Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things (83 page)

Although
The Encyclopedia of World Costume
by Doreen Yarwood (1978, Scribner) is predominantly concerned with the origins of articles of attire, it contains a lengthy and excellent section on the history of cosmetics.

10 Through the Medicine Chest

This chapter more than any previous one deals with brand-name items; individual companies were contacted, and they provided material on their products. While I thank them all, I especially wish to single out Chesebrough (Vaseline), Johnson and Johnson (Band-Aids), Scholl, Inc. (Dr. Scholl’s Foot Care Products), Bausch & Lomb (contact lenses and eye care products), and Bayer (aspirin). What is provided below are easily available sources for the reader interested in pursuing specific topics further.

On the origin of drugs:
History Begins at Sumer
, Samuel Noah Kramer, 1981, University of Pennsylvania Press. Dr. Kramer provides translations of extant Sumerian clay tablets that serve as the first recorded catalogue of medications. In addition:
Barbiturates
, Donald R. Wesson, 1977, Human Science Press;
The Tranquilizing of America
, Richard Hughes, 1979, Harcourt Brace;
The Medicine Chest
, Byron G. Wels, 1978, Hammond Publications.

An excellent reference for over-the-counter drugs common to the home medicine chest is
The Essential Guide to Nonprescription Drugs
, David Zimmerman, 1983, Harper & Row. Augmenting information in this volume, I used
Chocolate to Morphine
, Andrew Weil and Winifred Rosen, 1983, Houghton Mifflin.

The single most comprehensive book I located on the development of the art and science of pharmacy is
Kremers and Undang’s History of Pharmacy
, originally published in 1940 and revised by G. Sonnedecker, with the 4th edition issued in 1976 by Lippincott. Highly recommended.

The Little Black Pill Book
, edited by Lawrence D. Chilnick, 1983, Bantam, provides informative discussions of various classes of medicine chest drugs. For a fascinating account of the 1918 influenza pandemic (as mentioned in the section on Vick’s VapoRub), see
Great Medical Disasters
, Dr. Richard Gordon, 1983, Dorset, Chapter 19; as well as
Influenza: The Last Great Plague
, W. I. B. Beveridge, 1977, Neale Watson Academic Publications; and
The Black Death
, P. Ziegler, 1971, Harper & Row.

Miscellaneous references throughout the chapter to folk cures are often from the monthly “Folk Medicine” column by Carol Ann Rinzler, in
American Health Magazine
.

11 Under the Flag

I am indebted to the Troy, New York, Historical Society for excellent research material on Sam Wilson, America’s original Uncle Sam. For the interested reader, I would recommend
Uncle Sam: The Man and The Legend
,
by Alton Ketchum, 1975, Hill and Wang.

On the Boy Scouts: Much historical material was provided by Boy Scouts of America, headquarters in Irving, Texas. Also,
The Official Boy Scouts Handbook
, William Hillcourt, 9th edition, 1983, published by the Boy Scouts of America. The best single source on Robert Baden-Powell, British founder of scouting, is
The Character Factory: Baden-Powell and the Origins of the Boy Scout Movement
, Michael Rosenthal, 1986, Pantheon Books. Although the scouting organization has always denied that the movement was initially intended to prepare boys for military service, Mr. Rosenthal clearly illustrates that the “good citizens” Baden-Powell hoped to fashion were only one step removed from good soldiers. And while scouting’s founder insisted that the movement was “open to all, irrespective of class, colour, creed or country,” it is equally clear that racial prejudice often crept into Baden-Powell’s writings.

On Mount Rushmore: Historical material provided by the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. An excellent account of the origin and evolution of the momument is contained in
Mount Rushmore, Heritage of America
, 1980, by Lincoln Borglum (with Gweneth Reed DenDooven), son of the man who sculpted the mountain and who himself added the finishing touches upon bis father’s death. It is issued by K.C. Publications, Nevada. A more detailed history is found in
Mount Rushmore
, Gilbert C. Fite, 1952, University of Oklahoma Press.

