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EGYPTIAN REVIVAL IN THE 1920s

Katherine A. Hunt

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Early American Culture

Spring 2003

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1413558

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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. “BEAUTY THAT ENDURES”:

EGYPTIAN REVIVAL IN THE 1920s

Katherine A. Hunt

Approved: Gretcmen T. Buggeln, Ph.D. U * Professor in charge of thesis on behalf of the Advisory Committee

Approved: juries C. Curtis, Ph.D. Director of the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture

Approved: / ■—> ______Mark W. Huddleston, Ph.D. Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences

Approved: Conrado M. Gempesaw II, Ph.D. Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Planning

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Throughout the year, many individuals have contributed to this paper. Special

thanks go to my thesis advisor, Gretchen Buggeln, whose insightful comments, calm

demeanor and sage advice encouraged me to do my best. I would also like to thank

Neville Thompson and E. Richard McKinstry at the Winterthur Library, Ron Fuchs,

Karen Handling, and Susan Randolph at the Winterthur Museum, Susan A. Davi at the

University of Delaware Morris Library, Susan Hengel and Margie McNinch at the

Hagley Library, Manuscript and Archives collection, and Rebecca Faria, textile

conservator at the Preservation Society of Newport County, Rhode Island. I am grateful

to the Preservation Society of Newport County and the Winterthur Library, Printed Book

and Periodical Collection, for permission to use images from their collections.

Additionally, I would like to thank Hollie Davis for reading and editing my work.

During my two years at Winterthur, my classmates in the Winterthur Program in

Early American Culture have provided countless hours of conversation, academic

stimulation, entertainment and tennis (WPEAC-style, of course). Without the company

of Joanna Frang, Anne Druckenbrod Gossen, Lori Kauffman, Cedar Imboden Phillips,

Andrew Richmond, Erika Rozinek, Scott Wands, Kristen Wetzel, Sarah Woodman and

Clara this project would have been far less enjoyable. Special thanks go to Lori

Kauffman for listening to my ideas and passing along useful sources and to Sarah

Woodman for her sense of humor and love of Resettlers.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. I am personally indebted to my friends at Brandywine Valley Baptist Church for

their support throughout these past two years. Special thanks go to the members of my

bible study for their encouragement and interest throughout the thesis writing process.

Angela Goin, Ruth Miner, Jennifer Grayson, Charlene McAllister, Laurie Coffin and

Becky Piech were instrumental in the completion of this paper. I would also like to thank

Christopher Whelan for his understanding during these past few weeks.

Most important, I would like to thank my parents, Dennis and Jeanne Hunt, and

sister Elizabeth, for their encouragement throughout the past twenty-four years. They

dragged me to museums before I thought it was cool, let me return countless times to the

Egyptian galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and supported me in innumerable

ways throughout my academic career. I dedicate this manuscript to them.

Katherine A. Hunt Spring 2003

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES...... vi

ABSTRACT...... vii

“BEAUTY THAT ENDURES”: EGYPTIAN REVIVAL IN THE 1920s

Tutankhamen and the New York Times...... 1

Egyptian Revival Advertising...... 25

Egyptian Revival and the New Woman ...... 41

Egyptian Revival and African-Americans ...... 57

Escape and Permanence ...... 68

ILLUSTRATIONS...... 72

BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 88

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: “Tut-Ankh-Amen’s Inner Tomb is Opened ...... 72

Figure 2: Egyptian-inspired Fashions ...... 73

Figure 3: Mrs. Margaret F. Drummond Wolfe as “Isis” c. 1924 ...... 74

Figure 4: Dromedary Dates: The First Date in History— ...... 75

Figure 5: Palmolive: Still—That Schoolgirl Complexion...... 76

Figure 6: Alvin: Luxor Silver Pattern ...... 77

Figure 7: Dr. West’s Toothbrush: The Secret Revealed! ...... 78

Figure 8: Caterpillar Tractor Co.: Do it with “Caterpillars”! ...... 79

Figure 9: Wilson Built Body ...... 80

Figure 10: Melachrino Cigarettes: The One Cigarette Sold the World Over ...... 81

Figure 11: Palmolive: Who is She?...... 82

Figure 12: Fiberloid ...... 83

Figure 13: Elgin Watch Co.: He did his gift shopping at the jewelers!...... 84

Figure 14: Nile Queen Preparations ...... 85

Figure 15: Poro: A Symbol of Quality ...... 86

Figure 16: DUCO Du Pont ...... 87

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT

Just after Howard Carter’s 1922 discovery of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s tomb in

Luxor, Egypt, references to ancient Egypt appeared in nearly every medium of

expression: fashion, architecture, decorative arts, literature, theater and advertising. On

the surface, the explosion in Egyptian-influenced material culture reflects the publicity

received by the opening of Tutankhamen’s tomb in major newspapers. Yet, through

Egyptian imagery, Americans were able to engage issues concerning society in the

1920s: class disparity, faith, shaping one's identity, definitions of beauty, the role of

women in modem society, and color politics in the African-American community. By

looking to ancient Egypt, Americans sought something permanent to hold on to in an era

of rapid change, as well as a place to escape to when the present became overwhelming.

The gravitation to an exotic location and a place that seemed unchangeable suggests that

there was a fundamental uncertainty underlying American culture in the twenties.

vii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Tutankhamen and the New York Times

In a decade of prosperity and excess, the Pharaoh Tutankhamen made his much-

publicized re-appearance. The story of the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb first

appeared in the New York Times on November 30, 1922 in the summary of an Associated

Press report from Egypt:

3,270 year-old Throne Unearthed in Egypt

Gorgeous Funeral Paraphernalia of King Tuhank Hamen Found by British Scientist

London, Nov. 29 (Associated Press). — What is claimed to be the most sensational Egyptological discovery of the century in a Cairo dispatch to “The Times” from the “Valley of the Kings” on the site of ancient Thebes, near Luxor. A series of subterranean chambers has been explored and so far has disclosed the funeral paraphernalia of the Egyptian King Tutank Hamen, one of the heretic kings of the eighteenth dynasty, reigning about 1350 B.C. The discovery was announced today by Lord Carnarvon specially summoned by the explorer, Howard Carter, who had been excavating at this place with Lord Carnarvon for seven years but with little success. In the royal necropolis of the Theban Empire, directly below the tomb of Ramses VI, a chamber was discovered which contained Tuhank Hamen’s gem- studded throne. This is described as one of the most beautiful art-objects ever found. Moreover the explorers came upon the exquisite carved gilt couches inlaid with ivory, other furniture, a quantity of royal robes, some of them richly decorated; life-size statutes and vases of the most intricate design; and the remains of large quantities of victuals for the dead. Important papyri were also found, which are expected to clear up many important points relating to the eighteenth dynasty.1

1 “3,270 year-old Throne Unearthed in Egypt,” New York Times, 30 November 1922; quoted in Nathan B. Zimmerman, Tut-Ankh-Amen in Three New York Newspapers: A Study o f a Newspaper “Boom " (M.A. Thesis, Columbia University, May 1923), 4-5. 1

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. After describing how archaeologist Howard Carter and his patron Lord Carnarvon made

“the most sensational Egyptological discovery of the century,” the article lists the

contents of the tomb. Among the contents emphasized were a “gem-studded throne,”

“gilt couches” and papyri expected to be important for Egyptologists.2 The next day

readers learned about the “Gem-Studded Relics in Egyptian Tomb” that amazed

explorers and promised to reveal the “mummy of a monarch who ruled 3,270 years ago.”3

The article quoted Howard Carter’s comments about his discoveries in the tomb:

A sealed outer door was carefully opened, then a way was cleared down some sixteen steps and along a passage of about twenty-five feet. A door to the chambers was found to be sealed as the outer door had been and, as on the outer door, there were traces of reclosing. With difficulty an entrance was effected and when at last the excavators managed to squeeze their way in an extraordinary sight met their eyes, one that they could scarcely credit. First they saw three magnificent statues, all gilt, with exquisite carving and the heads of Typhon, Hathor and a lion. On these rested beds beautifully carved, gilt and inlaid with ivory and semi-precious stones, and also innumerable boxes of exquisite workmanship.4

The article also described the condition of artifacts found in the tomb amid speculation on

whether the tomb had been disturbed since it was closed.5 Until the following year, these

articles contained all the significant news out of Egypt concerning the tomb opening, as

2 “Throne Unearthed,” New York Times, 30 November 1922; quoted in Zimmerman, Three New York Newspapers, 4-5.

3 “Gem-Studded Relics in Egyptian Tomb Amaze Explorers,” New York Times, 1 December 1922, pp. 1-2.

4 “Gem-Studded Relics,” New York Times, pp. 1-2.

5 “Gem-Studded Relics,” New York Times, pp. 1-2.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Howard Carter had to wait for his patron, Lord Carnarvon, to travel to Luxor so the

excavations and emptying of the tomb could continue.

Just after Howard Carter discovered the Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922,

and into the middle of the decade, references to ancient Egypt appeared in nearly every

medium of expression: fashion, architecture, decorative arts, literature, theater and

advertising. On the surface, the explosion in the Egyptian revival can be explained by the

opening of the tomb and the subsequent publicity received by Tutankhamen in major

newspapers. Vehicles of mass culture and the trendsetting town of New York picked up

Egyptian imagery because it was attractive, fashionable and fit into the major design

trends of the decade. However, the endurance of the revival suggests that there is

something more to the surge of references to Egypt. What was going on in America in

the 1920s that made the Egyptian revival endure? How did Americans perceive ancient

Egypt? How was the Egyptian revival used by different individuals and groups? What

does Americans’ love of ancient Egypt reveal about the roaring twenties?

Beyond its visual interest, the presence of the Egyptian revival in American

culture reveals much about the tone of the decade. By examining the Egyptian revival,

we can gain an understanding of the concerns and anxieties of Americans at the time.

Cultural historian Christopher Frayling discusses the idea of the 1920s Egyptian revival

as cultural conversation in his book The Face ofTutankhamun (1992): “the cultural

history of Egypt was filtered through the domestic concerns . . . of Europe and

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. America.”6 The reason for this, Frayling argues, is that the tomb contained very little

undisputed information of historical importance. Although, the artistic and visual merits

of the tomb are undeniable, as reflected in the Egyptomania of the 1920s, “the newly

opened tomb became a void into which the obsessions of the day were unceremoniously

pushed.”7 Thus, a close study of the Egyptian revival in popular culture will reveal the

“obsessions” of Americans at the time.

This paper will explore the 1920s to determine how the Egyptian revival played a

role in the “many-voiced cultural conversation” of the period.8 Jackson Lears, author of

Fables o f Abundance: A Cultural History o f Advertising In America, uses the phrase to

describe how advertising played a role in American culture. His idea applies to many

expressions of the Egyptian revival in the 1920s; here I will discuss coverage of the tomb

opening in the Hew York Times, advertising, and other forms of the revival as it appeared

in major magazines of the decade. This type of study expands our understanding of the

1920s Egyptian revival beyond a period when the opening of the tomb of Tutankhamen

had a strong effect on the visual arts; the Egyptian revival was indeed a form of cultural

conversation.9 This study will show that Americans’ interest in ancient Egypt reflects

6 Christopher Frayling, The Face ofTutankhamun (London: Faber & Faber, Ltd., 1992), 65.

7 Frayling, Tutankhamun, 65.

8 Jackson Lears, Fables o f Abundance: A Cultural History o f Advertising in America (New York, NY: BasicBooks, HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1994), 3.

9 Jean-Marcel Humbert, Michael Pantazzi and Christiane Ziegler, Egyptomania: Egypt in Western Art, 1730-1930 (Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1994), 508.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. their own concerns about the rapid pace of change in modem society. Through the use of

Egyptian imagery, Americans were able to engage issues concerning society in the

1920s: class disparity, faith, shaping one’s identity, definitions of beauty, the role of

women in modem society, and color politics in the African-American community.

Overall, by looking to ancient Egypt, Americans sought something permanent to hold on

to in an era of rapid change, as well as a place to escape to when the present became

overwhelming.

On Monday January 27,1923, nearly two months after the initial reports from

Luxor the New York Times ran a full-page advertisement notifying the public that the

newspaper had contracted with Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter for exclusive access

to “the only authorized service of news and pictures of the tomb of Tut-ankh-Amen.. . .

He has therefore placed in our hands the whole of the series publication rights of his

expedition . . . news of discoveries, special articles, interviews, and photographs relating

to the several chambers of the tomb of king Tut-ankh-Amen.” The advertisement closed

with the promise that exclusive photographs of the tomb findings would appear in the

photogravure section of the Sunday New York Times over the next several weeks.10

When Lord Carnarvon arrived in Luxor on January 29, the newspaper was prepared to

report all the news that was fit to print about the tomb opening.11

10 “The Only Authorized Service of News and Pictures of the Tomb of Tut-ankh- Amen,” New York Times, 27 January 1923, p. 16. The same advertisement also appeared on 1 February, p. 11; 6 February, p. 13; 8 February, p. 15; and 9 February, p. 15.

11 “Carnarvon Arrives to Open Inner Room of Pharaoh’s Tomb,” New York Times, 30 January 1923, p. 1.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The New York Times dominance of news about the discoveries in Egypt is

important when considering the overall effects of the discoveries on the Egyptian-

inspired decorative arts and fashions in the 1920s.12 Through his almost daily reports to

the New York Times, Lord Carnarvon described the pharaoh’s possessions and the steps

being taken to preserve the objects.13 The Times headlines placed an emphasis on the

gold, silver and semi-precious materials used in ancient Egypt. On several occasions the

archaeological finds were referred to as “treasure,” the first headlines referred to “Gem-

Studded Relics,” and writers for the New York Times emphasized the monetary value of

the finds in Egypt while readers were educated on the use of various objects from the

tomb in addition to stories of daily life in ancient Egypt.14 The reports appearing in the

newspaper were a combination of history, speculation and sensationalism.

12 The New York Times was one of hundreds of newspapers, both for Caucasian and African-American readers, which carried stories about the tomb opening. The difference in the New York Times coverage was the volume of material. In a survey of New York newspapers, journalism student Nathan B. Zimmerman found that the New York Times carried 22 features on the tomb opening in February of 1923 while The World and The Globe carried one each. Zimmerman, Three New York Newspapers, 3.

13 “Carnarvon Tells of Beauties Found in Egyptian Tomb,” New York Times, 31 January, pp. 1,10.

14 “Gem-Studded Relics in Egyptian Tomb Amaze Explorers,” New York Times, 1 December 1922, p. I; “Recent finds in Egypt Valued at 3,000,000 [British Pounds],” New York Times, 2 December 1922, p. 16; “Americans Saved Tutankhamen Treasures, Halting Their Own Work to Serve Science,” New York Times, 28 January 1923, p. 1; “The Priceless Treasures of the Tomb of Tut-ankh-Amen,” New York Times, 9 February 1923, p. 15; “Pharaoh’s Shrine is Rare Treasure,” 10 February 1923, p. 13; “Royalty Inspects Pharaoh Treasures,” New York Times, 19 February 1923, p. 3; “Tomb Treasures Revise our Ideas of Ancient Egypt,” New York Times, 21 February 1923, pp. 1, 3.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Without the reports from the New York Times, the discovery of the tomb would

not have received so much attention or had such a far-reaching impact on popular culture.

In May of 1923, Nathan Benjamin Zimmerman, a master’s student in the Journalism

program at Columbia University, wrote his master’s thesis on the Tutankhamen

newspaper “boom” in New York City. While much of Zimmerman’s thesis is an analysis

of the coverage of the tomb opening by the New York Times, the World, and the Globe.

he does comment on why a newspaper boom was needed to make such an impact on the

Times readers. “If a newspaper is to be heard above the din of our modem life, its voice

must rise above the rest. The tune our civilization plays is in a constant crescendo and

the newspapers are forced to greater and greater efforts to make their booms register.” 13

Zimmerman’s concise summary of the pace of life in New York City and the loose

combination of history and sensationalism that comprised the reports from Egypt suggest

something of the tone of the decade.

