Says this site:
The Pompeian Manufacturing Company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio by Fred W. Stecher, the son of a German immigrant who worked as a druggist and inventor at the West Side Drugstore in the early 1900s.
Laboring in the drugstore's back room, Stecher created a soothing after-shave massage cream for use in barbershops before extending his offerings to an anti-dandruff hair cream and several products earmarked for women, including a night-and-day vanishing cream, a face powder and a lipstick.
Colgate-Palmolive bought it in 1927, didn't do much with the brand, and sold it in 1930. More neglect followed, and the brand disappeared in the early 40s.
Much more here - it's an interesting story about the rise of cosmetics in America. |