On American songs: A superb and definitive book on four tunes is
Report: The Star-Spangled Banner, Hail Columbia, America and Yankee Doodle
, by Oscar Sonnect, 1972, Dover. The book is fascinating in that it traces the lore surrounding each song and in a scholarly fashion separates fact from fiction. An additional reference on the origin of songs is
The Book of World-Famous Music
, by James Fuld, op. cit. Since its first publication in 1966, the book has been a monument in music scholarship, with Fuld painstakingly tracing the origins of nearly one thousand of the world’s best-known tunes back to their original printed sources. Long out of print, the book was updated by the author in 1984–85 and reissued by Dover in 1986. It makes for fascinating browsing.

Also used in compiling musical references in this chapter:
American Popular Music
, Mark W. Booth, 1983, Greenwood Press; and
A History of Popular Music in America
, Sigmund Spaeth, 1967, Random House.

On West Point: Material provided by the Public Affairs Office of the United States Military Academy. Also,
West Point
, issued by National Military Publications.

On the American flag: Though much has been written on the controversy surrounding who designed the country’s first flag, one highly readable and scholarly work is
The History of the United States Flag
, Milo M. Quaife et al., 1961, Harper & Brothers. The book dispels many “flag myths,” and in
clear and concise fashion it lays out all the hard facts that are known about this early symbol of the Republic.

An interesting book that explains how “continents, countries, states, counties, cities, towns, villages, hamlets, and post offices came by their names” is
The Naming of America
, Allan Wolk, 1977, Thomas Nelson Publishers.

For this chapter I make one final recommendation:
What So Proudly We Hail: All About Our American Flag, Monuments, and Symbols
, by Maymie R. Krythe, 1968, Harper & Row. This one volume covers the origins of such topics as Uncle Sam, the American flag, the Statue of Liberty, the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials and the Washington Monument, and the White House.

I wish to thank the Washington, D.C., Chamber of Commerce and the Convention and Visitors Association for providing material on the history of the nation’s capital.

On the Statue of Liberty:
Statue of Liberty, Heritage of America
, Paul Weinbaum, 1980, K.C. Publications. I also wish to thank the Statue of Liberty𔂿Ellis Island Foundation for generously providing me with historical material.

12 On the Body

Many separate items are covered in this chapter, and before providing specific references for each article of attire, I present several books that expertly cover the field.

The Encyclopedia of World Costume
, by Doreen Yarwood, 1978, Scribner, is thorough and almost exhaustive on the subject of clothing. R. Turner Wilcox has written several books that provide detailed accounts of the origin and evolution of clothing:
The Mode in Costume
, 1958, Scribner; and in the same series,
Mode in Hats and Headdress
and
Mode in Footware
. Also,
History of Costumes
, Blanche Payne, 1965, Harper & Row.

Pictorial sources were:
What People Wore: A Visual History of Dress from Ancient Times to the Present
, Douglas Gorsline, 1952, Bonanza Books; and
Historical Costumes in Pictures
, Braun and Schneider, 1975, Dover. Another excellent Dover publication is
A History of Costume
by Carl Kohler, 1963. Also of assistance was
The Fashion Dictionary
, M. B. Picken, 1973, Funk and Wagnalls.

On the necktie:
Collars and Cravats, 1655–1900
, D. Colle, 1974, Rodale Press. Also, “Part II: Accessories Worn at the Neck,” in
Accessories of Dress
, op. cit. This work also contains excellent sections on the origins of hats, veils, girdles, shoes, gloves, fans, buttons, lace, handbags, and handkerchiefs.

On off-the-rack clothing: While many of the above books deal with the subject, one highly thorough source is
Fashion for Everyone: The Story of Ready-to-Wear
, Sandra Ley, 1975, Scribner.

On the hat: In addition to the above general sources,
The History of the Hat
, Michael Harrison, 1960, H. Jenkins, Ltd.

