Maybelline Company, 5900 N. Ridge Ave., Chicago, IL [Edgewater]
2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the very first Maybelline cake mascara, which was introduced-rather remarkably-by a 21 year-old Chicago kid named Thomas Lyle Williams in 1917. Williams would go on to pilot the Maybelline empire for the next fifty years, playing as big a role as anyone in defining the entire cosmetics industry of the 20th century. By any measure, he ought to be one of the revered business figures of his time-be it as an innovator, a Chicago industrialist, or, in retrospect, a pioneer within the gay community. And yet, compared to the people who put their own names on their products-Coco Chanel, Estee Lauder, Max Factor, etc.-Williams' legacy has languished a bit in obscurity.
Fortunately, the tale of Tom Lyle and the entire Williams family was finally given a proper examination and celebration in 2010, when Tom's own great-niece, Sharrie Williams, published her comprehensive book The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It . Far more than a simple company history, Sharrie's account of the family-owned business-particularly its 50 years of independence in Chicago-reads more like a Hollywood noir or a romance novel, rife with intrigue, in-fighting, dashing gents and fast-talking dames.
Sharrie also notes that Chicago's reputation as the heartbeat of American industry was the thing that had landed Tom Lyle Williams [pictured below] there in the first place.
"You too can have luxuriant eyebrows and long sweeping lashes by applying Lash-Brow-Ine nightly," read a 1915 ad in Motion Picture Classic . "Thousands of society women and actresses have used this harmless and guaranteed preparation to add charm to their eyes and beauty to the face."
[Tom Lyle Williams with his partner of 50 years, Emery Shaver]
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Before & After advertisements showcasing glamorous transformations
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"Carded Merchandising," developed by the marketing genius Rags Ragland, showcased the little red Maybelline boxes in an upright display rather than stacked in a pile on the counter
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Film Star Faces - From the flappers of the silent film era to the likes of Joan Crawford and Betty Grable in the 1940s, Maybelline was all Hollywood from the get-go
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Using the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval to communicate "trust, purity and perfection"