Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

"CREST"

Date Range From

1950

Date Range To

1969

Materials

PAPER, CARDBOARD, METAL

No. Pieces

6

Height

3.5

Length

14.5

Width

7.9

Description

A. BOX, 14.5 CM L X 7.9CM W X 3.5CM H. PINK CARDBOARD BOX WITH BILINGUAL ENGLISH AND FRENCH TEXT PRINTED. FRONT OF BOX HAS WHITE AND BLACK PRINTED TEXT, “NEW, CREST, THE CREAM HOME PERMANENT, JUST SQUEEZE IT ON, NO NEUTRALIZER NEEDED, WITH SMOOTH-ON COMB APPLICATOR”. TOP EDGE OF BOX HAS IMAGE OF A WHITE TUBE ON A PINK COMB, WITH A GOLD BACKGROUND AND PINK AND BLACK TEXT ON THE TUBE, “CREST, CREAM HOME PERMANENT, FOR ALL TYPES OF HAIR”. BACK FLAP OF BOX HAS WHITE AND BLACK TEXT ON PINK BACKGROUND, “CREST, CREAM HOME PERMANENT, CONTAINS: 1 1/4OZS. (NET WEIGHT) CREST CREAM, 50 END PAPERS, “SMOOTH ON” COMB, INSTRUCTION LEAFLET AND 2 COTTON BALLS”. INSIDE OF BOX IS BROWN-GREY CARDBOARD. FRONT OF BOX HAS HANDWRITTEN PENCIL TEXT, “4C/69”; FRONT OPENING FLAP OF BOX HAS WATER STAIN OVER BLACK TEXT “LEVER BROTHERS LIMITED, TORONTO”; BOX HAS MINOR CREASING ON BOTTOM; BOX HAS BROWN-BLACK STAINING AT EDGES; OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION. B. TUBE, 13.7CM L X 3.5CM W. WHITE ROUNDED TUBE WITH GOLD STRIPES RUNNING FROM CAP TO FLAT END; TUBE HAS A WHITE PLASTIC CAP AND SILVER METAL TOP; TUBE HAS PINK TEXT ON FRONT, “CREST, THE CREAM HOME PERMANENT, LEVER BROTHERS LIMITED, TORONTO”; BACK OF TUBE HAS PINK TEXT OF FRENCH TRANSLATION. TUBE HAS BROWN STAINING ON FRONT OF CAP AND FLAT END, AND HEAVY BROWN GRIME ON BACK OF FLAT END; TUBE IS YELLOWED TUBE IS PRESSED FROM USE; FLAT ENDS OF TUBE HAVE PAINTED COATING PEELING; OVERALL GOOD CONDITION. C. TUBE, 12.2CM L X 3CM W. WHITE ROUNDED TUBE WITH GOLD STRIPES RUNNING FROM CAP TO FLAT END; TUBE HAS A WHITE PLASTIC CAP AND SILVER METAL TOP; TUBE HAS PINK TEXT ON FRONT, “CREST, THE CREAM HOME PERMANENT, LEVER BROTHERS LIMITED, TORONTO”; BACK OF TUBE HAS PINK TEXT OF FRENCH TRANSLATION. TUBE HAS BROWN STAINING ON CAP; TUBE IS SEVERELY BENT FROM USE; TUBE HAS HEAVY BROWN STAINING AT FLAT END; OVERALL GOOD CONDITION. D. BOOKLET, 12.5CM L X 8.4CM W. BOOKLET HAS BLUE AND WHITE STRIPED COVER, WITH WHITE POCKET SHAPE AND SILVER TEXT “SILVER CURL” AND BLACK TEXT “TRADE MARK REG’D, DIRECTIONS, THE HOME PERMANENT CUSTOM-MADE FOR GRAY, PARTLY GRAY, AND SNOWY WHITE HAIR, FRESH AIR WAVING LOTION, 15 MINUTE LOTION TIMING, TOWEL-TURBAN-CONTROL, COPYRIGHT RESERVED, THE TONI COMPANY, MONTREAL, A DIVISION OF GILLETTE OF