The New York Times devoted the greatest amount of copy to the opening of the

inner chamber of the tomb. The day before the chamber opening, the newspaper ran an

article anticipating the next day’s news: “Ready for Opening of Inner Chamber of

Pharaoh’s Tomb,” a shorter article on the importance of photography in documenting the

tomb’s chambers containing new speculation on the historical importance of the

Pharaoh.16 Then, on February 17, the front page of the New York Times announced

15 Zimmerman, Three New York Newspapers, 2.

16 “Ready for Opening of Inner Chamber of Pharaoh’s Tomb,” New York Times, 16 February 1923, pp. 1-2; “Camera Records Details of Tomb,” New York Times, 16 7

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. “TUT-ANKH-AMEN’S INNERTOMB IS OPENED, REVEALING UNDREAMED OF

SPLENDORS, STILL UNTOUCHED AFTER 3,400 YEARS” (figure 1).

LUXOR, Egypt, Feb. 16 - This has been, perhaps, the most extraordinary day in the whole history of Egyptian excavation. Whatever any one may have guessed or imagined of the secret of Tut-ankh-Amen’s tomb, they surely cannot have dreamed the truth as now revealed. The entrance today was made into the sealed chamber of the tomb of Tut- ankh-Amen, and yet another door opened beyond that. No eyes have yet seen the King, but to practical certainty we know that he lies there close at hand in all his original state, undisturbed. Moreover, in addition to the great store of treasures which the tomb has already yielded, today has brought to life a new wealth of objects of artistic, historical, and even intrinsic value which is bewildering. It is such a hoard as the most sanguine excavator can hardly have pictured, even in visions in his sleep, and puts Lord Carnarvon’s and Mr. Carter’s discovery in a class by itself and above all previous finds.17

The lengthy article covers the entire second page describing the ceremonies of the tomb

opening, speculating on the last date that anyone entered the tomb and telling of the

information expected from the inner chambers of the tomb.18 To accompany the three-

column-wide headlines, the New York Times reproduced two line drawings taken from

the tomb of another Egyptian official, showing King Tutankhamen sitting on the throne.19

Excitement over the opening of the untouched portions of the tomb continued the next

February 1923, p. 2; “Thinks Tut-Ankh-Amen ruled for Nine Years,” New York Times, 16 February 1923, p. 2.

17 “Tut-ankh-Amen’s Inner Tomb is Opened, Revealing Undreamed of Splendors, Still Untouched After 2,400 Years,” New York Times, 17 February 1923, pp. 1-2.

18 See also “Expect New Facts from Inner Tomb,” New York Times, 17 February 1923, p. 2.

19 “Inner Tomb,” New York Times, 17 February 1923, pp. 1-2. It should be noted that the New York Times never devoted an entire front page to a news article, nor did headlines exceed 2 or 3 columns in width.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. day as the New York Times described “Tomb Treasures of Tut-Ankh-Amen Beyond

Reckoning.” The writer seemed unable to describe adequately the treasures found

therein: “The gem-studded cavern o f Ali Baba seems to have been a trinket shop in

comparison and Aladdin’s lamp never revealed such treasures as the flashlights from the

torches illuminated to the lucky few who entered the mortuary chambers yesterday.”

Like the previous day, the entire second page of the New York Times was devoted to

describing the tomb’s contents and subsequent comments by experts.20

New Yorkers responded to the news of the tomb opening with enthusiasm: “The

world-wide interest in the excavation of the tomb of King Tut-ankh-Amen ... was

reflected yesterday in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where double the usual number

of visitors was reported by the attendants, particularly in the Egyptian section.”21 Interest

in the museum’s Egyptian artifacts increased, as reported by one attendant:

“It’s the biggest crowd I’ve ever had to handle,” said the attendant at the tomb of Pemab of the Fifth Dynasty, about 2650 B.C., “and it’s all because the people have been reading the accounts of the excavations near Luxor. Formerly visitors walked through in a casual sort of way most of them curious to see the mummies. Now they are beginning to read the inscriptions that go with them.” 22

Toward the end of February, interest in the Metropolitan Museum’s collections had not

dwindled. The New York Times reported that “6,800 of 8,000 visitors go to the rooms

20 “Tomb Treasures of Tut-Ankh-Amen Beyond Reckoning,” New York Times, 18 February 1923, pp. 1-2.

21 “Crowds at Museum See Egyptian Tombs,” New York Times, 5 February 1923, p. 3. See also “Everyday Life Of Egyptians Revived by Museum Exhibit,” New York Times, 11 February 1923, section 8, page 3.

22 “Crowds at Museum See Egyptian Tombs,” New York Times, 5 February 1923, p. 3.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. containing the Egyptian relics.” At that time visitors came to the museum to see a ring,

believed to have been owned by King Tutankhamen, as well as the museum’s Egyptian

collections acquired between 1919 and 1921.23 The New York Times created a newspaper

boom by publishing all the information coming from Egypt, as well as reporting on the

effects of that news in New York City.

For Americans with the means to travel abroad, Luxor and the tomb became a

popular destination. The New York Times reported that in late February “of 600 tourists

aboard the Adriatic , 250 are bound for Luxor to visit the famous royal tomb of Tut-ankh-

Amen, which they have read about.. . . A special rush train has been reserved to make a

rush trip for the 600 miles from Alexandria to Luxor for those who are returning on the

Adriatic ,”24 For those who did not need to hurry back to America, a lively community of

tourists emerged in Luxor.

All the hotels at Luxor are filled with eager Americans, while the whole riverfront is alive with American flags waving from private Dahabeyahs... . The majority of Americans have had their interest in Egyptology stirred by Tut-ankh- Amen and have been raiding the bookstalls, and wherever one turns now one meets a pair of Americans deeply focused in Egypt’s ancient history. Since the arrival of the latest big parties of Americans the social life has been considerably livened. It was once fashionable to loll in the hotel salon after dinner, listening to an orchestra concert, but the Americans decided that orchestras should play not classical but dance music, and every evening now there is a vivid scene in the ballroom, extending long after midnight. Members o f the British aristocracy find the American girls charming and there is now a laughing, joyous Anglo-American entente. The whole story was told in one sentence by a

23 “Museum Throng Sees Tut-Ankh-Amen Ring,” New York Times, 19 February 1923, p. 3.

24 “Hundreds on Way to Luxor,” New York Times, 25 February 1923, p. 6.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. young American.... He stated bluntly : “Luxor is all right except for the gloom cast around by Tut-ankh-Amen’s death.”25

Tourists in Luxor studied ancient Egypt and visited the excavation site during the day,

while engaging in the social scene at night. The constant interruption of work by tourists

at the tomb was well publicized, but did not slow the stream of tourists stopping by to see

the archaeologists’ progress.26

At the same time the New York Times reported on the events in Luxor and in New

York, the newspaper supported and reflected an interest in using Egyptian themes in

fashion, decorative arts and popular culture. As early as Sunday, January 28,1923, an

advertisement for the Avedon clothing store in New York City showed the pleated

“Cleopatra” skirt for sale for only $19.95.27 The following Thursday the front page

headline read “Pharaoh’s Sandals May Set New Style.” A scientist reporting on findings

at the tomb wrote “when these sandals have been restored . . . I fully expect [that] we

shall see our smartest ladies wearing footgear more or less resembling and absolutely

inspired by these wonderful things.”28 By February 4,1923, Egyptian fashions were

reported to have appeared above the ankles as “Designers of women’s gowns follow

models of Tut-ankh-Amen’s time.”

25 “Layman Impressed by Pharaoh’s Tomb,” New York Times, 23 February 1923, p. 15.

26 “Layman Impressed,” p. 15.

27 “Avedon: Cleopatra, A Skirt,” New York Times, 28 January 1923, p. 17.

28 “Pharaoh’s Sandals May Set New Style” New York Times, 2 February 1923, p. 9.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The newest gowns are made on long straight lines and folds, which were quite the thing among the ancient belles. The palest shade of turquoise, with trimmings of black, gold and silver, will predominate in the West End ballrooms this season. . . Egyptian headdresses, scarabs and pearls have an increasing demand. Practically all the fashionable jewelers are displaying ancient styles of jewelry.29

That same day a photograph of “The Luxor Gown” appeared in the photogravure section

of the newspaper, showing a woman wearing a “silk sport dress, hand-painted with

historical panels.”30 The following Sunday the photogravure section of the New York

Times showed “New York’s adaptation of the Egyptian motif: afternoon wrap of heavy

ivory crepe embroidered in gay colors and secured with a buckle of dull beaten gold

inspired by the discovery of King Tut-ankh-Amen’s tomb.”31 Advertisements in the New

York Times also reflected the interest in Egyptian-inspired fashions. Designers J. M.

Gidding & Co. of Fifth Avenue advertised that they had gone “into Egypt for fashions.”

With customary Fashion foresight Gidding is the first to exemplify the influences of the Egyptian Excavations in costumes for Spring. The rich embroideries of Tut-ankh-Amen in shades o f turquoise, Egyptian red and burnished gold - the jewel encrusted robes -the designs and carvings and even fabrics originated three thousand years ago are being to-day revived in the Gidding workrooms for Tailleurs - Luncheon Frocks - Dinner Gowns and Wraps for the American woman of Fashion.32

29 “Pharaonic Styles Set New Fashions,” New York Times, 4 February 1923, p. 3. See also “Hats for Comfort Mark Fashion Show,” New York Times, 20 February 1923, p. 18; “Sure Tomb Designs Will Set New Styles,” New York Times, 27 February 1923, p. 1, 6. Also, note “Is Egyptian Style Already Overdone?” New York Times, 2 March 1923, p. 25.

30 New York Times, 4 February 1923, photogravure section. See also Micki Forman, “Tutmania,” Dress 4 (1978): 11.

31 New York Times, 11 February 1923, photogravure section.

32 “J. M. Gidding & Co.: Into Egypt for Fashions,” New York Times, 20 February 1923, p. 5.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Miss Hazel Slaughter, a young American designer selected to travel to Egypt to research

Egyptian design sources, summed up the influence of the New York Times on fashion:

‘The Times is directly responsible for the keen interest which has been aroused in the Egyptian excavations and by fostering the Egyptian work has done much to encourage art in America.. . . There is no doubt that the Tut-ankh-Amen discoveries will greatly influence fashions the world over.. . . In giving the public daily accounts of the work going on in the excavations The Times has created unusual interest in Egyptian things in general, and this interest is bound to be reflected in the styles and fabrics of the future.’33

Miss Slaughter was correct: the 1920s would be a period of great interest in Egyptian

history and art, which would be reflected in American fashion, decorative arts and

popular culture. Mass culture of the 1920s, a product of society and business in the urban

areas, helped spread this phenomenon throughout America.

The surge of interest in Egyptian art and culture during the 1920s was one of

several revivals of the Egyptian taste in American history. The story of Egyptian revival

in the United States begins with the renewed interest in classical motifs in the decorative

arts and architecture in the late eighteenth century and first half of the nineteenth century.

At the time, America was participating in an international neo-classical style that had its

European origins earlier in the eighteenth century. The Egyptian revival movement in

America began with the publication of descriptions and engravings of Egyptian

antiquities by Dominique-Vivant Denon (1747-1825) discovered during Napoleon’s 1798

33 New York Times, 14 February 1923, p. 14. See also “They Watch Egypt for Fashion News, M. Gidding Says Designers are on the Eve of a Revolution in Dress,” New York Times, 18 February 1923, pp. 1-3; “Flowers of Nile Sought by Fashion,” New York Times, 18 February 1923, section E, page 5; “To Show Flowers of Pharaoh’s Time,” New York Times, 11 March 1923, p. 18.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. campaigns. Voyage dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte (1802) and Description de I 'Egypte

(1809-1828) described the antiquities of Egypt with engravings and text.34

Americans responded to the revival of Egyptian taste within the context of neo

classical revival with Egyptian-inspired decorative arts and architecture. At the same

time, rural cemeteries like Mount Auburn and Laurel Hill contained Egyptian revival

memorial architecture and monuments to the dead. Mount Auburn had an Egyptian gate;

a deep cavetto cornice with the winged disk overlooks the visitor at the main entrance.33

The presence of Egyptian themes in cemeteries is not surprising considering that the

discovery of pyramids, tombs and religious structures in Egypt increased Europeans’ and

Americans’ knowledge of the Egyptian beliefs in the afterlife.36

The Egyptian revival in America during this time was marked by a greater

number of architectural expressions than in Europe, beginning in 1808 when Benjamin

Latrobe used the Egyptian style in a proposed design for the Library of Congress. One

later noteworthy example was the reservoir and aqueduct in New York City built between

1837 and 1839. The building, no longer standing, was noted for its smooth monolithic

34 Peter Thornton, Form & Decoration: Innovation in the Decorative Arts, 1470- 1870 (New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, 1998), 152; Wendy A. Cooper, Classical Taste in America, 1800-1840 (New York, NY: The Baltimore Museum of Art, Abbeville Press Publishers, 1993), 130; Humbert, Egyptomania, 200-5.

35 Richard G. Carrott, The Egyptian Revival: Its Sources, Monuments, and Meaning, 1808-1858 (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1978), fig. 58.

36 Peggy McDowell and Richard E. Meyer, The Revival Styles in American Memorial Art (Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1994), 158. The connection between Egyptian imagery and death was present prior to the Victorian period; the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, VA has an Egyptian style building built in 1844.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. exterior, tapered pylon towers and a deep cavetto cornice on the buildings and door

surrounds, architectural elements that, in addition to winged disks on a cavetto cornice

and tapered door surrounds, were typical of Egyptian revival architecture in the

nineteenth and twentieth centuries.37

Following the neo-classical revival of Egyptian themes in the decorative arts and

architecture, the next event to bring Egypt back to the minds of Americans was the

opening of the Suez Canal in Egypt on March 18, 1869.38 Americans displayed their

interest with Egyptian-inspired decorative arts and more memorial architecture. Egyptian

revival furniture o f the late nineteenth century was enveloped in the Renaissance, Greek

and Gothic revivals taking place at the time, in addition to the inspiration of

contemporary Egyptian furniture. The decorative arts showed the Egyptian influence

through the use of scarabs, sphinxes and obelisks, fanciful hieroglyphs, pyramids and

busts of Cleopatra attached to furniture (also called pharonic heads). Between the 1870s

and the next period of intense Egyptian revival in the 1920s, Egyptian-inspired decorative

arts persisted within the Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts context. While not as prolific as

37 Catherine Hoover Voorsanger and John K. Howat, eds., Art and the Empire City: New York, 1825-1861 (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000), 10,434; Cooper, Classical Taste, 130; Carrott, Egyptian Revival, n.p.

38 While the opening of the Suez canal was the next big event, it was one of a series of events that exposed Americans to Egypt in the 19th century: 1817, the discovery of the Great Temple of Abu Simbel and the opening of six royal tombs in the Valley of the ICings and 1840s, the opening of the overland route to India through Egypt. Hudson River Museum, The Sphinx and the Lotus: The Egyptian Movement in American Decorative Arts, 1865-1835 (Nanuet, NY: M-Tech Printing, The Hudson River Museum, Inc., 1990), 2.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. during the greater part of the nineteenth century, more subtle forms of Egyptian revival

continued into the beginning of the twentieth century. Each time the Egyptian revival

had an influence on art, architecture and the decorative arts, it adapted to the dominant

design trends of the time.39

The Egyptian Revival of the 1920s was strongest immediately after the opening of

the tomb and into the middle of the decade. As before, decorative arts and architectural

expressions were part of the Egyptian revival, but the addition of many popular culture

references to ancient Egypt set the 1920s apart from earlier Egyptian revivals. As the

New York Times articles show, fashion was one major outlet for the Egyptian revival

style in 1923; decorative arts with Egyptian motifs were ubiquitous as well. The authors

and creators of movies, music, theater and literature of the twentieth century all took part

in the fashionable Egyptian revival movement. As in the late nineteenth century,

Egyptian revival in the 1920s had a commercial element as advertisers used images of

Egypt to sell a variety of products. The saturation of popular culture with ancient

Egyptian motifs was reflected in the New York Times as well as national magazines like

Vogue, The Ladies Home Journal and Saturday Evening Post.

