Ideal face powder box with a cockatoo design marked Rachel
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 0.875 inches (2.223 cm) | Diameter: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm)
Creator(s)
- Nikola Chilova (Manufacturer)
- Rachel Felix (Subject)
Biographical History
Eliza Rachel Félix was born on February 28, 1821, near Mumpf in the Swiss canton of Aargau, to Jacques and Thérèse-Esther-Chaya Félix. Her parents were itinerant Jewish peddlers of second-hand clothing. Eliza had 5 siblings: Sophie-Sarah, Raphaël, Rébecca, Adelaïde-Lia, and Mélanie-Dinah. The family lived in a wagon that also doubled as a storehouse for their goods. While performing on the streets of Lyon, France, Eliza Rachel and Sophie-Sarah were discovered by Etienne Choron, a Parisian musician and educator. He invited the girls to attend his school for musical and theatrical training, so their family settled in the Jewish quarter of Paris in 1831. During the 1830s, Eliza Rachel continued to receive private training as an actress and in 1838, she debuted at the Comédie Française under the name Rachel. Her performance was met with critical acclaim that praised her talent, technique, and passion as an actress. Her career grew steadily and focused on her skills at portraying classical French, historical, and patriotic characters. During the 1840s and early 1850s Rachel toured all over Europe, traveling from Great Britain to Moscow, Russia. In 1855 she went as far as the United States. She was widely known for her talent, but also for her grace and distinctive beauty. She was very close with her family, and supported the acting careers of her sisters. At different points in her career, both her father and brother served as her manager. She never married, but was known for having affairs with prominent and powerful men, and bore two illegitimate sons. She remained a member of the Jewish faith, but had her children baptized as Christians. On January 4, 1858, Rachel, aged 36, died of tuberculosis in Le Cannet, France. The Chief Rabbi of France, Lazard Isidor, presided over her funeral and she was buried in Paris.
Archival History
The face powder container was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Barbara Rein.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Barbara Rein
Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Scope and Content
Unused, Ideal brand face powder with a cockatoo on the lid manufactured in the large Nikola Chilova chemical plant in Kostinbrod, Bulgaria, between the 1920s and the 1940s. The powder color, Rachel, is stamped on the bottom and references Eliza Rachel Felix (1821- 1858), a popular Jewish, French stage actress from the mid-1800s. She performed under the stage name Rachel and was well-known as a beautiful, talented, and graceful performer. At the time, most proper woman did not wear cosmetics, but it was common practice for actresses, especially as stages were becoming better lit and their faces were more visible. Mass produced cosmetics were typically powder based and came in 3 colors, rose, white, and a darker crème color often associated with brunettes with dark coloring. This was likely the color used by the dark haired Rachel, and her name quickly became synonymous with the creamier powder color. At the end of the 1800s and into the 1900s, greasepaint with a numbered color system came to dominate stage cosmetics, while the older powder-based varieties and their original names became quite popular and were used by respectable women in all parts of society. During the first half of the 1900s, the spelling of Rachel began to vary, but was maintained as a color and eventually expanded to include a range of associated shades, with the number of tints peaking in the 1950s.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Circular, telescoping, cardboard box with a slightly domed lid. It is covered in orange paper with printed images. The design on top features Bulgarian Cyrillic script above a white cockatoo, the gold chain around its neck is attached to the white powder puff held in its beak. The sides have a white feather design with gold and black accents. There are gold colored borders on the slightly protruding upper and lower rims. Adhered to the base underside is a circular, white paper label with a circle of orange Bulgarian Cyrillic text printed between double lined inner and outer borders. In the center there are 3 words; a purple stamp below orange Bulgarian Cyrillic text and script. The box interior has a sealed powder drum and powder.
base exterior, bottom, lower center, stamped, purple ink : РАШЕЛ [RASHEL]
Subjects
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Bulgaria.
- Jews--Bulgaria--History--1941-1944.
- Bulgaria--Ethnic relations--History--20th century.
- Bulgaria--History--1941-1944.
- Consumers--Government policy--Bulgaria.
Genre
- Object
- Containers