Object Record
Images
Metadata
Collection |
Waterloo Region Museum |
Object ID |
2011.080.010 |
Object Name |
Package, Product |
Description |
Two cylindrical containers of foot powder. The bodies of the containers are made of cardboard with a paper label attached. The base and lid are made of metal. The lids have holes in them in order to shake out the powder. The lid of .1 is silver coloured; the lid of .2 is brass coloured. The paper labels are black with red and white lettering. Printed on the label is "Cress/Foot/Powder/Deodorant/Antiseptic/Soothing/Contains Acetanilide 1.56%/Compounded by/The Cress Laboratories/Kitchener, Ont., Canada/No. 17180. The Proprietary or Patent Medicine Act". Directions for use and uses of the powder are also printed on the label. Containers contain the foot powder. |
Date |
1941 |
Dimensions |
H-9 Dia-4.5 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 |
People |
Heldmann, Henry Heldmann, Marion Cress Cress, Noah |