Object Record
Images
Metadata
Collection |
Waterloo Region Museum |
Object ID |
2011.080.003 |
Object Name |
Package, Product |
Description |
Rectangular cardboard box with a removable lid. The lid and the body of the box are covered with white paper with blue lettering and graphics. Printed on the top of the lid is "Cress/Trade Mark Reg.'d/Variable Size/Dressings/Made with Pliable/Vinylite Plastic/For Long Patches,/Long Cuts/Contains 100/Variable Size". There is a blue strip along the lower edge with "Cress Laboratories - Division of/Heldmann Industries - Kitchener/Ontario, Canada" printed on it in white. Printed on the front edge of the box is "Cress Pliable Vinylite Plastic/Variable Size Dressings/Contains 100 Variable Size"; on the back edge is "Protected by U.S. Patent No. 2544315, Can. Patent/No. 474930, and in most foreign countries. Form #100". Printed on the left side edge is "Para-Di-Isobutyl-Phenoxy-Ethoxy-Ethyl-Dimethyl-Benzyl/Ammonium Solution Applied to Pad". Printed on the right side edge is "for/Homes, Hospitals, Doctors/Industrial First Aid Rooms". Stamped on the interior of the lid is "31 56". The box is empty and there is nothing printed on the body. |
Date |
1956 |
Dimensions |
H-23.8 W-9 D-6 cm |
History |
Noah Cress (1864-1948) was the son of Levi Cress (1837-1916) and Mary Ann Geib (1845-1928) of St. Jacobs, ON. In 1903, he married Regina (Ricki) Schweitzer (1869-1943), daughter of Martin Schweitzer (1832-1911) and Philippine Flehr (1843-1917) of Conestogo, ON. Noah was initially a photographer but in the 1920s he developed corn and bunion salves which he began to sell door-to-door. Noah's only child, Marion (1907-1997) married Henry Heldmann (1906-1972), son of Henry Heldmann (1859-1943) and Anna Caroline Ruthig (1866-?) of Philipsburg, ON in 1931. Marion and Henry took an interest in the salves and that same year, formed Cress Laboratories in Kitchener, ON. The company grew and expanded its product line during the 1940s, and in 1951, the company held the US patent for the first plastic adhesive bandages called Wound Aids. The patent was bought by Johnson and Johnson in 1955. The company continued to be owned and operated by the Heldmann family, including Marion and Henry's two sons, John and James, until it closed in 1997. The last factory for Cress Laboratories was in the former Pine Grove schoolhouse at 4336 King Street East in Preston. As of 2012, the building is the Borealis Restaurant on Heldmann Road near Sportsworld Drive in Kitchener. |
Search Terms |
Cress Laboratories Limited Heldmann Industries |
People |
Heldmann, Henry Heldmann, Marion Cress Cress, Noah |