CANADA LIMITED, REGISTERED USER”. BOOKLET CONTAINS DIRECTIONS AND IMAGES FOR USE OF PRODUCT. BACK OF BOOKLET HAS WHITE BACKGROUND WITH BLACK TEXT, “YOUR FRIENDS, TOO, WILL WANT TO KNOW THAT…YOU CHOOSE THE WAVE MOST NATURAL FOR YOUR TYPE OF HAIR” WITH DETAILS ON “TONI SUPER, TONI GENTLE, TONI REGULAR, TONETTE” AND A “NEW TIP TONI”, WITH BLACK TEXT BELOW ADVERTISING “SPIN CURLERS BY TONI” AND “IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT TONI PRODUCTS OR HAIR BEAUTY, THIS IS YOUR INVITATION TO WRITE: CAROL DOUGLAS, BEAUTY CONSULTANT, THE TONI COMPANY, 1450 COTE DE LIESSE ROAD, MONTREAL 9, CANADA, 20-014-2”. BOOKLET HAS CREASE ON FRONT; BACK HAS MINOR STAINING; INSIDE PAGES AND BACK OF BOOKLET ARE YELLOWED; OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION. E. BOOKLET, 14CM L X 7.6CM W. FOLDED BOOKLET WITH BILINGUAL ENGLISH AND FRENCH TEXT. FRONT OF FOLDED BOOKLET HAS BLACK AND WHITE IMAGE OF A WOMAN COMBING OUT CURLS, WITH BLACK TEXT ABOVE IMAGE, “…FOR ALL HAIR TYPES” AND BLACK AND PINK TEXT ON WHITE BOX BELOW, “COMB IN CREST, COMB OUT PERFECT CURLS, CREST HOME PERMANENT CREAM-CONDITIONS AS IT WAVES! EASY! NO NEUTRALIZING! READ DIRECTIONS” WITH BLACK ARROW BESIDE. INSIDE BOOKLET CONTAINS IMAGES AND DIRECTIONS FOR USE OF “CREST” CREAM. BOOKLET IS BENT; INSIDE PAGES, FRONT, AND BACK OF BOOKLET ARE STAINED WITH BROWN RESIDUE; OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION. F. FOLDED PAPER INSERT, 10.8CM L X 7CM W. INSERT HAS BILINGUAL TEXT IN ENGLISH AND FRENCH; PAPER IS WHITE WITH PINK SCALLOPED-PATTERN TRIM AT RIGHT EDGE; FRONT OF INSERT HAS BLACK TEXT “DIRECTIONS FOR USE, HEADSPIN COMB-A-PERM IS DIFFERENT, EASIER…QUICKER…BETTER, FOR A PERFECT HEADSPIN HOME PERM FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY”, WITH PINK TEXT BELOW “HEADSPIN COMB-A-PERM” AND BLACK TEXT AND BOTTOM “CONTAINS SUFFICIENT FOR 60 CURLS, THE WHOLE HEAD, OR FOR TWO END PERMS, OR FOR SEVERAL PART-PERMS, AND HEADSPIN KEEPS FOR FUTURE USE”. BACK HAS PINK TEXT AT TOP, “HEADSPIN COMB-A-PERM” WITH BLACK TEXT BELOW PROVIDING PERM PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS AND SUPPLIES NEEDED, AND TEXT, “IF YOU WOULD LIKE ANY ADVICE PLEASE WRITE TO – PAMELA LEWIS. ASHE LABORATORIES LTD., LETTERHEAD, SURREY, ENGLAND”. INSERT CONTAINS INSTRUCTIONS AND TIPS FOR USING “HEADSPIN COMB-A-PERM”. UPPER RIGHT CORNER OF FRONT IS BENT FORWARD; BACK HAS MINOR STAINING; INSERT HAS SEVERE FOLDS AND CREASING; OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