The use of Egyptian motifs in the 1920s took place in the context of the “modem”

styles and the Colonial Revival movement of the 1920s. Among “modem” styles, Art

39 Between 1870 and 1930 Americans expressed an interest in the modem Orient, or Near Eastern, Middle Eastern and North African countries. This paper will define Egyptian Revival as the use of decorative elements from ancient Egyptian art. Holly Edwards, Noble Dreams, Wicked Pleasures: Orientalism in America, 1870-1930 (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 2000), 11-36, 99-116.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Deco had a broad range of motifs and decorative elements, with sharp angles or

controlled curves, in traditional and modem materials, most often with smooth surfaces

and simple shapes. An important element of Art Deco was surface treatment, whether

lavish veneers, polished metals, contrasting inlay or textured upholstery. Within this

design, the Egyptian revival could occur in an overt manner, such as brightly enameled

Egyptian figures, hieroglyphs and scarabs decorating a cigarette case, or in more subtle

forms, such as a silvered bronze clock with a trapezoidal shape that suggested Egyptian

headdresses.40 There is a strong connection between the use of veneers and rich surfaces,

simple shapes and polished metals, and the expensively decorated objects found in

Tutankhamen’s tomb. The Egyptian revival style, when imitating objects and decorative

elements in the newly opened tomb, was compatible with the Art Deco style, a

circumstance that may be one reason for the increased use of Egyptian motifs in the

decorative arts of the time.

Art Deco was not the only place Egyptian motifs appeared in the arts. The

modem styles of the 1920s contrast with the Colonial Revival styles that began in the last

quarter of the nineteenth century. Collecting early American antiques, as well as buying

modem reproductions, was part of the Colonial Revival movement; furniture

manufacturers made reproductions of American colonial furniture from the eighteenth

40 Bevis Hillier, The World o f Art Deco: An Exhibition Prepared by The Minneapolis Institute o f Arts, July-Sept. 1971 (New York, NY: E. P. Dutton, 1971). See catalogue number 392 pictured on page 101 and catalogue number 338 pictured on page 32.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. and nineteenth centuries.41 Egyptian revival styles were part of this trend, due to the

presence of Egyptian motifs on nineteenth-century Federal and Empire style decorative

arts. Weymer Mills, author of “The Renaissance of Pharaonic Furniture: The Egyptian

Modes of Napoleon Return to Favor” (Vogue, December 1923), advocated the tasteful

use of Empire-style antiques with Egyptian influences. He insists “a litter of sphinxes or

a nest of monkey-faced gods in the room . . . is apt to turn the apartment into a chamber

of horrors.”42 Mills’ article gives a brief history of French Napoleonic (or Empire) style

furniture, the sources of Egyptian revival during the early nineteenth century, and the

present-day location and prices of these antiques. He finishes with a warning of the

potential problems with the Egyptian revival style:

If Mary Modish keeps alive her Egyptomania long enough to make a successful haul of Sphinx-beladen pieces, let her beware . . . lest her home should suggest the suffocating, shiny, wooden glories of the hostelries of yesterday.. . . One of the new Egyptian rooms has sapphire-blue walls sprinkled with the stars from the garment of Egypt’s goddess, Nut - the thing of starry spaces. This room, a boudoir has its silver lotus flowers. Its god-encrusted furniture is in cream colour upholstered in the faint tint of the Nile lily. The floor is painted black and has a white polar bear rug before the dressing-table, which has an old silver lyre-shaped mirror rising out of a billowing sea of white lawn over pink silk. The bottles and boxes for toilet-waters and cosmetics are of that pearly Empire glass which flashes a multitude of tints.. . . The Pharaonic style must be touched with pain staking, delicate fingers.43

41 Oscar P. Fitzgerald, Four Centuries o f American Furniture (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1995), 295.

42 Weymer Mills, “The Renaissance of Pharaonic Furniture: The Egyptian Modes of Napoleon Return to Favour,” Vogue 62 (December 15, 1923): 94.

43 Mills, “Renaissance,” 94.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Mills’ comments are best summed up with his quotation of a woman speaking with an

interior decorator about creating a room in this style: “Don’t show me chintz with

Egyptian patterns of drawings of queer things your artists can copy from old art books or

the pyramids. Get me the 1799 vintage devised for Napoleon.”44

Mills’ warning to “Mary Modish” to avoid the suffocating use of the Egyptian

revival suggests that, for the 1920s elite, there was a right way and a wrong way to use

Egyptian motifs. To the modem reader the description of the stylish bedroom suggests a

tacky decor: sapphire blue walls sprinkled with stars, gilt furniture with cream upholstery,

silver lotus flowers and a black floor with white polar bear mg. Throughout much of the

Egyptian revival there is an element of the gaudy; Egyptian themes in the decorative arts

can slip easily into bad taste. Mills’ solution to this was to buy antique furniture with

Egyptian motifs, which probably cost more than many could afford. Thus, one’s social

and economic standing was revealed in the quality of one’s use of the Egyptian revival.

While this concept is not new in American history, what is striking about Mills’

article in Vogue is the connection between class and the Egyptian revival in the 1920s.

Following World War I, America entered a recession when unemployment rose and

workers went on strike to protest wage cuts; in 1922, the economy recovered, and

America entered a period of unprecedented economic growth. Industrial productivity

rose and surpassed the floundering post-war economy in Europe. Political conservatism

and government support of big business promoted material progress in America. The

standard of living rose, and the 1920s are remembered as a time of prosperity when

44 Mills, “Renaissance,” 46.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. anyone could get rich. In reality, economic growth was reserved for those earning over

$3,000 a year; the number of millionaires and those with six figure incomes rose

dramatically. At the same time, the average worker suffered in the new era o f machine

production and faced growing unemployment and shrinking wages. Simply stated, the

rich gained wealth while real incomes for the lower and middle-classes were only slightly

greater than the decade before. The result was augmented economic and class disparity

throughout the 1920s.45

Americans participated in the Egyptian revival in different ways. The members

o f the middle- and upper classes purchasing the Napoleonic Egyptian revival were

advised to shun the Tutankhamen-inspired version of the revival. Perhaps they

understood that the 1920s Egyptian revival and prosperity would not be permanent, but in

the spirit of modem fashions looked for a more lasting expression of the Egyptian taste.

The connection between class and the Egyptian revival is underscored by the New York

Times coverage of life in Luxor for Americans and Europeans who traveled there to see

the tomb. Only individuals of a certain economic standing could afford to travel to Luxor

and remain during the excavation season. One’s social and economic standing was

reflected in one’s interactions with the Egyptian revival.

In addition to interior decorating, Vogue’s coverage of the Tutankhamen-inspired

fashions provides a good overview o f how designers put Egyptian motifs onto the

fashions of the day. On April 1,1923, the magazine reported that the new spring

45 Lynn Dumenil, The Modern Temper: American Culture and Society in the 1920s (New York, NY: Hill and Wang, 1995), 6; Geoffrey Perrett, America in the Twenties: A History (New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1982), 31-32, 321-24.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. fashions came in a variety of styles; Egyptian designs had to compete with Indo-Chinese,

Second Empire and 1880s inspired fashions. The basic vertical silhouette that defined

Egyptian revival clothing was “one with the drapery pulled up in the front of the skirt,

with a panel sometimes falling over it in the manner favoured by the ladies of the court of

Tut-ankh-Amen” (figure 2).46 Fashion designers imitated the narrow dresses that hugged

the hips of figures represented in statues and wall murals recently discovered in Egypt.

The popular fabric was crepe de chine, often in silk. Fabrics could be printed, beaded or

embroidered with abstract Egyptian designs or left plain. The popular colors were black,

different shades of blue with Egyptian names like “Pharaoh blue,” red and green, and,

whenever possible, fabrics of silver and gold.47 Below the ankle, the “New Egyptian

Sandal” made an appearance. Footwear designers either copied directly from examples

found in the tomb or created modem interpretations of the Egyptian shoe. “The petal

shaped cutout design suggests the Lotus flower, and the straps are fastened by the new

Isis buckle,” states one advertisement in Vogue in May of 1923.48 Jewelry was not

immune to Egyptian-inspired fashions either, and often showed the influences of the Art

Deco style. Sphinxes, winged scarabs, ankhs, mummies and “Egyptian rosettes” in

46 “Contradictions of the Paris Openings,” Vogue 61 (1 April 1923): 47.

47 “Contradictions,” 47-49, 142,144,146; “R. H. Macy & Co.: Spring Sponsors Knitted Apparel,” Vogue 61 (15 April 1923): 3; “Paris Reads the Riddle of the Egyptian Sphinx,” Vogue 61 (15 April 1923): 51; “Gowns Slender in Line are Gay in Fabric,” Vogue 61 (1 May 1923): 63. See also Dilys E. Blum and H. Kristina Haugland, Best Dressed: Fashion from the Birth o f Couture to Today (Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1997) and Nancy Bradfield, Costume In Detail: Women's Dress 1730- 1930 (Boston, MA: Plays Inc., 1983), 359-60.

48 “Regal Shoes: New Egyptian Sandal,” Vogue 61 (1 May 1923): 135.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. geometric designs were found on bracelets, necklaces, earrings, compacts, pins and hat

pins. Favorite materials for these styles include onyx, diamonds, rubies, sapphires,

emeralds, lapis lazuli, coral, jade and enamels set in silver, platinum and gold.49 While

this describes the high-style fashions, cheaper imitations were available to American

women who could not afford diamonds.

The fashions described above gave women the opportunity to wear Egyptian-

inspired clothing and accessories. Wealthier women and men had the opportunity to be

Egyptian, for one evening at least, by dressing up as historic or fictional Egyptian

characters to attend a fancy dress ball. While the fancy dress ball was nothing new, the

1920s Egyptian-inspired dresses are set apart by their adherence to archaeologically

correct fashions. The Preservation Society of Newport County (Rhode Island) owns a

fancy dress that illustrates the popularity of dressing as an Egyptian for fancy dress balls

in the 1920s (figure 3). The fancy dress was worn by Mrs. Margaret F. Drummond

Wolfe in 1924 to a ball in Newport, Rhode Island. The dress is meant to represent Isis,

and is based on netted dresses found in the excavations in Egypt after 1922. It is a sheath

dress consisting of a beaded bodice, and may have at one time had a gathering at the

waist with a panel hanging down the front. Because the dress has been altered, only

photographs show that the dress once had an accompanying pharonic headdress and

49 “The Newest Jewellery is Egyptian in Inspiration: Jewellery from Theodor B. Starr,” Vogue 61 (15 May 1923): 48; “Magnificence of Stones and Design Marks New Jewellery,” Vogue 63 (15 May 1924): 70-71; Hillier, Art Deco, 196-97.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. wings attached to the arms of the wearer. Carter’s discovery increased the desire to

imitate Egyptian forms and motifs in modem forms and fashions.50

The concept of dressing as an ancient Egyptian figure appears in the novel

Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos (1925). In the novel, the character Jimmy Herf

and his mother discuss how she should dress for an upcoming fancy dress ball. During

their discussion, it is apparent that Mrs. Herf feels she will adopt the characteristics of the

person she impersonates. “Mother who d’you want to be Mary Queen of Scots or Lady

Jane Grey?” asks Jimmy. “But they both had their heads chopped off honey . . . I don’t

want to have my head chopped off.” Later conversation returns to the same subject when

Jimmy asks “Would you rather be Cleopatra? She had a wonderful appetite and ate

everything that was put before her like a good little girl.”51 The thought that Mrs. Herf

puts into her decision on what to wear implies that her costume has an intensely personal

meaning as she believes she will adopt the characteristics of an historical figure.

The Egyptian revival provided an escape for the real Maijorie Drummond and the

fictional Mrs. Herf, a change from their normal lives and identities. Such escape was also

offered in American cinemas. Many movies in the early 1920s used ancient Egypt or

Egyptian settings to attract an audience. Perhaps the most extravagant was the two-

50 Information from an exhibition at the 2002 centennial celebration of Rosecliff, a Gilded Age mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, Party Fashions: Formal Fanfare to Fancy Dress (April 13 to November 3, 2002). Thank you to Rebecca Faria, Costume Conservator for the Preservation Society of Newport County, for guiding the author through the exhibition and assisting with the image of Mrs. Wolfe.

51 John Dos Passos, Manhattan Transfer (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1925; Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1963), chapter IV.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. million-dollar Cecil B. De Mille production of The Ten Commandments. De Mille

recreated the “city of Ramses” for the opening scenes of the movie that showed the

Israelites oppressed under the rule of the Pharaoh. Ernst Lubitsch produced the

Paramount picture The Loves o f Pharaoh, the story of Egypt’s wars with Ethiopia and the

building of a “treasure house” for the Pharaoh. Treasure and Egyptian tombs were

popular topics, most notably in The Fortieth Door, a movie based on a novel o f the same

title written by Mary Hastings Bradley, and The Lure o f Egypt, both of which depict the

excavation of the Pharaoh’s tombs.52 Until the opening of Tutankhamen’s tomb,

producer Mr. William P. S. Earle was working on a film that told the story of the

Pharaoh’s life in historically accurate settings (date unknown, circa 1922). Earle later

changed the title to Dancer o f the Nile and focused the story on a dancer in the royal

palace because of the saturation of popular culture with references to Egypt and

Tutankhamen by August 1923.53

Another notable connection between Egypt and the American cinema is the

development of 1920s Egyptian revival movie theaters. Grauman’s Egyptian Theater in

Hollywood opened in 1922, before the tomb even became an international phenomenon.

The cinema was said to be based on a temple in Thebes, although the Egyptian elements

were not archaeologically correct. When movie-goers approached the building, they saw

crouching sphinxes and Egyptian-head pilasters decorated the building. On the interior,

52 Bruce Bryan, “Movie Realism and Archaeological Fact,” Art & Archaeology 18 (October 1924): 131-44. Many of these films are now lost.

53 Dudley S. Corlett, “Art on the Screen; of the Film of Tutankhamen,” Art & Archaeology 16 (July-August 1923): 237-39.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. flared columns support a corbelled arch above the stage. Egyptian figures and

hieroglyphs decorate much of the interior, and scored walls suggest the interior of a stone

tomb. This theater extended the movie experience from the screen to the atmosphere of

the building. Ogden, Utah; Boise, Idaho; DeKalb, Illinois; and Indianapolis, Indiana also

boasted Egyptian revival theaters in the 1920s.54

Americans could go to the movies and imagine themselves discovering the tombs,

uncovering great treasures, even being an ancient Egyptian. When the movie ended that

dream continued until one walked out the door. If one wore Egyptian-inspired fashion or

fancy dress, the fantasy never really had to end. Much like authors of the Lost

Generation, such as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, who looked for a way to

express their disillusionment with society in the 1920s, those who engaged in the

Egyptian revival were looking for a way to escape into something or someone else. The

Egyptian revival provided a way to alter one’s identity and escape from one’s life, at least

temporarily. The decade was a turbulent time when Americans confronted the constant

barrage of popular culture. The Egyptian revival was one way that Americans escaped

old roles and negotiated new ones in a changing America.

Egyptian Revival Advertising

When examining major magazines of the 1920s, the Egyptian revival appears

most often in the form of advertising. Using the Egyptian revival in marketing and

54 Hudson River Museum, Sphinx and the Lotus, 25-27; Humbert, Egyptomania, 512-14; Blumenson, American Architecture, 28-29.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. advertising was not a new trend; starting in the late nineteenth century, Egyptian themes

had been used to sell beer, cigarettes and beauty products. In the late 1890s, the Pabst

brewing company proclaimed that “The History of Brewing Begins with Egypt” and

showed several Arabian men on camels standing next to a temple and pylon announcing

that Pabst Milwaukee had won the supreme award at the Worlds Fair.55 Cigarette

advertisers had an even closer connection to Egypt because the tobacco used in cigarettes

often originated in Egypt. By the 1910s, several cigarette companies claimed this

privilege and used Egyptian imagery in their magazine and newspaper advertisements

and on packaging: “Murad: The Turkish Cigarette,” “Helmar, Turkish Cigarettes,”

“Ramses Cigarettes,” the “Schinasi Bros. Natural Egyptian Cigarettes,” and “Egyptian

Deities.”56 Egypt was also used in the 1910s to sell Palmolive soap as part of a

successful advertising campaign that continued into the 1920s. By the 1920s, Americans

were familiar with the use of Egyptian imagery to grab the consumers’ attention and sell

products. However, the use of Egyptian revival advertising in the 1920s occurred at a

much greater rate than in previous decades. Magazines such as Vogue, Saturday Evening

55 “Pabst Milwaukee: History of Brewing Begins With Egypt,” Vogue, 25 July 1895, iii. One year later the Pabst brewing company announced that “The Art of Brewing was Developed by Germans” in a Gothic-inspired advertisement (Vogue, 21 May 1896, p. 361).

