Beschreibung:

Helena Rubinstein
Collection of letters, documents and material, 1914-1927
Spanning 13 years and chiefly concerning the running of the Helena Rubinstein cosmetics company as well as personal affairs, circa 1,250 letters in total, together with other documents including circa 100 telegrams, 2 contracts, a group of press cuttings, draft advertisements, and a large collection of recipes for cosmetic products and treatments, typescript and manuscript, 8vo and folio, in 7 boxes, New York, London, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, and elsewhere, 1914 to 1927,
comprising:
circa 500 letters from Helena Rubinstein mainly to Rosa Hollay (nee Bird) (also to Miss Heath, Miss Noble and others), discussing day to day running of the business, starting up in New York "It does cost a fortune to start here but our place will be the very best and very smartest" [12.12.1914], "I am simply itching to start business here" [n.d.], advertisements, "...And now, prepare yourself to have your "best friend" prove your severest advertising critic"" [12.03.1925], recipes, economics of the business, "I am frightfully short of money" [09.01.1915], "...I have to pay over $50,000 that I owe as there seems to be a crisis now - had only $20,000 the other $20,000 I borrowed, goodness only knows when I will pay them back and the rest that is $10,000 have drawn on the London bank..." [n.d. 1920], "...you are spending an awful lot of money" [09.04.1924], "I wish to mercy you would economize somehow" [07.03.1924], clientele, "I do hope Countess Dudley has been taken good care of as she is very swell and rich" [09.01.1917], the employees, "Regarding Mrs Stuart...I always think the people who talk about themselves and say that they are so bright and so clever have a lot to learn" [07.11.1919], her rival Elizabeth Arden, "Study everything the other party does" [18.12.1918], “You know Arden is starting on a very big scale the middle of this month...I leave all this to your good judgement, as you are a Sherlock Holmes; maybe you could send Mrs. Lewis up for a treatment, when she could have a good look round. All the same, I have to doubt that Arden is going to do us some harm. She is going to give a big reception to the newspaper women, so I have heard, I employ a very good girl of hers, who told me that Arden can’t open her mouth to talk to anybody. I have never seen the woman, although she has been seen walking out of my place. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised that she came to Grafton Street and had a course of treatments, and nobody knew who she was” [07.04.1922], her travel plans, her mental and physical health and wellbeing "life isn't really worth living the way I live but am always hoping for better days and more time to myself" [20.10.1916], "I felt so run down and so miserable that at times I felt I would rather be dead than alive" [26.12.1920], going to take "The Cure" for her gout [23.08.1921], her husband, "Have been having trouble with W which naturally upsets me very much" [12.07.1920], “Between you and I, it is impossible for me to explain to you the relation existing between him and me: everything is terribly forced and I do not know anything as to his future movements…” [09.06.1922], her family, her friendship with Hollay, "...even here I know that I have a genuine friend in you, and you may feel that about me, although I call you down sometimes" [17.02.1922], “I feel that I miss you more than anybody, for you always seem to be such a joy and solace to me” [11.05.1922], and contemporary events especially the war, "I do wish the beastly Germans would get such a licking that they would be compelled to ask for peace" [17.05.1915], "...things seem to be very bad too on account of the war. I do hope the poor soldiers don't fight in the cold. Nobody can put themselves in their position." [05.11.1915], "Everything is terribly expensive here, naturally on account of the war, I would give anything for this war to end, I only marvel how much longer these beastly Germans can hold out." [03.11.1916], 1914-1927
circa 720 letters from Rosa Hollay (nee Bird) mainly to Helena Rubinstein (also to Mr Collins, Ms Leonard, Mr Ogden, Miss Ackroyd, Dr Kapp and others)
circa 150 letters, documents and other material relating to the business including 97 telegrams, 2 contracts of employment, receipts, advertisements, press cuttings, cheques, 2 manuscript letters in code, and others, quarto, folio and other
collection of cosmetic recipes and guidance for cosmetic treatments, three notebooks, circa 170 typed and manuscript sheets, quarto and folio
AN IMPORTANT ARCHIVE OF MATERIAL TRACKING THE RISE OF THE FEMALE COSMETICS TYCOON.
Helena Rubinstein (1870-1965) established one of the earliest global cosmetics companies and was one of the first self-made female millionaires. Along with her lifelong rival, Elizabeth Arden, she transformed the cosmetics industry, making the use of makeup socially acceptable at a time when it was only worn by dancers. The letters provide an insight into her acute awareness of the power of advertising, marketing, luxurious packaging and client experience as well as tapping into key players in high society and Hollywood. Along with this, they reveal an intense vulnerability, where Rubinstein is constantly in mental and physical distress, experiencing financial instability and precariousness, and where her difficult marriage eventually leads to a painful divorce. Hollay is her confidant, business partner, friend and outlet for her many frustrations. 
Rosa Hollay (1886-1973) was Helena Rubinstein’s secretary and second-in-command for 15 years from 1914 to 1929, managing her London offices while Helena travelled the world opening and running other salons in America, Australia and Europe. She started working for Helena just as she had moved to New York following the start of World War I, and much of the early letters document her establishing herself in America.
At the end of 1927 Rosa and Helena fell out for reasons unknown, leading to Rosa setting up her own beauty salon on Old Bond Street, Madame Suzanne Verdi. When Rosa died in 1979 she left this archive to her friend and former beauty client, Lady Bulmer. 
Rubinstein expresses both a sincere and profound love for Rosa, “I feel that I miss you more than anybody, for you always seem to be such a joy and solace to me” [May 11 1922], as well as having the capability of extreme irritation, for example in a dispute about Helena's husband, Mr Titus: “I was very very upset the way you treated Mr Titus telegram, first of all someone could have stayed in the house, why should he go to a hotel when he has a place to stay….” [n.d. Sunday]. To this, we have Rosa's response: "I am very sorry you should have considered my reply to Mr Titus's wire as stupid...it seems to me that I did the best possible under the circumstances." [30.07.1923].
The complexity and closeness of their relationship is expounded through these letters as well as revealing two highly unusual women together navigating an international business, managing numerous employees and their personal relationships amidst unprecedented circumstances such as the War, women's suffrage, and the Great Depression. As well as this, the archive provides an intensive insight into the production of cosmetic products during the transition from hand-mixing to wholesale factory manufacturing. Helena constantly advises Rosa and her other employees on mixing techniques, perfumes to use, product storage and treatment processes. The multifaceted nature of running a business is powerfully demonstrated through this highly intimate collection of material.