1970s and early 1980s and was originally manufactured by The Carlay Company.
Balsam of Peru or Peru balsam, also known and marketed by many other names, is a balsam derived from a tree known as Myroxylon balsamum var. pereirae; it is found in El Salvador, where it is an endemic species.
Fabergé is a brand name that was inspired by the House of Fabergé jewellery firm, which had been founded in 1842 in Russia. The name was used for various personal care products that were manufactured under the direction of Samuel Rubin, and then by George Barrie. The Fabergé company was sold by Barrie in 1984, and was subsequently acquired by Unilever in 1989.
Imperial Leather is a British brand of soaps, toiletries and healthcare products manufactured by PZ Cussons. Its distinctive aroma is inspired by Russia leather.
Cosmetics & Toiletries (C&T) is a magazine focusing on research and development in the cosmetics and personal care industry. The magazine is published by Allured Business Media. It is delivered to 97 countries on a monthly basis, and is geared toward formulators, scientists, researchers, chemists and R&D management in the industry. The magazine is available in both print and online magazine format. The headquarters is in Northbrook, Illinois.
The Campana Factory is a historic building in Batavia, Illinois. It was built in 1936 to serve as a factory for The Campana Company, which produced Italian Balm, the most popular hand lotion in the United States during The Great Depression. The Streamline Moderne and Bauhaus building features many innovative technologies, such as air conditioning. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Purex is a brand of laundry detergent and laundry-related products manufactured by Henkel North American Consumer Goods and marketed in the United States and Canada. Purex is one of the most widely used laundry detergents in North America. Its original product, Purex Bleach, was a major competitor to Clorox bleach. The brand name is also used for a line of in-wash "fragrance booster" products called Purex Crystals. The Purex Crystals brand was originally launched as an in-wash fabric softener product.
The First Nighter Program was a long-running radio anthology comedy-drama series broadcast from November 27, 1930, to September 27, 1953. The host was Mr. First Nighter (Charles P. Hughes, Macdonald Carey, Bret Morrison, Marvin Miller, Don Briggs and Rye Billsbury.
Proraso is a personal care and grooming brand owned by the Italian company Ludovico Martelli srl. The brand includes men's barber supplies and scented shaving products, and consists of five different product lines aimed at the general public and a "Pro" line aimed at professional barbers, which contains three variants. The Proraso pre-shave cream has been in production since 1948.
Allured Business Media is a family owned print media company located in Carol Stream, Illinois. The company, which changed its name from Allured Publishing Corporation in 2008, publishes several magazines and websites focused on specific industries and distributes various e-newsletters to accompany these publications.
Elixir is a women's fragrance by Colombian singer songwriter Shakira, developed in a collaboration with international fashion company Puig. After the release of her first two fragrances, Puig enlisted several perfumers to work on Shakira's third fragrance, which she claimed would capture her "most sensual and exotic side." The final product was Elixir, an amber perfume based on various spicy and woody sources. The flacon of the perfume is inspired by apothecary bottles and is made to resemble a magical potion, featuring a light golden colour scheme.
Atkinsons of London is a British perfume house founded in London in 1799. The brand was relaunched in September 2013 after a long dormant period off the market.
John Blocki was one of America's pioneer perfumers. His perfumes and cosmetics were widely sold and his unique presentation earned him a U.S. patent for perfumery packaging. He was well-known in the trade for his leadership and commitment to the advancement of the American perfume industry.
Cosmetics have been used in Korea since antiquity. Today, cosmetics are an important industry in South Korea.
The Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella is a perfumery and herbalist shop in Florence, in Tuscany in central Italy. It is not a pharmacy and does not sell medicines, but is sometimes described as "the oldest pharmacy in the world".
Christina Aguilera Fragrances is a perfume brand by American singer Christina Aguilera. It was founded in 2007 in a deal with Procter & Gamble (P&G), who manufactured the products until 2016, after its production and distribution rights were bought out by Elizabeth Arden, Inc. In addition to fragrances, the brand has also worked with the production and sale of other cosmetics, including body lotions, body sprays, bath gels, and deodorants.