Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Vintage Lightfoot Schultz Figural Soaps

Lightfoot Schultz castile bar soap boxes from the late 1930s.



Dopey Soap Box, 1938.


Manufactured in 1938 by Lightfoot Schultz Company in NYC, these carved castile soap bars were hand-painted with "harmless vegetable color." Snow White and each of the seven dwarfs were sold in individual boxes complete with cotton batting packing material.

Eight box set.












The "Book" Set...

The soap bars were also offered as a set in a Snow White "book". The box design was made to resemble a large-format book with gold embossing and artwork on the cover and spine.




Front Cover Detail


Inside is a thin vellum frontispiece which restates the title, as well as the manufacturers info: "Modeled in Castile Soap - Painted with harmless vegetable color. Lightfoot Schultz Co. Makers of fine soaps for over twenty-seven years. 389 Fifth Ave. New York." *



Snow White was almost twice the height at 5.5" as the rest of the dwarfs who measured in around 3". This particular set was well preserved considering the nature of soap.





Most others I've seen have tended to look more like those in the photo below.



Each of the figures were stamped with the copyright mark, © 1938 W. D. Ent.



A real treasure from a bygone era.


Additional images via The Bubble Room

5 comments:

  1. Splendid images! Little did the makers of the soap novelties realise how Disney collectors would be going mad seventy plus years later to buy these Disney treasures!

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  2. Thanks Wobble. No kidding. I wonder about my own sanity sometimes :)

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  3. That's an awesome set! I love how they replicated the book for the box.

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  4. Cory-- Yes, it really does have a handsome look to it. Just imagine what it was like brand new.

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