56 Cigarette advertisements for Murad and Helmar come from two cigarette tins in possession of the author. Ramses, Schinasi Bros, and Egyptian Deities Cigarettes advertisements available in the N. W. Ayer Archives collection at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (Series I, book 673, 677, 687). These advertisements were found in magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, Theatre Magazine, Life, and the New York Spur.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Post and Ladies Home Journal ran advertisements throughout the 1920s that illuminate

our study of the Egyptian revival.

A brief survey of Egyptian revival advertisements in national magazines

addresses at least two different issues of the revival during the decade. First, we can

examine how Americans perceived ancient Egypt by studying the imagery and text in the

advertisements. Through this study, we will see that advertisers appropriated a concise

group of visual elements to conjure up the idea of Egypt for consumers. Second, we will

be able to understand how the Egyptian revival addressed or reflected broader concerns

held by many Americans as advertisements are part of the “many-voiced cultural

conversation” taking place in the 1920s.

Most obviously, Egyptian revival advertisements reflect the mass culture

mechanism put in motion by the coverage of the tomb opening in newspapers across

America. An advertisement for Dromedary Dates from the Saturday Evening Post

illustrates the influence that the New York Times had on advertising and Americans’

understanding of Egypt during the time of the tomb opening (figure 4). The

advertisement shows a black and white photograph from the tomb antechamber with a

drawing of ajar superimposed on the top center of the image. Underneath the image, the

advertisement announces “The first Date in History- Discovered among the Treasures o f

King Tut-Ankh-Amen." Underneath the photograph is a portion of a newspaper article

from the New York Times (February 13) describing the contents of the tomb: “hawks

bearing . . . disks elaborately decorated upon their heads, spurs, a fly-whisk with a

leopard-headed handle, a pink ushabti figure, a mass of long staves highly ornamented

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. with inlaid barks, and some dried dates in a red pottery dish, exactly like the well-known

pottery made today at Asslut.”57 In the text of the Dromedary advertisement, the jar of

dates is referred to as “one of the priceless relics of a forgotten Pharaoh.” The advertiser

reminds readers of the origins of Western civilization: “since civilization was in its

cradle, dates of the Orient have nourished mankind.” The advertisement also draws a

connection between the Pharaoh buried with his possessions, among which was ajar of

dates, and the modem diet. “With all the glories of ancient Egypt at hand, dates were

selected to sustain King Tut-Ankh-Amen. Is it any wonder that dates from the Garden of

Eden are a necessity of modem life?”58 Readers could regain their connection to Egypt

and the dead Pharaoh by participating in modem consumer culture and buying

Dromedary Dates. The advertiser assumed that the audience of the Saturday Evening

Post would have read the New York Times, recognize the photograph and newspaper

article and be inspired to purchase its product.

The Dromedary advertisement also reflects the sensational elements of the New

York Times coverage. Specifically, when the advertiser wrote “a piece of red pottery was

carried into the sunlight of the Valley of Kings the other day-one of the priceless relics of

a forgotten Pharaoh,” his language reflected the trend to dramatize the archaeological

discoveries in Luxor. The emphasis placed on “priceless relics” echoed the sensational

57 “Pharaoh Paintings Show Nile Changed,” New York Times, 13 February 1923, p. 23.

58 “Dromedary Dates: The First Date in History,” Saturday Evening Post 195 (31 March 1923): 140.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. aspects of the New York Times coverage when Lord Carnarvon’s reports compared

Tutankhamen’s tomb with the treasures of Ali Baba’s cave and Aladdin’s lamp. This

advertisement is riding the wave of the newspaper “boom” in New York in order to be

heard above the “din of modem life.”59

Even before the tomb opening turned into a newspaper “boom,” the Palmolive

Company was using Egyptian imagery in its 1920s advertising campaigns. As noted,

Palmolive used Egyptian-inspired advertising from the 1910s and well into the 1920s.

Early in the advertising campaign, the figure of a beautiful Egyptian woman, or

Cleopatra, posed provocatively for the reader. Much like the advertisements of the

1920s, these advertisements connect Palmolive soap to the beauty regimen of women in

the ancient world.60 Palmolive advertisements with Egyptian imagery appeared both

before and after the opening of Tutankhamen’s tomb in November 1922, indicating the

popularity of using Egyptian themes to sell products separate from the opening of the

tomb.

The same month that the New York Times announced that a great treasure had

been founding Luxor, a Palmolive advertisement (figure 5) appeared in the Saturday

Evening Post. The advertisement illustrates a ubiquitous visual element in all media of

Egyptian revival in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: the winged disk, which depicts

a disk, flanked on both sides by serpent heads and wings. In ancient Egypt the winged

59 Zimmerman, Three New York Newspapers, 2.

60 See “Palmolive Shampoo,” Vanity Fair 10 (April 1918): 117; “Palmolive Shampoo,” Vanity Fair 10 (June 1918): 105; “Palmolive Soap,” Vanity Fair 10 (October 1918): 130.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. disk with serpents of Re was often found inscribed on a cavetto comice located above the

entrance to a tomb or temple. Another variation on this theme, found in jewelry and

faience (opaque glazed earthenware) placed in the wrappings of mummies, was the

winged scarab. Both the disk and the scarab represent the rising sun, and the scarab also

represents the spirit of a deceased individual. The winged disk and scarab are symbols of

the sun’s continuous cycle of death and rebirth, a perspective that reflected ancient

Egyptian beliefs in the afterlife.61 This motif was a popular ancient Egyptian design

element that found its way into Europe even before the Napoleonic campaigns through

the drawings of many designers and travelers in Egypt.62 The presence of the winged

disk on twentieth-century advertising is not surprising considering the m otifs long

history of use in ancient and modem architecture and decorative arts.

The winged disk in the 1922 Palmolive advertisement is centered underneath a

panel of Egyptian wall carvings and hieroglyphs with the name “PALMOLIVE”

superimposed over the image. The panel shows both seated and standing Egyptian-style

figures with hieroglyphs between figures and in a line of text underneath the images. The

panel runs across the top eighth of the advertisement and is slightly tapered at the top,

suggesting the shape of a pylon. Along the bottom of the image on the right side is the

signature of McClelland Barclay (1891-1943), a painter and illustrator known for his

61 Humbert, Egyptomania, 246, 260-61, 360, 476, 535.

62 Curl, Egyptian Revival, 94-95, 96-97, 108-111.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. work in advertising from the late 1920s and 1930s.63 While it is possible that Barclay

copied a published source for this illustration, it is most likely a composite image from

real and imagined Egyptian sources.

The advertisement claims that Egypt is the source of the Palmolive beauty secret:

When must beauty cease? Never, if you know how to keep it Cleopatra kept her youth. She reached the height of her fame and beauty when some women imagine they must fade and grow old, keeping her youthful charms and freshness by the same simple means which we recommend today. Cosmetic cleanliness was a daily rite, and the cleanliness employed [sic] were palm and olive oils. This kept her complexion fresh and smooth, stimulated to healthful functioning.64

Palmolive’s soap claimed to use a formula of palm and olive oils similar to Cleopatra’s

beauty regimen. The advertisement implies that by purchasing Palmolive soap women

could become as beautiful as Cleopatra and retain their youthful appearance well into

their thirties.

The American interest in Egyptian-inspired decorative arts played an explicit role

in a popular advertising campaign found in Good Housekeeping and Ladies Home

Journal from 1923 and 1924 for Alvin, Long-Life Silver Plate in the Luxor pattern

(figure 6). “All four elements of the perfect Christmas gift are possessed by this striking

Luxor Pattern of Alvin Long-Life Silver Plate. It is beautiful, it is useful, it is enduring -

and, with all the world interested in Egyptian art, it is ultra-fashionable.”65 The Luxor

63 Charles Goodrum and Helen Dalrymple, Advertising in America: The First 200 Years (New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1990), 167.

64 “Palmolive: Still—That Schoolgirl Complexion,”The Saturday Evening Post 195 (9 December 1922): 80-81. See also “Palmolive: Why Fade at 30?” The Saturday Evening Post (11 November 1922): 86-87.

65 “Alvin: The Luxor Pattern,” Good Housekeeping 77 (November 1923): 105.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. silverware pattern relies on the lotus for a subtle decorative pattern that does not appear

overtly Egyptian. Instead the advertisements themselves capture the eye with

imaginative Egyptian images that appear to be wall-paintings from an ancient tomb or

temple. The three main elements to the advertisement’s Egyptian imagery are a small

panel of lotus flowers, an Egyptian figure with several un-Egyptian motifs and a bird at

the top of the advertisement with a wing suspended over the width of the page. The

bird’s wings recall the winged disk motif and the lotus flowers, reflected in the silver

pattern, and symbolize the sun and regeneration.66

While all of the Alvin company advertisements for the Luxor pattern show a

similar artistic style, the text used to sell the product varies with the different

advertisements. The popularity of contemporary Egyptomania was one approach, as

indicated in the above quote. In another advertisement the advertiser stressed the

connection between the silverware and the beauty of ancient Egyptian artifacts: “Ancient

Art and Modem Craft: Here is a design that in character and beauty has the feeling of

ancient Egyptian art.”67 Beauty was also a theme for the Alvin advertisements from the

Ladies Home Journal: “The Character of this striking design is as old as the art of Egypt,

as fresh as the spirit of beauty.”68 Like the Palmolive advertisements’ emphasis on

beauty, Alvin applies this idea to the consumer by connecting ancient Egypt to the beauty

and character of modem Alvin silverware.

66 Humbert, Egyptomania, 479-80.

67 “Alvin: The Luxor Pattern,” Good Housekeeping (June 1924): 248.

68 “Alvin: The Luxor Pattern.” The Ladies Home Journal 41 (May 1924): 76.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. At times, there is no obvious connection between the product and Egypt,

emphasizing how advertisers and the editors of the New York Times used news and

images from Egypt to draw consumers. An advertisement for Dr. West’s toothbrush that

appears in the Ladies Home Journal and Saturday Evening Post in the mid-1920s draws

on two instantly recognizable ancient Egyptian elements, the Great Sphinx of Giza and

the pyramids, as well as the popular image of camels crossing the desert (figure 7).69 In

the advertisement, unlike the actual monument, the sphinx is smiling broadly and

showing clean white teeth. The text of a similar advertisement appearing in the Saturday

Evening Post proclaimed:

Healthy Gums - Good Teeth - Good Health! When the Sphinx first smiled across the sands of Egypt some five thousand years ago - good teeth glistened in the mouths of those ancient people. Only about three out of one hundred had decayed teeth. Today the appalling ratio is ninety-five out of every one hundred. The people in King Chephren’s time ate coarser foods. Their gums were kept sound and strong by natural massage. But now in this day our teeth and gums need something that modem diet does not give - the strength building actions of Dr. West’s Tooth Brush.70

By using Dr. West’s toothbrush, the consumer can regain the dental health advantages of

the ancient Egyptian diet that have been lost by eating modem foods. The advertisement

places emphasis on returning to the good aspects of life in Egypt in an effort to sell the

product.

69 “Dr. West’s Tooth Brush: The Secret Revealed!” Ladies Home Journal 41 (April 1924): 63.

70 “Dr. West’s Tooth Brush: The Secret Revealed!” Saturday Evening Post 196 (15 March 1924): 176-77.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The sphinx holds another important place in an advertisement for the Contex

“Silent Gear Material.” The visually uninteresting advertisement shows the Great Sphinx

and pyramids at Giza at the top of a one column-wide advertisement in the Saturday

Evening Post. Underneath the advertiser writes:

Silence IS Golden. That’s not just poetry. Silence your industrial machinery and the elimination of wear, tear, rattle and vibration will be worth good gold to you. Almost unbelievable quietness of operation may be attained by simply replacing certain metal gears with mute gears made of CONTEX Gear Material. This is a laminated phenolic condensation material which has the strength of cast iron without cast iron’s unfavorable metallic qualities. CONTEX Gears will lengthen the life of practically any kind of industrial, electrical or automotive machinery . . . 71

The advertiser connected the Great Sphinx with silence and financial gain. While the

product had no connection to ancient Egypt, the silent, mysterious qualities of the Sphinx

appealed to the advertiser who anticipated that the image of the Sphinx would catch the

eye of the Saturday Evening Post reader. The ancient Egyptian sphinx, a human face

wearing the royal nemes headdress placed on a lion’s body, represented a Pharaoh and

often bore his cartouche. The Great Sphinx at Giza was carved over 4,000 years ago to

represent an Old Kingdom Pharaoh, Chephren. Later, Egyptians associated the sphinx

with the solar cult and placed its image at the entrance to temples and sacred sites. The

sphinx may be the most often copied symbol of ancient Egypt; it was first copied by the

ancient Greeks for use in architecture as well as mythology. Every phase of the Egyptian

revival has included an interpretation of the sphinx, perhaps because it is one of the most

71 “Contex Silent Gear Material: Silence Is Golden,” Saturday Evening Post 196 (21 June 1924): 93.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. easily recognizable representations o f Egypt.72 In this case, the advertiser chose to

capitalize on the sphinx’s mysterious qualities (little was known about the Great Sphinx)

and age. Contex gears will remain as silent as the Sphinx has been about its origins and

will allow your machinery to last for generations thus saving you money.

The Contex and Dr. West toothbrush advertisements make a positive association

with an aspect of life in ancient Egypt and a product that can bring that aspect of

Egyptian life to the modem consumer. However, not all advertisements proposed that

ancient Egyptian life was worth emulation. The benefits of progress in the modem world

over life in ancient Egypt is the subject of a Caterpillar Tractor company advertisement

from the Saturday Evening Post (figure 8). The advertisement shows hundreds of slaves

struggling to pull heavy stones into place to build a pyramid underneath the watchful eye

of the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh is wearing the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, often

shown by the vulture’s head and cobra at the brow of the Pharaoh. Seated next to him are

four Egyptian nobles or administrators wearing the traditional striped nemes headdress, a

wide collar (bateau) necklace, and heavy eye makeup. The makeup, an extended outline

of the eye, represents the udjat eye; the eye was often worn as an amulet, a symbol of

good health and filial piety.73 Also wearing eye makeup and a false beard, the pharaoh is

leaning forward in surprise to see a tractor pulling a large stone up the ramp to the

pyramid. “The vivid contrast of sweating men and straining animals-and the eager power

72 Humbert, Egyptomania, 86-87.

73 Treasures ofTutankhamun (New York, NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1976), 130-31.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. of ‘Caterpillar’ Tractors! Today the outdoor tasks of roadbuilding, earth-moving, logging

and fanning are being done better, quicker and cheaper by dependable and economical

‘Caterpillars.’”74 While the tradition of building great and lasting structures will

continue, the modem builder can replace inefficiency and thousands of workers with an

efficient machine operated by one man. In this case, purchasing the product advertised

will disconnect the consumer and builder from ancient Egypt. The advertisement makes

it clear that progress and change have improved with advances in technology.

The Wilson Body Company of Detroit, Michigan also emphasizes improvements

in technology in several advertisements showing well-known figures on historical modes

of transportation, such as camels and chariots, and emphasizing the passage of time and

improvement in luxury (figure 9). In one advertisement, the biblical figure Joseph is

shown riding next to the Pharaoh on a chariot that is weaving through a crowd of

Egyptian individuals wearing the nemes outside of a pylon entrance to a temple.

