Nail History - 1938 Edition

So far, I've been sharing information about the pre-polish history of nail care, but today's post shows the earliest newspaper reference I've found to actual colored polish. From the January 14, 1938 edition of the Red & Black, the University of Georgia's student published newspaper (which is still in publication):

I assume from  the fact that this outfit made Costume of the Week, that it was pretty sensational but not generally disapproved of. On the other hand, the editor of the society page did feel the need to hint that black nails looked a little dirty.

Before starting this research, I assumed that anything other than white, pink, and red polishes were a recent innovation, but it seems I was wrong. Modern nail lacquer was invented in the 1920's, and Revlon started selling the first widely popular polishes in the 1930's. By the end of that decade quite a few colors, obviously including black, were available. The more outrageous colors were most popular with college age women.

Nail History - 1919 Edition

Today's nail history article is a little special for two reasons. First, it features some nail advice for the gentlemen, which is pretty rare in my reading of these older articles. Secondly, it involves a nail EMERGENCY. Ok, so the nature of the emergency is not specified, but I tend to assume it involved either a job or a lady. As for the advice itself, I'm curious about the "extreme pointed" nail shape she references. I haven't been able to find any pictures of men's nails from the period, so I'm not sure what may have constituted "extreme" at the time. Personally, I'm not crazy about a very pointed nail shape on either gender, so it may be that I agree with Ms. Jewett's response to this anxious fellow.

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Nail History - 1916 Edition

Today's nail history source is essentially the same ad that I included in my last post. I'm showing you this one because it advertises nail polish and nail rouge. Taken from the May 5, 1916 edition of the Banner, this is the earliest reference to using products to color the nail that I found in the local papers for the Athens, Georgia area. While this ad doesn't specify exactly what the product is, the common practice at the time was to use an oil colored with any of a number of red or dark pink ingredients to essentially stain the nail. After staining, the nails would be buffed or polished with the same mild abrasives mentioned in my first two history posts. This color only lasted a day or two, so it had to be reapplied often to maintain the look.

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You can see the full page ad this was taken from here.

Nail History - 1915 Edition

This is a small portion of a full page ad for the Davison-Nicholson Co., which billed itself as "Athens Busiest Store." The ad originally appeared in the October 15, 1915 edition of the Banner Sunday Morning. I really like the artwork.

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The nail polish advertised here is still the powder or paste used to buff the nails and give them a shiny finish. The rice powder immediately following the nail polish may be a powder that was used under the free edge of the nail to make it appear whiter. I know that such a product was in use in this period, but I don't know what it was made of.

You can see the full page ad this is taken from here.

Nail History - 1887 Edition

This is the first article in what I'm thinking about turning into an occasional series on the history of nail polish and nail care. I've done some research, and the thing I've found most interesting are the articles and ads from previous periods. To start off, I bring you the oldest reference I could find to nail care in the archives of my local paper.

This is an excerpt from the March 15, 1887 edition of the Weekly Banner-Examiner article "The Finger Nails: How Ladies May Keep Their Hands in Good Condition."

The polishing they mention seems to have involved just buffing the nails with a soft cloth covered buffer, and occasionally using a mildly abrasive paste or powder to make the nails smooth and slightly shiny (though a high gloss was apparently considered in poor taste). The full article, which you can read here, also discusses how to properly wash your hands and wearing gloves at night. I also found it interesting that they mention getting a manicure to "put your nails in order at first." I assume this means a professional manicure, and I'm curious to know when professional manicures became available and where they were given (hair salons? somewhere else?).

So, what do you think? Is this interesting? Would you like to see more like it?