TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview of the Collection

History

Scope and Content

Arrangement

Restrictions

Index Terms

Related Material

Administrative Information

Detailed Description

Series I: Administrative Records, 1888-1956

Series II: General Accounts, 1853-1926

Series III: Purchasing Records, 1896-1926

Series IV: Sales Records, 1880-1935

Series V: Labor Records, 1884-1916

Series VI: London Records, 1885-1929

J. B. Williams Company Records

History

James Baker Williams was born in 1818 in Lebanon, Connecticut. He was educated in Manchester, Connecticut, and, in 1834, began employment with F. and H.C. Woodbridge, a general store located in Manchester. Williams was offered half-interest in the store in 1838, after which its name was changed to Keeny and Williams. Two years later, Williams sold his interest in the store, but retained his share in the drug department. He began experimenting with various soaps to determine which were best for shaving, and eventually developed Williams' Genuine Yankee Soap, the first manufactured soap for use in shaving mugs.

In 1847, Williams moved his enterprise to a rented gristmill on William Street in Glastonbury, Connecticut, where he continued to manufacture shaving soap and a few other products. His brother, William S. Williams, joined the firm around 1848, and it was at this time that the firm's name was changed to the James B. Williams and Company.

William's shaving soaps were sold throughout the United States and Canada, and as a result of rising demand, the facilities were expanded several times in the late 1800s. In 1885, a joint stock company under the name of J. B. Williams Company was formed under the laws of the state of Connecticut. James Williams supervised many aspects of the company until shortly before his death in 1907 at the age of eighty-eight. The Williams family continued to manage the company until it was sold in 1957.

By the early 1900s, the company was known throughout the world. In addition to its line of shaving creams, the firm produced talcum powder, toilet soaps, and other toilet preparations, eventually developing such as Aqua Velva, Lectric Shave, and Skol. In 1950, the company merged with Conti Products Corporation of Brooklyn, New York, and took over its entire line of products, including Conti Castile Soap. A 1952 merger with R.B. Selmer, Inc. added Kreml Hair Tonic and Kreml Shampoo to the company's list of products.

In 1957, a New York based conglomerate, Pharmaceuticals, Inc., acquired the J.B. Williams Company. The new owner, maker of Geritol, Serutan and Sominex, moved the Williams Company to Cranford, New Jersey in 1960, adopting the name J.B. Williams Company.

The J.B. Williams' plant in Connecticut was taken over by ten former Williams' employees who wanted to preserve the old soap-making process, and became Glastonbury Toiletries. The firm made shaving soaps, bathroom soaps, castile soap, aerosol shaving creams, body lotions, and shampoos. Its largest contract was with the J.B. Williams Company.

In 1971, the J.B. Williams Company was sold to Nabisco, and in 1977, Glastonbury Toiletries closed. The original 1847 factory is still standing, and, in 1979, was converted into a condominium complex. I In 1983 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Scope and Content

The records of the J.B. Williams Company provide information on a company known for its manufacture of fine men's toiletries. The records also provide some bibliographical information on the company's founder, James Baker Williams (1818-1907), and his family.

The bulk of the records are from the period 1850 to 1930 when the company was still a family owned and operated enterprise. Records pertaining to the post-1930 period, during which the company expanded and was eventually sold, are limited. The majority of the records are bound volumes which record the general business of the company such as accounting records, purchasing records, sales records, and overseas sales records.

A small amount of administrative records give a more intimate view of the company's history. In addition, the records contain scrapbooks and advertisements which give an excellent example of the types of promotional campaigns popular in the United States at that time. Many of these advertisements contain drawings or photographs from the 1930s and 1940s of important athletes from a variety of sports including baseball, football, boxing, and track and field. There is, however, only a small amount of personal and biographical information and correspondence concerning James B. Williams and his family.

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Arrangement

Series I: Administrative Records (1888-1956) contains a small amount of records concerning the administrative and financial running of the company. These records include correspondence, annual reports, company newsletters, photographs, and the company history. The series contains numerous proofs for advertisements which appeared in many prominent newspapers and magazines.

Series II: General Accounts (1853-1926)) contains the general accounting records of the company. All the records in this series are in bound volumes. The series contains five groups of records: Day Books, Cash Books, Journals, Check Registers, and Ledgers.

Series III: Purchasing Records (1896-1926) contains the purchasing records of the company, all of which are in bound volumes. The series includes Expenditure Journals, Purchase Ledgers, and Purchase Sheets.

Series IV: Sales Records (1880-1935) contains the company sales records, all of which are in bound volumes. The records are organized in eight categories: Invoices, Sales Cash Books, Sales Journals, Sales Credits and Rebates, Sales Ledgers, Accounts Receivable, Customers by State, and Scrapbooks.

Series V: Labor Records (1884-1916) contains the company's labor records, all of which are in bound volumes. This series contains three types of records: Time Books, Payroll, and Medical Records.

Series VI: London Records (1885-1929) contains various records of the London, England division, all of which are in bound volumes. There are seven types of records: Cash Books, Ledgers and Sheets, Account Books, Discounts and Allowances, Sales and Stocks, Cash Sales Ledgers, and Sales Ledgers.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Restrictions on Use

Permission to publish from these Papers must be obtained in writing from both the University of Connecticut Libraries and the owner(s) of the copyright.

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Related Material

Archives & Special Collections has a substantial collection of materials concerning Connecticut businesses. For detailed information on these collections please contact the curator or ask at the reference desk.

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Index Terms

This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.

Family Names:

Subjects:

Document Types:

Occupations:

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Administrative Information

Custodial History

The J.B. Williams Company donated the records to the Historical Society of Glastonbury when the company closed its Connecticut facilities in 1960. The Historical Society of Glastonbury donated the records to the University of Connecticut in May 1967.

Preferred Citation

[Item description, #:#], J.B. Williams Company Records. Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.

Acquisition Information

The J.B. Williams Company Records were donated to the University of Connecticut in May 1967.

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Detailed Description