Vogue publishes a series of books that I found helpful:

Sportwear in Vogue Since 1910
, C. Lee-Potter

Brides in Vogue Since 1910
, Christina Probert

Shoes in Vogue Since 1910
, Probert

Swimwear in Vogue Since 1910
, Probert

Hats in Vogue Since 1910
, Probert

Lingerie in Vogue Since 1910
, Probert

On the zipper: I am indebted to the people at Talon, Meadville, Pennsylvania, for loaning me the only existing copies of material on the development of the zipper; particularly their own
A Romance of Achievement: History of the Zipper
. I also wish to thank the Chicago Historical Society for information on the presentation of the zipper at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and the B. F. Goodrich Company for information on early zipped boots and the origin of the name “zipper.”

Additional material on swimwear and the bikini was provided by the Atlantic City Historical Society and by Neal Marshad Productions (they allowed me to view an informative film,
Thirty Years of Swimsuit History
); and the National Archives provided reprints of newspaper articles featuring the nuclear bomb blast on Bikini atoll.

On the umbrella: The single best source I located is
A History of the Umbrella
, T. S. Crawford, 1970, Taplinger. It is comprehensive, covering the earliest known umbrellas, which were sunshades, in Egypt and India, and it traces the development of the article through periods of waterproofing, through eras when an umbrella was never carried by a man, and into relatively modern times, when a British eccentric made the umbrella an acceptable male accessory of dress.

For the interested reader in the New York metropolitan area, the single best source of information on clothing is the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan; its collection of materials (costumes and books) is the largest in the world. With time and patience, any question on fashion through the ages can be answered from its resources.

On fabric:
The Fabric Catalogue
, Martin Hardingham, 1978, Pocket Books. This volume provides the origin and history of every natural and man-made fiber and textile.

On the tuxedo: I wish to thank the Tuxedo Park, New York, Chamber of Commerce for historical material on this article on evening attire, as well as the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute (like F.I.T., an invaluable source of information for this chapter).

On jeans: In addition to several general references cited above that contain information on blue jeans, I wish to thank the Levi Strauss Company for material.

On sneakers: Nike, through personal communications, as well as
Breakthroughs!
op. cit., Chapter 10.

Another excellent collection of books on individual items of attire is
The Costume Accessories Series
, published by Drama Books. By item:

Bags and Purses
, Vanda Foster

Hats
, Fiona Clark

Gloves
, Valerie Cumming

Fans
, Helene Alexander

By the same publisher:
A Visual History of Costume Series
:

The 16th Century
, Jane Ashelford

The 17th Century
, Valerie Comming

The 18th Century
, Aileen Ribeiro

The 19th Century
, Vanda Foster

Also,
The History of Haute Couture, 1850–1950
, Diana de Marley, Drama

13 Into the Bedroom

According to popular legend, the brassiere was invented in Germany by Otto Titzling, a name every bit as suspicious-sounding as that of the alleged inventor of the flush toilet, Thomas Crapper. And this is not surprising, for the “biographies” of both characters were penned by the same British author, Wallace Reyburn. Whereas the Crapper book is titled
Flushed with Pride: The Story of Thomas Crapper
(see References, page 432), the book on the bra bears the tide
Bust Up: The Uplifting Tale of Otto Titzling
; it was published by Macdonald in London, in 1971, and the following year in the United States by Prentice-Hall.

Did Titzling exist?

Surprisingly, Reyburn’s book is cited in the references of several works on the history of clothing and costumes. In no less serious a volume than Doreen Yarwood’s
The Encyclopedia of World Costume
(Scribner, 1978), the Reyburn work is listed uncritically as a source for information on “under-ware” (although the spelling of Titzling’s name appears as “Tilzling”). After months of research, it became apparent to me that few people (if any) actually ever read Reyburn’s fiction-cum-fact.
Bust Up
. That can be the only explanation of why it has been taken seriously by many people, why it has been quoted in references, and why it has crept into folklore. After locating one of the few surviving copies of the book (in the New York Public Library’s collection of noncirculating books), I offer the reader several facts from Reyburn’s work that should dispel the Titzling bra myth.