GROOMING

 

See Also: BATHS & WASHING; HAIR; TAILORS

 

Botox

During the Second World War American scientists investigated to see whether it might have potential to be used in chemical warfare. They concluded that it was too dangerous to use. Subsequently, in the 1980s, its use as a therapy for treating squints and eye misalignments was developed at the Smith-Kettlewell Research Institute in San Francisco during the early 1970s by the ophthalmologist Alan B. Scott (1932-2021). It did this by relaxing the eye muscles. In 1983 John Lee (1946-2010) of Moorfields Eye Hospital introduced the use of botox injections into the U.K..

Location: Moorfields Eye Hospital, 162 City Road, EC1V 2PD (red, yellow)

Website: www.moorfields.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/Botulinum%20toxin%20toxin%20treatment%20for%20squint.pdf

 

Cosmetics

Animal Testing

Air Chief Marshal Dowding's second wife asked him to use his seat in the House of Lords to advocate for the humane slaughter of animals. He had not been aware that the case was otherwise and therefore investigated the topic. He was appalled by what he discovered and became a vegetarian. Together, the couple founded Beauty Without Cruelty.

Lead poisoning

Victims of white lead (ceruse) included the celebrated beauty Maria Countess of Coventry in 1760 and Kitty Fisher seven years later.

 

Cosmetic Surgery

Gladys

Gladys Deacon (1881-1977) became the second wife of the 9^th Duke of Marlborough. She was dissatisfied by the shape of her nose. She wished to have one that had no dent from the forehead to the bridge. In order to try to achieve this look she had paraffin wax injected into the top of the nose. The material did not settle there. It ran down within her skin and settled in her jawline, which it made sag.

 

Nail Bars

Nails Inc.

Thea Green studied fashion journalism at the London College of Fashion. Her first job was as a fashion assistant at Tatler magazine. She noticed how commonplace nail bars were in New York. She set up Nails Inc. in 1999 and opened her first shop in South Molton Street. Six months later she opened her second in Canary Wharf. The business expanded by linking up with department stores.

Location: 41 South Molton Street, W1K 5RP (blue, pink)

Website: www.nailsinc.com

 

Perfume

See Also: WHALES Ambergris

Perfumers

Floris

The perfumer Floris is descended from a barbershop that was opened in 1730 by Juan Famenia Floris, a Majorcan. (At the time, Majorca was a British possession. The island was transferred from Britain to Spain by the Treaty of Versailles (1783), which ended the American War of Independence.)

For a period the barbershop was based in the St James's Hotel on Jermyn Street

In 1820 Floris received its first royal warrant.

The cabinets in J. Floris are from the Great Exhibition of 1851.

Location: 89 Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6JH (red, pink)

See Also: NAUTICAL The Baltic Exchange, The Baltic Greeks

Website: www.florislondon.com

Jo Malone

Website: www.jomalone.co.uk

Geo. F. Trumper

Geo. F. Trumper is a Gentlemen's Perfumer. The business was founded in 1875.

Alum is an astringent. Geo. F. Trumper has sold blocks of it that could be used to staunch bleeding. It could also be used as a deodorant.

Location: 9 Curzon Street, W1J 5HQ (red, brown)

Website: www.trumpers.com

 

Soap

In 1852 the Gladstone government abolished the soap tax.

Pears

In 1789 Andrew Pears (d.1838) established a soap making business in Soho. He developed a transparent soap.

In 1865 Thomas Barratt married Mary Pears. While his brother-in-law supervised the soap production at the company's Isleworth works, Barratt orchestrated its advertising policy. In an age where living standards were rising, Barratt was able to generate a demand for the company's product through the use of advertising. The firm went public in 1892. In 1896 Barratt offered £100,000 for the right to advertise on the census form.

Pears paid 2000 guineas for a portrait of the young William James by his grandfather the painter John Everett Millais (1829-1896). The painting, known as Bubbles, became a renowned advertising image.

In 1958 pears held its first Miss Pears contest for infant girls; the winner was the three-year-old Susan Cadge from Bristol. By the mid-1990s Pears had become a stylish purchase and was no longer associated just with families. Iin 1997 Pears held its final Miss Pears contest; the winner was a three-year-old called Ella.

Website: www.pearspuresince1807.com

Soper Lane

King Street and Queen Street were created following the Great Fire of 1666 to provide an approach to the Guildhall from the River Thames and perhaps also to create a fire break within the City of London. Queen Street was created in part by broadening Soper Lane, which was where the soapmakers and soapsellers had plied their trades.

Location: King Street, EC2V 8EA (red, blue)

Queen Street, EC4R 1QS (purple, orange)

See Also: THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON; ROADS The King's Road, Royal Avenue; STREETS, SPECIALISED

Unilever

The Lever family were wholesale grocers when their business was adversely affected by the economic depression of the 1880s. William Hesketh Lever decided to become the manufacturer of a product the sales of which were unaffected by economic cycles. He copyrighted the name Sunlight before he had decided what type of merchandise it would be attached to. He chose soap.

Location: Unilever House, 100 Victoria Embankment, EC4Y 0DY (purple, black)

See Also: FOOD BRANDS Unilever

Website: www.unilever.co.uk

Edgar Wallace

The newspaper proprietor Alfred Harmsworth (1865-1922) was concerned by the high price of soap. He had the writer Edgar Wallace (1875-1932) commissioned to write about the subject. The novelist produced a piece that claimed that it had driven a washerwoman to penury. The article was largely fiction. Lever Brothers sued for libel. The company won and was awarded the largest amount up until that date.

 

Tattoos

In the late 18^thC tattooing culture developed in London. Tattoos became one of the means by which the authorities could identify criminals.

The social theorist Jeremy Bentham devised a scheme, Indirect Legislation, whereby every person would be allocated a distinct, individual name. This would then be tattooed on them in a visible place. He thought this would have the effect of discouraging people to commit crimes. He claimed to have devised the scheme after he had noticed an elderly friend who was a sailor had a tattoo of his name. It was supposed to have been tattooed while the man had been a youth.

The Marchioness of Londonderry

In 1938 the Marchioness of Londonderry attended a fashion show. It was noted that her lower legs had been tattooed with a snake, a star, and her family crest. It is thought that she had probably had them done some decades before when things Japanese had been in fashion. With time skirt lengths had risen.

Location: 22 Park Lane, W1K 1BE. (The London Hilton hotel stands upon the site of Londonderry House.) (blue, orange)

See Also: TOWNHOUSES, DISAPPEARED Londonderry House, The Sort of Grandee Who Makes You Wonder

Tattoo Parlours

In 1889 London's first commercial tattoo parlour was opened by Sutherland McDonald above Hammam Turkish Baths in Soho. Its clientele included military officers and lite individuals, some of whom were women. It had become known that various members of the royal family had acquired tattoos while travelling to Japan and Jerusalem.

McDonald was the first person in Britain to patent a tattooing machine.

Location: 76 Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6NP (purple, white)

 

Toothbrush

William Addis is supposed to have re-invented the toothbrush while he was incarcerated in Newgate Prison. It was experiencing some discomfort with teeth when he noticed a brush. It occurred to him that he might be able to alleviate some of his discomfort if he could have a small brush that he could insert into his mouth. He developed a range of different toothbrushes, using different types of bone for the handles and different types of bristle for the brushes. Hogshair were marketed to men and badger, which was softer, to women and children.

Toothbrushes were taken up by the general population after the First World War. This was because they had been issued to troops during the conflict.

Location: 32 Old Bailey, EC4M 7HS (blue, red)

Website: https://wisdom-toothbrushes.com (A company descended from the Addis business.)

David Backhouse 2024