Yesterday ... Early Egyptian history records that Joseph ranked next to Pharaoh, and so ride in a chariot worthy of his station. In its day Joseph’s chariot was a vehicle of note. But centuries have passed. Progress has put the comforts of home on wheels. And modem conceptions of luxury are brilliantly summarized - Today in a motor car with Wilson built Body.75

74 “Caterpillar: Do It With ‘Caterpillars’!” Saturday Evening Post (20 November 1926): 179. See also “Caterpillar: The Coming of the ‘Caterpillar’ Tractor,” Saturday Evening Post 199 (12 February 1927): 128.

75 “Wilson Built Body,” Saturday Evening Post 195 (30 June 1923): 128.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. In another advertisement, the patriarch Abraham is shown riding a camel next to

the great pyramids.76 The connection between ancient Egypt and biblical times, also seen

in DeMille’s The Ten Commandments discussed earlier, shows how Americans thought

of Egypt within a framework they already understood. The connection also shows the

relationship between Egypt and faith at a time when America seemed to be rejecting

fundamentalism in favor of a secular society.77

Ideas about mystery, silence and religion were tied to ancient Egypt. The Contex

gears advertising campaign associates the Sphinx with silence, a reference to the

mysteries surrounding the Sphinx’s purpose in ancient Egypt. This highlights how little

was known about ancient Egypt, despite Carter’s discoveries in Luxor. The Dromedary

dates advertisement refers to Tutankhamen as a “forgotten Pharaoh,” again emphasizing a

lack of knowledge about Egypt in the 1920s. Part of the interest in and attraction to

ancient Egypt was an attempt to learn the mysteries of the Sphinx and the forgotten

Pharaoh. Not only were Americans in the 1920s fascinated with Egyptian religions and

beliefs in the afterlife, they also made a connection between biblical times and ancient

Egypt. Religious groups had come under pressure in the 1920s as many Americans

questioned the place of religion in contemporary culture. The hold of Protestant

Christianity on American culture had weakened in the late nineteenth century, but

reached a new low in the 1920s. This change toward a more secular society was,

76 “Wilson Built Body,” Saturday Evening Post 195 (2 June 1923): 63.

77 For more on the connection between ancient Egypt and Christianity see “His Heretic Throne in Pharaoh’s Tomb,” New York Times, 26 February 1923, p. 1,4.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. perhaps, inevitable in the face of hedonism and the commercial mentality of the decade.

Many individuals had to evaluate their own beliefs or ignore the subject and embrace a

secular mass culture. Americans began to wonder how religion mattered in their own

lives while filled with doubt and uneasiness in the face of modem culture.78 The Wilson

Built Body advertisement reflects these concerns, if only peripherally, by bringing

biblical associations to a modem mass-culture phenomenon.

Finally, advertisers in the 1920s continued the tradition of using images of Egypt

to sell cigarettes. In advertisements that appeared in Vanity Fair, images of Egyptian

architecture appear with cartons of Melachrino cigarettes (figure 10).79 In the center of

the advertisement is a pylon, or a monumental temple gateway that is narrower at the top

than the bottom, with a cavetto cornice, or concave molded comice, surmounted by the

winged disk and serpents. The pylon entrance shows tall lotus plants on the left and a

vulture with extended wings on the upper right. On each side of the pylon is a reeded

column topped with a lotus capital. The reeded column was a popular feature for

Egyptian revival advertisements and decorative arts in the 1920s; the columns represent a

bundle of stalks or reeds that terminate in a lotus flower capital.80 This design originated

78 Dumenill, Modern Temper, 167-74.

79 Most cigarette advertisements from the 1920s found by the author lacked overt Egyptian-revival elements such as were common in the 1910s cigarette advertisements. See “Murad: For Those Who Feel Entitled to Life’s Better Things,” Time (5 September 1927): 31; and “Camels: It’s Fair Sailing— ,” The Delineator (August 1928): 76.

80 The reeds are convex, differentiating them from the concave reeding found on the Greek order of capitals found in classical and neo-classical architecture.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. with nineteenth-century designers who copied actual and imagined Egyptian architectural

elements and published them in design books.81

The handful of Melachrino advertisements found in Vanity Fair show variations

on this same theme: reeded columns frame a central doorway underneath a cavetto

comice with winged sun disk. The doorway contains images of lotus flowers and

Egyptian birds as well as the advertiser’s statement of why Melachrino is the best

cigarette. “The constant smoker finds in Melachrino Cigarettes a delicacy of flavor of

which he never tires.”82 In addition, “Among men whose cultivated tastes are an

inheritance from generations of refined surroundings-the name of Melachrino is a

familiar one.” The advertisements also have two different appearances; the one shown

here (figure 10) is of a crisp, unblemished Egypt, perhaps as it was in ancient times.

Other Melachrino advertisements show ancient Egyptian ruins.84 The advertisements do

not claim that Melachrino cigarettes contain Egyptian tobacco, instead the advertiser

emphasizes quality, refined taste and generations of use. The product claims to provide a

seamless connection to ancient Egypt for the tobacco connoisseur.

81 For one example see Frederick Ludwig Nordon’s Travels in Egypt and Nubia (based on travels to Egypt in the 1730s) discussed in Curl, Egyptian Revival, 97.

82 “Melachrino: ‘The One Cigarette Sold the World Over’,” Vanity Fair (October 1924): 2.

83 “Melachrino: ‘The One Cigarette Sold the World Over’,” Vanity Fair (November 1924): 2.

84 For example, see “Melachrino: ‘The One Cigarette Sold the World Over’,” Vanity Fair (January 1925): 93.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Egyptian revival advertisements reflected and reinforced popular perceptions

about Egypt. Visually, Americans in the 1920s thought of ancient Egypt as a land of

pyramids and sphinxes, such as the pyramids and Great Sphinx at Giza, with men

crossing the vast desert on camels. The Egyptian landscape was also dotted with temples

with tapered pylon doors and reeded columns. Temples and tombs were decorated with

stylized-wall paintings showing hieroglyphs and Egyptian figures. Ancient Egyptians,

according to American popular culture in the 1920s, ornamented architecture and the

decorative arts with Egyptian figures, birds, the winged disk, scarabs and lotus flowers.

They wore the nemes headdress, bateau necklaces, the udjat eye and close-fitting

clothing. The pharaohs wore a headdress reflecting their rule over Upper and Lower

Egypt, while thousands of slaves worked to build the pyramids that dominated American

thoughts about Egypt. The Egyptian landscape and the decorative arts found in tombs

were beautiful works of art made with the richest materials that lasted thousands of years.

Advertisers gravitated to these images to draw magazine readers into their text and

inspire purchases.

They also drew on popular ideas about Egypt; beauty and endurance dominated

the image of Egypt that permeated American culture. References to beautiful women and

beautiful artifacts uncovered by archaeologists are one theme used by Palmolive and

Alvin Silver-plate to connect a modem product with ancient Egypt. At times the

advertiser substitutes the idea of “treasure” for beautiful objects, highlighting the

emphasis on the monetary value of objects that began with the New York Times coverage

of Carter’s discoveries. The Dromedary company compares the dates found to the other

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. “priceless relics” found in the tomb. The idea of beauty and expensive relics, both for

Egyptians and their possessions, is tied to the image of adventurous archaeologists

hunting for treasure. Part of the attraction to Egypt was the sensuality and the captivating

power of money and great wealth, dreamed of by many Americans, but achieved by only

few at the top levels of society in the 1920s. These beautiful treasures endured for

thousands of years and captivated Americans’ minds. Americans gravitated to the

designs coming out of Egypt because they felt their beauty was timeless and enduring,

despite changes in technology or a new form of the Egyptian revival.

Egyptian Revival and the New Woman

Once we understand how Americans thought of Egypt we can begin to understand

how the Egyptian revival was used as part of a “many-voiced cultural conversation.”85

The Egyptian revival was used as a way to define one’s identity in the 1920s. With so

many options to choose from, wealthy or middle-class, flapper or new woman, even

black or white, in addition to the many persuasive voices of mass culture, Americans

needed a mechanism for escaping to another place and for choosing one’s identity. The

various forms of the Egyptian revival allowed one to make that choice and to adorn

oneself in whatever guise was appropriate, whether temporary or permanent. The fact

that the revival fit so well into aspects of life in the 1920s allowed Egypt to become part

of America’s cultural conversation.

85 Lears, Abundance, 3.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The most prolific form of Egyptian revival advertising, the Palmolive campaign,

demonstrates the close connection between appearance and Egypt in the 1920s.

Beginning in 1923 and 1924, the Palmolive Company began using a subtle Egyptian-

inspired advertising campaign, but one that still referred to Cleopatra’s beauty and

advocated the use of Palmolive soap as the proper way to unclog the pores (figure 11).

Appearing in both single page and double-page advertisements, Palmolive claimed to

impart charm, as well as beauty, to the user. In this series of mid-1920s advertisements,

images of modem women dominate the page, but a small drawing of an Egyptian

vignette appears in the lower left or right comer of the advertisements. This

advertisement shows an Egyptian woman, who could be Cleopatra, observing herself in

front of a mirror. The woman wears an Egyptian-inspired headdress and a hip-hugging

skirt with a panel hanging down in front, reminiscent of 1920s Egyptian inspired

fashions.86 Other advertisements in this series show more elaborate Egyptian settings;

these drawings always feature a beautiful Egyptian woman in a prominent position.

Egypt is associated with powerful women both in advertising and the theater. In

late 1923, shortly after the height of the Tutankhamen craze surrounding the opening of

the inner chambers of the tomb in February of the same year, the Fiberloid Corporation

used an illustration by Coles Phillips (1880-1927) to grab the attention of magazine

readers (figure 12). Phillips, an illustrator of numerous advertisements between World

War I and the late 1920s, was known for his daring depictions of modem women. He87

86 “Palmolive: Who is She?” Ladies Home Journal 41 (August 1924): 40.

87 Goodrum and Dalrymple, Advertising, 166. 42

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. maintained his reputation in this advertisement by depicting an Egyptian woman standing

underneath a pavilion. A white cloth gathered around her hips hangs down the front,

reflecting the current Egyptian fashions. She is wearing an armband and a wide jeweled

necklace; her headdress with lunar globe and cow horns is a costume associated with the

Egyptian goddess Isis. The woman is standing underneath a roof supported at each

comer by four reeded columns. The roof of the structure is a deep cavetto cornice

decorated with the winged sun disk, and strong colors and geometric patterns decorate the

pavilion. At her feet kneels a black male slave; his head is bowed and above his head he

holds a tray carrying ivory elephant figurines. Underneath Phillips’s illustration,

unimaginative type and text informs the reader “Like the gift ivories of ancient Egypt,

Ivory Fiberloid Toilet Articles have an irresistible appeal.”88

Compared to other Egyptian revival advertising showing men and women, this is

an appealing image for women. Coles Phillips shows a man taking an subordinate role;

the male slave’s face is hidden and from the woman’s view the tray of figures may cover

his entire body. Sensuality also plays a key part in grabbing the attention of male and

female readers; the woman wears little clothing above the waist. Finally, she is wearing

the headdress of the Egyptian goddess Isis who represented the foundation of the

Egyptian religion, the wisdom of the gods and resurrection after death. Isis was often

depicted with homs (representing a fertile cow) and the lunar globe. Romans and

Egyptians alike worshipped her, and the spread of the cult of Isis was not only an early

example of Egyptian revival in Roman times, but helped to spread the influence of

88 “Fiberloid,” Vogue (1 November 1923): np.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Egyptian art and architecture during the Roman Empire.89 It is unknown if the readers of

Vogue would have known the connection between the image and the goddess Isis, but it

is a strong possibility. Coles Phillips purposefully chose the image to create an

empowering and sensual image of a woman to inspire consumers who wished to emulate

her to buy Fiberloid toilet articles.

The Elgin National Watch company used the same approach in an advertisement

that appeared in the spring of 1926 (figure 13). The advertisement shows two men

serving an Egyptian woman. This woman sits on a couch with a black slave kneeling at

her feet. Again, the servant’s head is bowed, and he holds up a tray. To the woman’s

right sits a white man who has just picked a piece of jewelry off the tray to adorn the

woman. It is unclear if the man is a servant or the woman’s husband giving her a piece of

jewelry. While not as sensual as the woman in the Fiberloid advertisement, this woman

is wearing the close-fitting clothing associated with ancient Egypt.90 The position of the

woman in relation to the two men in the advertisement is meant to draw female

consumers to the product; this woman’s head is above the two men’s, and her posture is

erect, suggesting wealth and power. The white man, whether servant or husband or lover,

is not as subservient as the black servant, but does not exude the authority that the woman

does. The hierarchy of postures in the advertisement places the woman in a position of

power. In the 1920s advertisers felt that the majority of consumers were female, since

89 Humbert, Egyptomania, 15-18; Curl, Egyptian Revival, 6-11.

90 “Elgin Watch Co.: He did his gift shopping at the jewelers!” Ladies Home Journal (April 1926): 138.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. they made most purchases for the home and influenced the rest. They had no high regard

for this audience; trade literature suggested that an emotional appeal to the uninformed

feminine masses was necessary to sell a product. Women especially needed romance and

glamour in the advertisements in the pages of national magazines.91 The glamour and

romance associated with receiving gifts of jewelry, wearing revealing clothing in an

exotic setting and being treated like Egyptian royalty suggest that the advertiser is taking

this advice to capture the attention of the consumer.

Based on the symbolism of the Fiberloid woman’s headdress and the position of

power held by these two Egyptian women, a comparison to Cleopatra is inevitable.

Egyptian Pharaohs fashioned themselves after the gods, and Cleopatra, the last Ptolemaic

ruler of Egypt and possibly the most well known woman in the ancient world, is shown in

temple carvings wearing the homs and globe of Isis. Cleopatra was bom in 70 B.C.,

married two of her half-brothers in succession, then succeeded her father as sole ruler of

Egypt. Tradition says that Cleopatra wrapped herself in a carpet to be smuggled in to see

Caesar in order to appeal to him for aid in defeating her siblings. After Caesar’s

assassination in 44 B.C., she assisted Mark Antony in his wars against the Parthians.

When the two lovers died, Egypt came under Roman rule.92 The image of Cleopatra, the

beautiful and seductive Pharaoh of Egypt, lover of both Caesar and Mark Anthony,

91 Roland Marchand, Advertising the American Dream: Making Way for Modernity, 1920-1940 (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1985), 66-69.

92 Humbert, Egyptomania, 554-55.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. captured the imaginations of historians and influenced centuries of Egyptian Revival,

including these advertisements.

Expressions of Egyptian revival in the 1920s show Cleopatra as a controversial

figure. In the above example, the analysis of the Fiberloid advertisement (figure 12) as

an image that is empowering to female consumers is thrown into doubt when considering

the cow’s horns on the Egyptian woman’s headdress. An ancient Egyptian would

understand them to be the horns of a cow, representing the fertility of the Nile and Isis.

Yet, to the modem viewer they bear a close resemblance to the devil’s homs. Her

sandals, while of an ancient Egyptian design, divide the toes in a way that suggests

cloven feet, another characteristic of the devil. If she turned around would we see a

forked tail? Coles Phillips is sending the viewer a mixed message: this woman is strong,

with power over men and commerce, but with that strength is a hint of evil. With this in

mind, it is hard not to consider these advertisements in light of the recently acquired right

to vote for women and popular perceptions of flappers in the 1920s. Individual women

had to consider whether they would adopt the role of the new woman and embrace their

sexual freedoms and political power or whether they would retain many of the traditional

ties to the home and motherhood.