TOILET ARTICLE

Historical Association

PROFESSIONS

PERSONAL CARE

History

ON JUNE 5, 2019, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED CAROL DARMODY REGARDING HER DONATION OF OBJECTS RELATED TO HER PARENTS, IRENE (NEE NAGY) AND JOHN FROUWS. ON THE PERM KIT, DARMODY SHARED, “I THINK THIS IS…THE DEADLY PERM SOLUTION. I HAD NATURALLY CURLY HAIR, AND LONG HAIR, IN HIGH SCHOOL. MOM WOULD PUT THAT SOLUTION ON. IT MUST HAVE BEEN TERRIBLE FOR MY HAIR! AND, JUST PULL MY HAIR, TO HAVE IT STRAIGHT BECAUSE PEOPLE WOULD MAKE FUN [OF IT]—IT WASN’T COOL TO HAVE BUSHY HAIR IN HIGH SCHOOL. KIDS WOULD MAKE FUN OF YOU…IT WAS COOL TO HAVE STRAIGHT HAIR. SHE WOULD IRON IT ON THE IRONING BOARD TOO, BUT MOST OF HER [OLDER] CLIENTS WANTED CURLS…IF YOU’VE GOT CURLY HAIR, SHE WOULD PUT THAT AWFUL [PERM SOLUTION ON] AND PULL [THE HAIR]…THEN THERE WAS ANOTHER BOTTLE THAT NEUTRALIZED IT.” “[THERE WERE] THE LITTLE PAPERS WITH THAT DEADLY SOLUTION…I THINK THIS IS PROBABLY ‘50S, AND THEN IT GOES UP…I DON’T THINK PAST ‘60S…[OF] DIFFERENT PERM SOLUTION STUFF.” ON HER MOTHER’S HAIRDRESSING, DARMODY RECALLED, “SHE TOOK THE HAIRDRESSING COURSE, I THINK IT WAS 1937, IN CALGARY, AND SHE REALLY LOVED HAIRDRESSING. SHE DID VOLUNTEER HAIRDRESSING FOR YEARS AT EDITH CAVELL, EVEN LATER IN LIFE. SHE TOOK IT VERY SERIOUSLY, AND LOVED DOING IT. SHE DID [HAIR FOR] NEIGHBOURS, FRIENDS, RELATIVES, BOYFRIENDS, GIRLFRIENDS, DAD…IT WAS ALWAYS A BIG PART OF HER LIFE…NOT REALLY FOR MONEY, JUST THE BARTERING THING, LIKE MAYBE SOMEONE WOULD MAKE HER COOKIES...” “[MOM] DIDN’T DO IT EVERY DAY, BECAUSE [HER AND MY DAD] WERE BUSY—AND THEY WOULD BABYSIT. [MY PARENTS] NEVER HAD GRANDKIDS, SO THEY BABYSAT ALL THE NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS ON NORMANDY…IT WASN’T LIKE A COMMERCIAL OPERATION…AN AUNT WOULD PHONE, ‘I NEED MY HAIR CUT.’ ‘COME ON OVER.’ OR, SHE WOULD GO OVER THERE. AND, MY MOM ALWAYS DROVE, SO SHE WOULD GET AROUND.” “[DURING THE WAR, MOM WAS] HAIRDRESSING, AND WORKING FOR TCA, PREPARING FOOD FOR THE PILOTS.” “IT WOULDN’T BE A LOT [OF MONEY THAT SHE MADE]…BECAUSE PEOPLE WOULDN’T BE SPLURGING TO HAVE THEIR HAIR DONE [DURING THE 1930S AND 1940S]…MOM DOES REMEMBER DOING THE MADAME’S [HAIR]…I DON’T KNOW THE ONE…[THAT WAS WHEN] PROSTITUTES AND MADAMES WERE ALLOWED TO SHOP IN LETHBRIDGE [IN AMMENDMENTS TO THE INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT, DARMODY NOTED, "THERE WAS CONSIDERABLE DISCRIMINATION TOWARD PROSTITUTES AT THE TIME. FOR A TIME, PROSTITUTES WERE ALLOWED TO SHOP IN LETHBRIDGE ONLY ONE DAY PER WEEK"], BUT SHE DID HAVE A MADAME FOR SURE…MOM CONSIDERED HERSELF A GOOD HAIRDRESSER. MY FRIENDS MIGHT DISAGREE, BUT…SHE DID HAVE A FEW INTERESTING CLIENTS, FOR SURE, WHEN SHE STARTED…[IN THE] LATE ‘30S, DURING THE WAR…IT SHOULD BE NOTED WITH THE PASSAGE OF TIME, MOM DIDN’T KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST HAIR STYLES. WHEN I BECAME A YOUNG ADULT, I OFTEN REFUSED TO LET HER CUT OR STYLE MY HAIR.” ON WHERE HER MOTHER DID HAIR, DARMODY SHARED, “I CAN’T REMEMBER HOW THAT WORKED…THERE IS NO PICTURE OF MOM IN A SHOP, SO I’M NOT SURE. THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN HAIRDRESSING PLACES…THE MADAME MIGHT HAVE COME TO THE HOUSE. MOM WOULD HAVE HAD AN APARTMENT.” DARMODY ELABORATED ON HER MOTHER’S PASSION FOR HAIRDRESSING, NOTING, “SHE NEVER STOPPED [DOING HAIR]. WELL, WHEN SHE GOT ALZHEIMER’S, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN DANGEROUS FOR HER TO HAVE SCISSORS, SO SHE PROBABLY STOPPED LATE…CLOSE TO 2000…SHE LOVED IT…EVEN JUST TO CUT DAD’S HAIR, AND THE ODD NEIGHBOR’S HAIR. SHE USED A RULER [TO MEASURE THE LENGTH TO BE CUT] WITH MINE. I DON’T THINK I LET HER [CUT MY HAIR WHEN I BECAME AN ADULT]…IN THE EARLY ‘90S, SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN VOLUNTEERING A LOT AT EDITH CAVELL, AND IT’S KIND OF IRONIC, BECAUSE IT BOTHERED HER, GOING TO THE NURSING HOME, BECAUSE SHE KNEW ALL THESE PEOPLE [SHE OFTEN WOULD BE UPSET TO SEE PEOPLE SHE KNEW FROM THE PAST SUFFERING FROM ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AND NEGLECT]…SHE WOULD MAKE THEM FEEL HAPPY [BY DOING THEIR HAIR]…IT WAS FREE…SHE DIDN’T DO IT FOR MONEY. THEN, SHE ENDS UP IN A SIMILAR SITUATION [BEING PLACE IN CARE FACILITY IN 2001, BECAUSE SHE HAD ALZHEIMER’S], BUT DAD DEALT WITH HER HAIR. HE WOULD JUST CUT IT STRAIGHT, BUT IT SUITED HER.” “SHE WAS A BIT MORE EXTROVERTED THAN DAD, AND JUST THAT CLOSE CONTACT WITH PEOPLE, AND MAKING SOMEONE FEEL HAPPY, WHOEVER THAT PERSON WAS. AND, IF THAT PERSON DIDN’T HAVE MONEY, IT DIDN’T MATTER – JUST MAKING THEM FEEL BETTER.” FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION AND COPIES OF THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20190010001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20190010016

Acquisition Date

2019-06

Collection

Museum

Less detail