Original stiff blue binder with "Avon" in silver on front cover
n.d., ca. 1937-1940.] · [New York
by [ Advertising.] Avon Products, Inc
[New York California Perfume Company, Inc., n.d., ca. 1937-1940.] Date inferred from the Avon company timeline. The California Perfume Company changed its name to Avon in 1939. The present binder is titled "Avon," but some of the internal material still refers to the California Perfume Company or and "CPC-Avon." The introduction mentions the company's forty-five-year history (1892-1937). These catalogues, which were issued under varying titles more or less annually to Avon representatives, are all scarce, especially those from the 1930s and earlier. OCLC records just one copy of a similar Avon catalogue from 1938 (Hagley Museum) and a few copies of catalogues from 1935-1937 (UC Irvine, Hagley Museum, the Strong). Original stiff blue binder with "Avon" in silver on front cover. 10 x 7. With full-color illustrations of Avon products on nearly every page. Some cracking and a spot of staining. Toning to first and last page. A few ink notations and a few small stickers pasted down throughout (to correct/add prices). Laid in is a sheet of twelve stickers issued by the California Perfume Company for amending the catalogue. A very good copy of a rare, early Avon catalogue. The ink annotations and stickers in the present item suggest that an Avon saleswoman kept this catalogue updated with changing prices and product offerings over time. The stickers issued by the California Perfume Company allow representatives to amend certain catalogue pages (e.g., for Avon hair tonic, pore cream, etc.) with a "Good Housekeeping Magazine Bureau of Foods, Sanitation and Health" seal of approval. A few seals have already been applied to pages of the catalogue.
(Inventory #: 17668)