Perhaps the most enduring image of the 1920s is the “new woman,” who

symbolizes the many changes for women in the decade. The suffrage movement won the

battle for full political participation with the passage of the nineteenth amendment in

1919. This event was met with great expectations for reform that could be gained with

the female vote, expectations that were largely unfulfilled. The suffrage movement failed

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. to gain a voting block after the nineteenth amendment, largely due to the increase in

conservatism and the influence of special interests within the movement.93 Thus, there

was no unified voting block to affect the kind of change desired by politically active

women. At the time, women were more likely to view their personal success based on

the broader ideals of feminism: economic independence, political participation, sexual

freedom and individuality.94

Within this context, the view of women was that of the “flapper” and the “new

woman.” The flapper, unrestrained by corsets and Victorian attitudes toward sex,

embraced a carefree attitude.95 She wore her hair and skirts short, drank gin, danced late

into the evening and generally avoided the virtues of motherhood.96 Critics of the flapper

felt short skirts, slouching postures and a general lack of corsetry was indicative of a

moral decline among women in America. The rise in the divorce rate and Margaret

Sanger’s activities to promote safe birth control also raised concerns about these changes

in society 97 If the flapper was a young feminist, the “new woman” was an older, more

conservative and serious feminist. The new woman pursued a career and a marriage

93 Dumenil, Modern Temper, 98-111.

94 Angela J. Latham, Posing a Threat: Flappers, Chorus Girls, and Other Brazen Performers o f the American 1920s (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2000), 9.

95 Latham, Posing, 7.

96 George H. Douglas, Women o f the 20s (Dallas, TX: Saybrook Publishers, 1986), 5.

97 Latham, Posing, 18-22.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. grounded in equality, and frowned on promiscuous attitudes toward sex.98 In reality,

most women retained their old ideals that a woman’s place was in the home. Since the

1920s, feminist historians have agreed that the post-1920s perception that the flapper

dominated society is inaccurate; popular stereotypes of the decade have overwhelmed our

ideas of women in the 1920s. Although this is known now, during the 1920s there was

general concern about women’s roles in society, sexual morality and the implications of

full political participation.

Another aspect of the Egyptian revival that was part of the cultural conversation

over new identities for women in the 1920s was the revival of George Bernard Shaw’s

play Caesar and Cleopatra. The play, written in 1898 and first performed in 1906,

experienced a revival when theaters in New York and London staged performances of the

play during the summer of 1925. Lionel Atwill and Helen Hayes starred as Caesar and

Cleopatra, respectively, in the New York production at the Theatre Guild on 52nd street.99

The play is important to the discussion here because of the noted connection between

historical revivals in literature and contemporary debate. Literature set in the past often

comments on contemporary culture more than on the actual past.100 Shaw’s play would

98 Gerald Leinwand, 1927: High Tide o f the 1920s (New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 2001), 172-92.

99 Stark Young, “The Play: The Guild Opening,” New York Times, 14 April 1925, p. 27.

100 Amy Kaplan, “Romancing the Empire: The Embodiment of American Masculinity in the Popular Historical Novel of the 1890s,” American Literary History 40 (Winter 1990): 659-90.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. have commented on culture in the early twentieth century when it was first performed;

the 1925 revival obviously carries significance for contemporary culture as well.

The play opens in 48 B.C. on the Egyptian border with Syria. A young Cleopatra

has no political power, as seen in a statement made by a palace guard. “At Memphis ye

deem her a queen: here we know better.. . . When we soldiers have carried her out of

Caesar’s reach, then the priests and the nurses and the rest of them can pretend she is a

queen again, and put their commands into her mouth.”101 Even when Caesar arrives in

Syria and takes her to the palace to meet the Roman army, she seems uncertain of herself.

She is used to following instructions from her nurse, Ftatateeta. Caesar encourages her to

assert her independence by ordering the servants to light the throne room, but Cleopatra

only acts on the instructions that Caesar has given her.

Cleopatra’s lack of authority is underscored by her childish behavior and

attitudes. To Caesar and the audience, her youthfulness is charming and captivating.

When Caesar confronts Ptolemy, her brother and husband, and Pothinus, his advisor,

Cleopatra uses her newfound confidence to drag the 10-year-old ruler of Egypt off the

throne and sit there herself. When Ptolemy looks distressed and begins to cry, Cleopatra

responds “take your throne: I don’t want it” emphasizing her lack of knowledge of what

to do with her newfound authority. Shaw’s instructions to his actors reinforce

Cleopatra’s retention of youthful behavior: “Cleopatra is rent by a struggle between her

newly-acquired dignity as a queen, and a strong impulse to put out her tongue at

101 George Bernard Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra: A History (London: Herbert Stone & Co., 1900; New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1951), p. 19. This citation is from the alternative prologue written in 1912.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. [Ptolemy]. She takes no part in the [political and military discussion] which follows, but

watches it with curiosity and wonder, fidgeting with the restlessness of a child.”102

In addition to a powerless child, Shaw portrays Cleopatra as an exotic and

romantic figure. Twice during the play, Cleopatra makes references to mythology of

ancient Egypt. “My great-grandmother’s great-grandmother was a black kitten of the

sacred white cat; and the river Nile made her his seventh wife. That is why my hair is so

w avy. . . my blood is made with Nile water.”103 Cleopatra’s insistence that she is related

to the Nile suggests that she, and perhaps all women, are foolish. Yet, Shaw returns to

depicting Cleopatra as a young romantic figure preoccupied with a potential marriage

when he reveals her childhood infatuation with Mark Antony. He is mentioned in a

discussion between Cleopatra and Caesar about her father’s reclamation of the throne

from Cleopatra’s older sister. When Caesar asks how he got his throne back, Cleopatra

responds, “A beautiful young man, with strong round arms, came over the desert with

many horsemen, and slew my sister’s husband and gave my father back his throne.

[Wistfully] I was only twelve then. Oh, I wish he would come again, now that I am

queen. I would make him my husband.”104 Mark Antony is mentioned at least two more

times in the play to remind the viewer of her childhood infatuation and her future

marriage partner.

102 Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra, Act II, p. 48.

103 Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra, Act I, pp. 27-28.

104 Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra, Act II, p. 54.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The portrait of Cleopatra painted by Shaw in the first half of the play is

transformed during the last two acts of the play. During the winter o f48-47 B.C.,

Cleopatra, Caesar, and Caesar’s trusted assistants and military advisors have been

besieged in the royal palace by a rebel Roman army. During those six months, Cleopatra

has spent a considerable amount of time with Caesar, and it shows in her more serious

demeanor and interest in learning. One of her attendants even remarks, “[Caesar] makes

you so terribly prosy and serious and learned and philosophical.”105 Cleopatra states:

When I was foolish, I did what I liked, except when [my nurse] Ftatateeta beat me; and even then I cheated her and did it by stealth. Now that Caesar has made me wise, it is no use my liking or disliking: I do what must be done, and have no time to attend to myself. That is not happiness; but it is greatness. If Caesar were gone, I think I could govern the Egyptians.106

Not only does the audience see a more mature young woman, but, in contrast to the

opening acts of Caesar and Cleopatra, she now has political aspirations to rule Egypt.

Along with ambition comes the knowledge that she must remain in Caesar’s good graces

if she is to be allowed to rule when he leaves.

Cleopatra exhibits an error in judgment when she tells Pothinus, a political

prisoner pledges loyalty to Ptolemy, that she remains loyal to Caesar while he is in Egypt

so she may rule as Queen when he is gone.107 Pothinus, in turn, warns Caesar that

Cleopatra wishes for his demise. “You are to tear the crown from her brother’s head and

set it on her own, delivering us all into her hand-delivering yourself also. And then

105 Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra, Act IV, p. 91.

106 Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra, Act IV, p. 92.

107 Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra, Act IV, p. 93.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Caesar can return to Rome, or depart through the gate of death, which is nearer and

surer.”108 Cleopatra is frightened by Pothinus’ words, which she overhears, because she

thinks that Caesar will not leave her to rule if he knows she is deceiving him. When

Caesar discovers that Cleopatra has ordered Pothinus’ murder, she insists “I have not

betrayed you . . . I swear it.” “I know that,” Caesar responds, “I have not trusted you.”109

With these words Caesar reveals that he never intended to hand over the throne of Egypt

completely to an Egyptian ruler or a woman. Despite all of Cleopatra’s attempts to prove

to Caesar that she is ready to be Queen, Caesar does not consider her capable or ready to

rule alone. As Caesar prepares to leave for Rome, he leaves behind a Roman governor to

guide Egypt.

When considered in light of the recently acquired right to vote, the revival of

Shaw’s play is a bold statement about the inability of women participate in government.

Many viewers saw Caesar and Cleopatra in the political and social climate of the 1920s.

If the right to vote was a topic of conversation or concern to men and women during the

day, Cleopatra’s transformation from child to ruler would have a deeper meaning during

an evening performance. At the beginning of the play, it is clear that Cleopatra has no

political authority and relies on others to guide her actions. She eventually does gain

some political power, but Caesar thwarts her hopes of being a Queen. Caesar leaves

behind a Roman general under the assumption that she is not ready to rule by herself.

Anyone concerned about the effects of the female voter on politics in the twenties would

108 Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra, Act IV, p. 101.

109 Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra, Act IV, p. 110.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. agree with Shaw’s commentary on contemporary politics. In a way, Cleopatra’s attempts

to gain power mirror the feminist movement of the nineteen-teens and twenties.

American women and Cleopatra earned the right for participation in government but full

political participation was denied because the voting block was divided or because Caesar

felt Cleopatra was unfit to rule Egypt. As men and women in the twenties considered the

benefits and disadvantages of women voters, viewing Caesar and Cleopatra was one

way to engage in the topic and discuss the issue with peers.

Women’s aspirations to do more than marry, keep house and raise children were a

popular topic for fiction in women’s magazines. The stories published in these

magazines are not great literature, and a modem reader of these stories will find

“characters who fail to self-actualize and happy endings that fail to satisfy.” Yet, this

fiction is a source for understanding the dreams and realities for women in the twentieth

century.110 In at least once instance, this literature takes on the form of Egyptian revival

when a fictional character dreamed about traveling the Nile. Through the guise of

Egyptian revival, magazine readers were able to think about the issues surrounding

changes for women in society.

The story “Journeys Begin” by Shelton Barker was published in Woman's World

magazine in October 1924. Woman's World was not one of the major women’s

magazines published between the two World Wars but was geared toward female readers

110 Jennifer Scanlon, Inarticulate Longings: “The Ladies Home Journal, ” Gender, and the Promises o f Consumer Culture (New York, NY: Routledge, 1995), 138-39, 141.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. in smaller towns, primarily in the mid-west.111 In “Journeys Begin,” the main character,

Cleo, meets her future husband James Towsley when he runs her over at a low speed with

the truck he drives for a local trucking company. Cleo had been distracted by her own

thoughts while crossing the street, but slides right under the car and is not injured. That

evening, Jim takes flowers and chocolates to her boarding house, has a pleasant evening

and begins a close and proper friendship with Cleo. The weeks pass, and Jim, overcome

with his love for her, proposes marriage.

“Jim,” she said at last, “I like you heaps and heaps. You’re an old dear. You’re good-just plain good. You’re the sort to bank on. But Jim, I’m not. I’m flighty. I’m a mental whirlwind. I’d want things. You wouldn’t understand. You couldn’t understand.” He started to speak, but she motioned him to silence. “Besides, I’ve got to go to Egypt sometime.” “Where?” “Egypt, Jim. I’ve go to see it; the pyramids and the sphinx and the ruins of the old temples and the Nile and Cairo. I’ve thought of it and dreamed of it ever since I was a little girl. I’ve just go to go somehow. Either I’ve got to save up for the trip myself or-or the man I marry has got to take me there on a wedding tour.” James Towsley walked a little closer to her. “How much have you got saved up towards it?” he asked. “I think it’s seventeen dollars and sixty-eight cents.” He did some heavy estimating. At the end of it he sighed. “How long, Cleo, would you be willing to wait to go there on a wedding trip?” She looked at him with a little frown: them she smiled; then she frowned again. “I don’t know,” she confessed. “Sometimes I feel I’ve got to start right off, the next day, the next hour.” “Are you generally thinking of pyramids and Cairo and things like that when you’re in one of them way-off moods?”

111 Mary Ellen Zuckerman. A History o f Popular Women's Magazines in the United States, 1792-1995 (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998), 117. The author would like to thank Lori Kauffman for sharing her knowledge of Woman's World.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. “Always,” she told him. “If I hadn’t been traveling down the Nile at the moment I wouldn’t have got run over by your truck that first day I ever saw you.”

Jim spends the next three weeks looking into travel plans and costs for getting to Egypt

before he returns to Cleo’s house to tell her that he is buying a truck to begin his own

business and finance their trip. Cleo, who had done some deep thinking and contented

herself with the idea that she will be cooking and cleaning for Jim, cannot allow him to

spend their future earnings on something so frivolous as a trip to Egypt because the

money would be better spent purchasing a house and raising a family. The story closes

when Cleo and Jim are married and living in a small cottage; they are very happy reading

travelers’ accounts of Egypt every evening. “It’ll be great to go to Egypt a little every

evening. It’s lots better than really going,” concludes Cleo.112

The author made an interesting decision when she picked Egypt as the object of

Cleo’s daydreams. On the surface, “Journeys Begin” sends several messages to the

small-town readers of Woman's World. Cleo put herself in danger by dreaming about the

pyramids and the Nile; perhaps part of her dreaming included being a beautiful and

powerful woman like Cleopatra. The story discourages young women from dreaming of

joining the American tourists in Luxor and taking part in the rampant Egyptomania that

gripped the country in 1924. Moreover, Barker advises young women to be sensible

about their futures and invest in building a home and family. At the same time, readers

of “Journeys Begin” may have found a mirror to their own thoughts about Egypt or the

pressures to marry and have a family. Jennifer Scanlon, author of Inarticulate Longings,

112 Barker Shelton, “Journeys Begin,” Woman's World (October 1925): 12-13, 20- 21,57.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. supports a subversive reading of fictional stories like this one that appeared in women’s

magazines. While reading about characters that outwardly conform to the expectation of

family and society, the reader is engaging in inwardly subversive behavior by fantasizing

about activities that are contrary to accepted norms. Through their imaginations, women

were able to escape to another lifestyle, one that was more adventurous than their own.

Using this approach, it is possible that Cleo’s statement that it is better to read about

Egypt than visit the Nile is an ironic one. “Journeys Begin” supports both a conservative

and subversive reading of the text.113

Representations of the Egyptian revival were a place where Americans could

discuss different and changing roles for women in the 1920s. This is part of the larger

debate over identity that was taking place through the Egyptian revival. Shaw’s negative

portrayal of Cleopatra’s ability to participate in the political life of Egypt reminded

theater-goers of the most beautiful, powerful woman in the ancient world, while Barker’s

Cleo, outwardly happy to give up her dreams of traveling to Egypt, reminded readers that

there was a life outside of their own small town. Both of these stories and the dual

interpretation of the Fiberloid advertisement reflect the broader cultural debate over the

changing role of women in society. The ideas and images commonly associated with

ancient Egypt in the 1920s provided a framework for discussing feminist issues of the

period. By engaging in the Egyptian revival, seeing Shaw’s play, wearing Egyptian

fashions, and using Palmolive soap, men and women participated in broad cultural

discussions of the decade and helped define women’s changing role in society.

113 Scanlon, Inarticulate Longings, 137-68.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Egyptian Revival and African-Americans

The Elgin and Fiberloid advertisements also illustrate another aspect of the

cultural conversation taking place through the Egyptian revival in the 1920s. Both

advertisements (figures 12 and 13) show black servants in a position of less authority

than a Caucasian Egyptian individual. African-American history and culture is another

perspective from which we can interpret the Egyptian revival.114 An exploration of

images of Egypt and black Africans shows that the African-American community was

involved in a debate, or conversation, relating to the identity of ancient Egyptians, black

pride and contemporary color politics. National magazines focused on a white audience

present a biased perspective on the subject, so a study of advertisements in African-

American magazines is useful for the discussion here.

The Crisis-A Record o f the Darker Races was the ideal venue for advertisers to

reach African-American consumers. The magazine, formed by the National Association

for the Advancement of Colored Peoples, was aimed at a literate black and white

audience. The general editor, W. E. B. duBois, and the literary editor, Jesse R. Faucet,

saw the magazine reach its greatest circulation of the early twentieth century immediately

after World War I; in 1919,95,000 readers subscribed to The Crisis, largely due to

several controversial editorials by Du Bois. In addition to commenting on current events

of interest to an African-American audience, Du Bois noted “practically every Negro

114 Dwight Ernest Brooks, Consumer Markets and Consumer Magazines: Black America and the Culture o f Consumption, 1920-1960 (Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Iowa, 1991), 4.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. author writing today found his first audience through the pages of the Crisis.” Authors in

the 1920s included Jessie Fauset, Countee Cullen, Jean Toomer, Zora Neale Hurston and

Langston Hughes.115 Advertisements in the Crisis suggest a varied but educated

audience; in most issues there were advertisements for educational institutions, upcoming

forums and new literature of interest to the Crisis audience. A few advertisements for

clothing and cosmetic products are found on the last few pages of the magazine.

In the early 1920s, readers of The Crisis saw an advertisement for “Nile Queen

Preparations” on the back cover of their magazine (figure 14). The advertisement shows

a woman with black hair sitting at a dressing table; she is reaching around behind her to

take a cosmetic jar off a tray held by a servant in Egyptian headdress. The two women

have lightly stippled skin, suggesting that both women are black Africans, although their

facial features show European origins.116 Nile Queen Preparations were a line of

products created by the Kashmir Chemical Company of Chicago, Illinois. The man

responsible for the look of the advertisements, Claude Barnett, is credited with using the

imagery of Cleopatra to draw female African-American consumers to the Nile Queen

cosmetic line (although the advertisements show a Persian-inspired form of the Egyptian

115 Elliot M. Rudwick, “W. E. B. Du Bois in the Role of Crisis Editor,” Journal o f Negro History 43 (July 1958): 214-40.

116 “Nile Queen Preparations,” The Crisis 21 (April 1921): back cover. See also The Crisis (May 1921): back cover.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. revival). The company, formed by a group of black investors, advertised in magazines

aimed at an African-American audience.117

These advertisements suggest a concern over color politics and standards of

beauty in a culture dominated by whites. The black Africans depicted in advertisements

in white magazines have very dark skin, while the Nile Queen Preparations advertisement

shows two black Egyptian women with light skin. The Nile Queen advertisement could

reflect the belief that all ancient Egyptians were of a similar skin tone, despite their

wealth or political status. An alternative, and more likely, reading of this advertisement

is that the standard of beauty for African-American women was to have as light a skin

tone as possible. Advertisements for beauty products in the Negro World newspaper

(founded by Marcus Garvey) for Dr. Fred Palmer’s Skin Whitener Preparations confirm

the presence of beauty products designed to lighten the skin tone of African-American

women. An advertisement appearing in August 1929 claims “Dr. Fred Palmer’s Skin

Whitener Ointment lightens the darkest skin, giving it a loveliness that gets more

fascinating every day.” Implied in this statement is the belief that dark skin is

unattractive and dull. The series of products to lighten the skin included “skin whitener

ointment,” “skin whitener soap,” and “skin whitener face powder.”118

117 Kathy Peiss, Hope in a Jar: The Making o f America's Beauty Culture (New York: Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt and Company, 1998), 109-110,220.

118 “Fred Palmer’s Skin Whitener Preparations,” Negro World 25 (3 August 1929): 3; “Fred Palmer’s Skin Whitener Preparations.” Negro World25 (17 August 1929): 3.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The advertisements for Nile Queen, Fiberloid and Elgin hint at the discussion in

the African-American and Caucasian communities of whether the ancient Egyptians were

black or white. The question over the racial origins of the ancient Egyptians was

discussed in the same magazine that advertised Nile Queen preparations. In December

1924, two years after the opening of Tutankhamen’s tomb, an article appeared in the

Crisis that traced the relationship between “Tutankh-Amen and Ras Tafari.” Author

Kantiba Nerouy shows that Tutankhamen’s wife was the granddaughter of a powerful

mulatto Egyptian Queen, Nefertari.

The granddaughter of this great mulatto Pharaoh married Tutankh-Amen and by this marriage raised her husband to royal rank. It is then this husband of a royal colored woman whose tomb, lately discovered, has aroused the civilized world to a new realization of the splendor of Egyptian civilization during these years.... Then it was the power of Egypt, which had originally flowed from central Africa, began to move back and in southern Egypt the black kingdom of Ethiopia [Abyssinia] gained such power that it overthrew the Pharaohs of Egypt and established black kings upon the throne who ruled the world for 150 years.119

The influence of Ethiopia, a country ruled by black Africans, on Egypt, a country in

Northern Africa whose racial origins have been debated in the nineteenth and twentieth

centuries, seems to be the key in this discussion of what race of Africans ruled Egypt.

According to an editorial in the Crisis, scholars at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

acknowledged that from “720 to 660 B.C. the Kings of Ethiopia ruled Egypt and Egypt

was a province of Ethiopia.”120

119 Kantiba Neuroy, “Tutankh-Amen and Ras Tafari,” The Crisis 29 (December 1924): 64.

120 “Nubia,” The Crisis 30 (May 1925): 38.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The debate over the race of the ancient Egyptians was not new to scholars in the

1920s. An examination of the African origins of black Americans by African-American

scholars began in the late nineteenth century with the History o f the Negro Race in

America, published in 1883, by George Washington Williams. He depicted an ancient

Egyptian society where blacks had made great achievements while living in equality with

other races. For Williams and other historians, Ethiopia was the origin of the greatest

accomplishments by blacks in Egypt. Egypt, a derivative culture of black Ethiopia,

eventually influenced Greece, Rome and all of Western Civilization. African-American

scholars in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries used Herodotus and biblical

accounts, in addition to late eighteenth-century accounts by travelers, which speculated

on the racial origins of modem Egyptians. Dominique-Vivant Denon, whose descriptions

and drawings of ancient Egypt gathered during the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt

influenced the Egyptian revival and neoclassical styles of the early nineteenth century,

concluded that modem Egyptians were black. African-American scholars cited any

source that supported their conclusions, including abolitionist writers and those who

supported slavery and segregation. In the post-Reconstruction era, accounts of ancient

Africa fostered racial pride. African-Americans who supported integration of the races

placed an emphasis on the ties between Western Civilization and ancient Ethiopia. Most

importantly, identifying the achievements of ancient Egypt with Africans allowed black

American scholars to counter the belief in black inferiority that supported racism. By the

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1920s, the scholarly investigation of ancient Africa was expanded to include an interest in

modem Africa.121

Life changed for modem African-Americans as well as white Americans during

the decade. An extensive rural-to-urban migration began in the nineteenth century,

increased during World War I and produced new communities of African-Americans in

American cities during the twenties. Racial tensions erupted into violence in many cities,

and new leaders within the African-American community emerged. These leaders, such

as Marcus Garvey, advocated pride in Africa and the creation of a black nation. During

the 1920s, migration to urban centers continued, and Harlem emerged as a center of black

culture in New York City. The Harlem Renaissance produced a group of artists, authors,

intellectuals and poets who awakened pride in black history and art. Alain Lock, a

professor at Howard, edited a compilation of essays, art and fiction titled The New Negro

that would expose many Americans to the brilliant minds of the Harlem Renaissance.122

With pride in their African heritage increasing, many within the African-

American community expressed their frustration with the white standard of beauty. In a

1924 article “Good Looks Supremacy” in The Messenger, an African-American

magazine published between 1917 and 1928, author and editor Chandler Owen criticizes

the effort by blacks to emulate whites using powders and skin whiteners.

The dominant group in a city or nation sets the standard. White people control the wealth and all its concomitants so they set the standard in everything.

121 Dickson D. Bruce, “Ancient Africa and the Early Black American Historians, 1883-1915,” American Quarterly 36 (Winter 1984): 684-99.

122 Perrett, Twenties, 83-88, 238-43.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Is it color? Face powders, skin whiteners, face bleachers and all forms of cosmetics to suppress pigment sell by the millions. Who ever heard of any black face powder? Is it hair? What kind of hair have white people? Their hair is usually straight and glossy, so Negroes use glossines, kink-no-more, zura-kink-out, hot irons and various preparations calculated to make their heads as near like white people’s heads as possible. Even the protestors against advertising skin whiteners and face bleachers are most diligent in their use.

Owen goes on to discuss the practice of passing:

What does it mean to “pass for white?” It means that you can go any place if you have the money to pay your way.... In other words, “passing for white” is " ' "T o is not, because better opportunities are given to what

The text of the authors’ criticism of the white standard of beauty and the practice of

African-Americans passing for whites is surrounded by six photographs of successful and

beautiful African-American women. The images of Mrs. Helen Curtis, a society leader,

and Miss Harriette Steward, “tenaciously bewitching,” remind the reader that they can be

black and beautiful.125

The literature and poetry by African-Americans in the 1920s reflected the pride in

contemporary and ancient Egypt held by many. Along with pride in ancient Egypt was a

rejection of modem devices for altering African-American beauty. Two years after

Chandler Owens reminded readers of The Messenger of the injustices of the white

123 Chandler Owen, “Good Looks Supremacy,” The Messenger 6 (February 1924): 80-81.

124 Owen, “Supremacy,” 82, 90.

125 Owen, “Supremacy,” 80-81.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. standard of beauty, poet L. R. Stephens gave the same message and reminded women of

their ancient Egyptian heritage in the poem “Black Girl.”

You are black— Not, white, or yellow, or teasing brown—but black. In a world of white and brown and yellow women— You are black. Black with no pretense to anything but blackness— No vulgar grease or heated iron ever touched Your tangled hair; No rouge your full red lips, no powder Ever streaked the midnight blackness of your skin. In a world of white women and women striving to be white— You alone are black. You are black— Like the Afric night from which our forbears came— No insipid features yours; No colorless doll-like beauty; you are Aflame with life and alive with color— You are black. To me you are the splendor of the Pharaohs in ages past, Who, when paler men than they were hairy brutes, Builded on the fertile banks of the River Nile. A magnificent civilization with their bare black hands. That thru unnumbered centuries have reared Their perfect apices to the African skies .. .I26

Stephens’ poem captures the pride held by many in Egypt’s achievements while under

the control of black Africans as well as the affirmation of the beauty of African-American

women constantly inundated with images of beauty based on European standards.

Advertisers attempted to capitalize on this pride in an ancient Egyptian heritage

by selling beauty products with Egyptian names or using Egyptian imagery in

advertisements. The Nile Queen advertisement (figure 14) illustrates this idea well in a

product produced by and designed for African-Americans. However, the practice of

126 L. R. Stephens, “Black Girl,” The Messenger 8 (December 1926): 381.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. using Egyptian imagery in advertising aimed at African-Americans does not mean

support for the idea of pride in African beauty standards. Nile Queen preparations were

available in “pink, flesh, white, brunette and cream brown.”127 The Kashmir Chemical

company, producers of Nile Queen, could have been expanding their product for a

potentially white audience by selling white and pink powders, but it is more likely that

they were selling a product that black women would use to whiten the appearance of their

skin. Despite all the rhetoric, the African-American business community knew that black

women would still buy skin whiteners in an attempt to emulate the white standard of

beauty. Chandler Owens was correct when he remarked that “even the protestors against

advertising skin whiteners and face bleachers are most diligent in their use.”128

Despite attempts to identify African beauty with Egypt, the dominant image of

Egyptian beauty in advertising remained that of the Western European woman. Beauty

products marketed toward white women included whitening powders with Egyptian

references on their packaging. An advertisement the September, 1920 Woman’s World

for Nadine beauty products includes an “Egyptian Cream” that “heals and whitens” the

skin. The advertisement and the packaging for the cream do not show any Egyptian

revival elements; only the name suggests the association between Egypt and a white

127 Nile Queen Preparations, The Crisis 21 (April 1921): back cover. See also the back cover of the May 1921 edition of The Crisis.

128 Owens, “Supremacy,” 80-81.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. standard of beauty.129 While this advertisement was probably not aimed at an African-

American audience, black women used similar products. In The New Negro, a 1925

publication edited by Alain Locke that contains the work of many important writers of

the Harlem Renaissance, a similar product was used by a black woman. Rudolph Fisher,

in a series of short sketches about life in Harlem, describes a woman getting ready for an

evening out: “[Majutah’s] vanity-case mirror revealed ... how perfectly becoming the

new close bob was, and assured her for the tenth time that Egyptian rouge made her skin

look lighter. She was ready.”130 By wearing Egyptian rouge to lighten her skin, Matujah

is conveying contradictory messages. She is aware of the association between Egypt and

modem standards of beauty; perhaps she even has Cleopatra on her mind as she prepares

her toilette. Despite the pride in the black standard of beauty, as advocated by

intellectuals and writers of the Harlem Renaissance, the presence of products and

advertising with Egyptian references that uphold a European standard of beauty reveal

tensions within the African-American community.

Many cosmetic advertisements of the 1920s in African-American magazines

reminded readers of the connection between Egypt, black women and the controversy

over standards of beauty for African-Americans. In addition to the Nile Queen

preparations advertisement, the Crisis had one other advertisement for beauty products

129 “Nadine,” Woman's World (September 1920): 31. For further discussion of the connection between Nadine products and the African-American community see Peiss, Hope, 150.

130 Alain Locke, ed., The New Negro: Voices o f the Harlem Renaissance (New York, NY: Albert & Charles Boni, Inc., 1925; New York, NY: Touchstone Book, Simon & Schuster, 1992), 79.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. during the 1920s. The Poro advertisement (figure 15) has no overt Egyptian references in

its imagery; the woman looking into a hand mirror appears in Grecian clothing.131 Annie

T. Malone, founder of the Poro company, sold hair and skin-care products designed for

African-American women. Her highly successful company established a college, opened

in 1918, to offer education and employment for African-Americans. At the Poro College,

Malone trained her agents to travel the country and distribute the company’s products.132

Despite her success as an African-American businesswoman who hired many African-

American agents, Malone’s Poro products supported a white standard of beauty. John

Matheus, a African-American writer of the Harlem Renaissance writer whose work

appears in The New Negro, describes a young girl sitting on a bus between her two

African-American grandparents. “The girl’s hair was bobbed and had been straightened

by “Poro” treatment, giving her an Egyptian cast of features.”133 At least three more

times before the end of the short story, she is referred to as the “Egyptian-faced girl.”

Even though the advertisement does not specifically refer to ancient Egypt, many of the

magazine’s readers would have made the connection.

With many African-Americans associating blacks with Egypt, African-American

history and culture is another perspective from which we can interpret the Egyptian

revival.134 The advertisements discussed above generally support a white standard of

131 “Poro: A Symbol of Quality,” Crisis (February 1925): 160.

132 Peiss, Hope, 67-69, 93.

133 Locke, New Negro, 89.

134 Brooks, Consumer Markets, 4.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. beauty, also the standard for the dominant culture, although they may have been in

magazines that supported black pride and black businesses by discussing the black

origins of Egyptian civilization and advertising products created by African-Americans.

These different perspectives, at times contained within the same advertisement, reveal the

larger issues behind these appearances of the Egyptian revival. Just as gender references

in Egyptian revival advertising were part of a broader debate over the changing roles of

women, these advertisements’ images of Egypt were part of the discussion of pride in

Africa and the search for standards of beauty for African-Americans. African-Americans

were searching for an appearance that expressed their personal pride but also found

balance in a culture dominated by whites.

Escape and Permanence

The popularity of these advertisements both before and after the period of greatest

Egyptian revival brought on by the opening of the tomb suggests that there are deeper

reasons for these advertisements and other forms of the revival. One advertisement that

illuminates the motivation for the popularity of the Egyptian revival is an advertisement

for du Pont DUCO, a finish for cars, furniture and other household items (figure 16). The

advertisement shows Queen Hatasu’s Obelisk located in Central Park, New York City. A

small label in the upper left comer states:

Dominant, imperious, beautiful, Queen Hatasu, 5000 years ago, decreed that from the quaries of Cyrene an obelisk should be brought forth, and erected to the glory of the gods when Egypt worshipped. From Heliopolis the obelisk was taken in

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Roman times to Alexandria; now it stands in Central Park, New York, a symbol of enduring beauty.135

The advertisement connects Egypt and the du Pont product by noting the qualities of

beauty and endurance shared by both.

The great work of the artist comes down the centimes, expressing a deep longing for beauty that, through some inner force, triumphs over the ravages of time. We cherish that symbol of our universal longing. But can the things of our age be given beauty that endures? With Duco, yes - on any surface that requires a finish. Think of Duco then, as a symbol of a hope made real - beauty enduring, contemptuous of tim e.136

Informational literature published by the du Pont Company expands on the enduring

qualities of the finish when applied to automobiles. According to a pamphlet titled “The

Story of du Pont Duco Finish,” the Duco solution evaporates to leave a “film that is

waterproof, weatherproof and practically wearproof.” In fact, a Duco finish leaves your

car impervious to cold or boiling water, rain, snow, sleet, ice, battery acids, pyrene,

gasoline, turpentine, oil, grease, soap, salt air and alkaline dust. The finish is difficult to 117 scratch or dent, cheap to clean, and will not become dull or faded. Endurance and

beauty are qualities shared by other historic and environmental sites, according to the

advertiser, as this was one of a series of five advertisements using the same approach but

with different settings. St. Peter’s Cathedral, the Taj Mahal, a Redwood Forest and

135 “DUCO du Pont,” Saturday Evening Post (2 September 1926): 69.

136 “DUCO du Pont,” Saturday Evening Post (2 September 1926): 69.

137 “The Story of the du Pont Duco Finish,” pamphlet, Hagley Museum & Library Archives, Wilmington, Delaware Accession 1803, Box 37, Folder #3.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Yosemite Falls were all included in different versions of this same advertising

campaign.138

Beauty and endurance also have a deeper meaning for the study of the Egyptian

revival when considering the movement within its cultural context. Beauty and

appearance are common themes that appear in the study of advertising discussed

previously. Egypt is associated with beautiful, powerful women, so part of the

contemporary debate over the changing role of women in society used Egypt as a

language for discussing the issues surrounding the “new woman.” Egypt was also

considered by some to be a source of black pride and used by others to sell products that

reinforced a white-standard of beauty. The broader debate over the color of ancient

Egyptians took place within modem forms of the Egyptian revival. The Egyptian

revival’s biblical associations with ancient Egypt and the Wilson Built Body

advertisement connecting the patriarchs with Egypt, bring this concern over appearance

to a new level. Beyond a concern over outward appearance and identity, Americans

worried about their own beliefs in an increasingly secular society. Americans not only

asked themselves how they should look, and what that identity meant within a broader

cultural debate over the role of women and blacks in the twenties, but they also asked

themselves what they believed. Through the Egyptian revival, Americans were engaged

138 The Saturday Evening Post carried the various advertisements for the Duco line: St. Peter’s Cathedral (11 December 1926), the Redwood Forest (6 November 1926), Yosemite Falls (2 October 1926), the Taj Mahal (27 November 1926) and the obelisk (4 September 1926). These advertisements be found at the Hagley Museum & Library Archives Accession 1803, Box 36. 70

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. in a personal form of searching for identity as they pondered where their aspirations fit

into fast-paced, hedonistic society.

Americans in the 1920s had aspirations to be something more, whether nationally

or personally. The Egyptian revival helped them to achieve their personal dreams, often

by starting conversations on various issues or providing products to help women change

their appearance. Yet, with the potential for more came the overwhelming decisions one

needed to make in America’s new culture which seemed to be in a constant state of

change. Egypt, in addition to being part of the changes taking place in society, provided

something permanent to hold onto. As men and women looked for an identity, black or

white, feminist or conservative, upper, middle or lower class, the Egyptian revival

provided stability in changing times. The pyramids, the Sphinx and the Pharaohs also

provided an escape for those looking to leave the dreary or overwhelming present behind.

This desire to leave and a gravitation toward something that was not changing suggests

that there was a fundamental uncertainty underlying the glitz and glamour of the decade.

Americans faced the 1920s with trepidation and used ancient Egypt as a way to negotiate

the changes taking place in society.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ILLUSTRATIONS TOT-ANKH-AMEN'S INNER TOMB IS OPENED, REVEALIRG UNDREAMED OF SPLENDORS, STILL DNTODCHED AFTER 3,400 TEARS K IB fir S B C Series of Ornate Covers Enclose Pharaoh’s Sarcophagus.

WHOLE FILLS URGE ROOM

■Mortuary Chamber Opens Into I Another Room, Crowded With Great Treasure.

EXPLORERS ARE DAZZLED

Wealth of Object* af Historic and Artistio Interest Exceeds All Their Wildest Visions.

KING TUT-ANKH-AMEN, FA* Timu (L-U,m) IVmU CtnrigU. Ap wearing the crown and royal wataotU, as ha appeared to hts contem poraries. From a multi-colored decoration on tha walls of tbo tomb of Hoy, his Viceroy, discovered some years ago near c»nripkt. 19CX Sir J»i S*» Ter* the tomb of tha King. Ttmce narnqr, flNrtwr Mkhkiu Hama •( Atl. iHdii CaMe te Tea xaw Teas tu ia LUXOR. Egypt. Feb. H .— This has bean, perhaps, tha moat extraordinary day in the whole GOV. RE1LY RESIGNS history of Egyptian excavation. G0E1HALS DEMANDS Whatever any one may have gueasad or imagined of the secret of Tut- PORTO RICO OFFICE GOAL FOR UP-STATE ankh-Amco’s tomb, they surely can-

Figure 1 New York Times, 17 February 1923

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 2 Egyptian-inspired fashions with a hip-hugging silhouette and panel in front New York Times, 11 March 1923, p. 11

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. NOTE TO USERS

Copyrighted materials in this document have not been filmed at the request of the author. They are available for consultation at the author’s university library.

Figure 3, page 74

This reproduction is the best copy available.

UMI*

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. :'#V f !& 1 . ± > +

The first Date in History— Puontrctl uinmtff the Treasures I*I lit TK fS. VI \L YOKC I TTY

PROMfcOASUiSw nUHHV~tt>.4 t»iv %•■»,•»>l>«I'tM I r InfttiAhuoSrUa L SkipttN.iU ■pwwl> U <«f

Figure 4 Dromedary Dates: The First Date in History— Saturday Evening Post, 31 March 1923, p. 140

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Still—That Schoolgirl Complexion

Figure 5 Palmolive: Still —That Schoolgirl Complexion Saturday Evening Post, 9 December 1922, p. 80-81

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UXOR

rattem

ALL four riamntt of the aur nee booklet. "Sectinf the / \ perfect CHxmbdm pit T able Correctly,** by O k u * o f an d bf ih» Krikmg til* W aldorf Aarona. UnrPMtim«Ai«nLco|* Life Silv er P f e tt. I t a b c u u a - taL ic t> a n n tL f e I* e n d u rin g tchiu the world in in BflTDtfcn ait, it w w mew far larict picturing other Luxor piece* and ALVIN SILVER CO., 20 Malden Lane. New York Abo M alm of Ah/in Solid Silver A W /iV (jgng-Jjfe SilverPlale In astsg advertisement* *ee p*|

Figure 6 Alvin: Luxor Silver Pattern Good Housekeeping, November 1923, p. 105

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Ob.&fcr'HOME JOURNAL

iSi» tw K uM h fortaMv.i in Ke jmJ frcdv «M>* Vli**jt tU N*n* »rafc«/miM.t uMB e Secret t|it>anCI<,»_..*avr 'v '• jnJn Wnj ‘Revealed! When the Sphinx first smiled aaos* the sands of Egypt —souml teeth glistened tn the mouth* at thote ancient people. Their gums were kept sound and strong by oat* A « p m * t RMMCR uni massage afforded by the coarse food* they ate. bfwA In Mt* r*** Today—though modern diet makes decay more preva dnlj^uciNmI Or. VftiV lent—you. too. can have jwundtrcth and bod thy gums. The secret»—twior-a'day brushing and gum nusmgr . W toiti »rr with a tooth brush built small and sdentihcaUy shaped AJufel)(<, tor. OwU*« Wo «m.25c. Pr*r•RhlMffhrnllr. V*. to fit your mouth. \~

oust BETWEEN MASSAGES t h e gum s IWIUMOdLtVlMS*'

Figure 7 Dr. West’s Toothbrush: The Secret Revealed! Ladies Home Journal, April 1924, p. 63

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Figure 8 Caterpillar Tractor Co.: Do it with “Caterpillars”! Saturday Evening Post, 20 November 1926, p. 179

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TWB 9MTURBJKY C ? l

Yesterday ' Early Egyptian hesrury records that Joseph ranked nort to Pfetmfh, and ** hn Ic m a chariot worthy of his sation. In kf day kiK ph'i chartor was s vehicle (if note But centuries have passed. Progress has pur (he luaifw u uThomc on wheels. And modem conceptions u f luxury are brillbmly summarised—

( - J o d c u ) in a motorcar with

ISJilson ^ !6 odt|

Figure 9 Wilson Built Body Saturday Evening Post, 30 June 1923, p. 128

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission lilE ri\m\^\V5SS5

HE constant smoker finds inT Melachrino Cigarettes a delir .. cacy of flavor of 'A which he never

If f il MELACHRINO

Figure 10 Melachrino Cigarettes: The One Cigarette Sold the World Over Vanity Fair, October 1924, p. 2

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. HOME

o is she?’ risks the stag line

Learn now the simple secret of her charm; T hen —attain it in this way

WSr study her. tin* girl who scans to make wallflowers of us tfJL Is she dever ? Is she brilliant ? We feign indifference to Hide > - the envy we fed. Tct—to be m her place if only for an hour I

m f \ then n Wway* Do tfa« rtfofatfy. tad panto ihefy b d n * |Jyatli«pd Skiao^tttw.niwt* rrtua^, Vildt dir naka txrtfcaBbmfcadM^othcn due w*'ve bmre. T W w tfu Bat h m the ample wtaJm ai attain in*, then tap** that achooIftH cwopknon— tkdamttetamhik TW a No iei?innarw an n m r . Jan n rO fow» JtaC «aip *ad water, the batoy aewe the y.*.-' ACT dog the pons, tfeo nfargr d » . Do not tuc tcihiuey mpa w tha tntt* . aaJ iHeijammrf (fen faOow. ■nmfnwa ibow. Do nee tfanfc aar f o a Thy iM tbtmM mr. gap»or riprmnnJ w rf f hi «rf oftaa ofla. Vsab roar fee candy Wtth tooahmc ncfccaMKMpalaclm. Ttafthwdtvt hat* IVnalff Thcs n m a p * an!* m the mB leap tfet admigri eeepfcafek afeL. (Una *drawi»iMNaMawA

MnrnagMfrdes rdmBmfmfkm rtdiwwtffti

Figure 11 Palmolive: Who is She? Ladies Home Journal, August 1924, p. 40

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. NOTE TO USERS

Copyrighted materials in this document have not been filmed at the request of the author. They are available for consultation at the author’s university library.

Figure 12, page 83

This reproduction is the best copy available.

iiM f

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. He did his gift shopping at the jewelers!

A PURCHASE PROM VOUR Jewelry u one of the few kxxuryoaomodfr* JEWELER IS AN' INVESTMENT tie* which can he ~axi*umed** year by year* decade after decade, without matcrirty low IN PERMANENT VALUES aung the quantity or qwiity of the home value' EN and nation* pua. Bui their jewel* Budding up a line of jewelry a m * build* M remain. mg up an a wet heritage fee future pnera r Ot *11 the pm*c*eion» ot ancient cmlia* non*. while enjoying the delight and charot txxu, the om t en Junng have been the token* of beautiful adornment tn the wrought in precious stone and meal. The jewelry buunem u among the futcafr Gone ire the fulaccs at Egyptian kmg»; growing in America* became, more and more; their gargenu* apparel and equipage*. But keen American* are putting their abopping aattcreJ among the museum* at tnhy, in iU money m » imperishable valuta. part* of itx world. many or chetr jeueli are •ciQ intact; taore beauulul and infinitely more valuable than ever. Toifay. a* ahvay*. a purchase at the jewel' ELGIN cr*t is an mvntment si permanent value*. THE «A TO t WOKO f d l aaBAUCi Al» I

» Mm4 op SmmmI Wm* OMpwgk Owi»: .-ii?

Figure 13 Elgin Watch Co.: He did his gift shopping at the jewelers! Ladies Home Journal, April 1926, p. 138

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Nile Queen Preparations “FOR HAIR and SKIN** Scientifically manufactured to meet your particular beauty require ments NILE QUEEN Hair Boandfear NILE QUEEN Cold Croam NILE QUEEN Vanishing Croam NILE QUEEN Ligald Cold Oream NILE QUEEN Earn Pawdor

Pink, Flesh, While, Brunette and Cream Brown 50c E A C H - POSTAGE 5c EXTRA

The country-wide, demand for NILS QUEEN preparations has be come n groat that they are on sale at moat dirug etoraa and first class beauty shops. I t your dealer or agent cannot wiww 1 supply you, send us his name with your order, f ■» h .h . FEEE — Beaaty Booh 1 ■ ------KASHMIR CHEMICAL CO. HB Indiana Avenne Dept K Chicago. IW ih

Figure 14 Nile Queen Preparations The Crisis, April 1921, back cover

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. NAME

A SYMBOL OF QUALTTY

Your name defines your character and personality and is ■ symbol of what you are. “PORO”is the trade-name of very exceptional Hair and Toilet Preparations*™! a System of Scientific Hair and Beauty Culture used and praised by ever increasing thousands Mrs. A. M. Turnbo-Malone, Founder of thia great busi ness, has put into PORO her character, personality and ability. PORO Products and Treatments are anuisingly efficient. T ry PDHD Products and Treatments dispensed by PORO AGENTS everywhere. YOU WILL BE HIGHLY PLEASED

If you don'tk n o w a PORO AGENT, writ* u s and aba’ll call. PORO COLLEGE 4300 St. Pudioaod Avaaas ST. Loom, MO, a. 8 . A.

Figure 15 Poro: A Symbol of Quality The Crisis, February 1925, p. 160

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. im o47 m /r/jro to ir

H o w j m c m | f t D U C O

11 DUCO

7/ic/r /' o///(/ I 11(^ i■> ' / >( j>fs\ / /

IIL Brr«i « .fl i<( the •rtix cutnt* *l«mn ih« muunrt. * T4 Jc«r Ixnems tiv Ih-juiv »!»•*. ihrnush tom e fnner furcr. triumphs •nir (hr w tune. UVchcri'h lh*lmnh«n (!»*• rlunu* »t imr jgr He siren K juiy that mtlurr>.' W'ilh Duns 4ii« ili.n m ittlm •* lmi*lv Think Pm » then* t ft ■» 1**1* mjJ*- tril —brjutv rnJunng. umlrmriUMM of time.

Figure 16 DUCO Du Pont Saturday Evening Post, 2 September 1926, p. 69

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Secondary Sources - Books, Articles and Exhibition Catalogs

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“Paris Reads the Riddle of the Egyptian Sphinx.” Vogue 61 (15 April 1923): 51.

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“Caterpillar: Do it with ‘Caterpillars’!” Saturday Evening Post (20 November 1926): 179.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. “Contex Silent Gear Material: Silence Is Golden.” Saturday Evening Post 196 (21 June 1924): 93.

“Dromedary Dates: The First Date in History—” Saturday Evening Post 195 (31 March 1923): 140.

“Dr. West’s Tooth Brush: The Secret Revealed!” Ladies Home Journal 41 (April 1924): 63.

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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. “Nile Queen Preparations.” Crisis 21 (May 1921): back cover.

“Pabst Milwaukee: History of Brewing Begins With Egypt.” Vogue, 25 July 1895, iii.

“Palmolive Shampoo.” Vanity Fair 10 (April 1918): 117.

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“Wilson Built Body.” Saturday Evening Post 195 (2 June 1923): 63.

“Wilson Built Body.” Saturday Evening Post 195 (30 June 1923): 128.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.