Mignot-Boucher face powder box marked Rachel with an excise label
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 1.000 inches (2.54 cm) | Diameter: 1.750 inches (4.445 cm)
Creator(s)
- Rachel Felix (Subject)
- Mignot-Boucher (Manufacturer)
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, Germandrée brand face powder with a tax stamp manufactured by Mignot-Boucher in Sofia, Bulgaria, between 1916 and 1943. Mignot-Boucher was a French company founded in 1818, and bought in 1916, by the Jewish Bulgarian Arié family. The company became a driving economic force, growing the family’s prestige and wealth as it improved the nation’s manufacturing power. In 1941, Bulgaria joined the Axis alliance and increased the systematic persecution of Jews, including an official boycott of Jewish goods. In 1943, the owners of the company were arrested under the pretense of stealing from the state. The arrest was driven by anti-Semitism, and once they were hanged for their false crimes the company passed into Bulgarian control. The powder color, Rachel, is stamped on the bottom and likely references Eliza Rachel Felix (1821- 1858), a popular Jewish, French stage actress from the mid-1800s who performed under the stage name Rachel. At the time, most proper woman did not wear cosmetics, but it was common practice for actresses. Mass produced cosmetics were typically powder based and came in 3 colors, rose, white, and a darker crème color. 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, theatrical cosmetics became popular and were used by respectable women in all parts of society. During the first half of the 1900s, Rachel was maintained as a color and eventually expanded to include a range of associated shades.
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 gray paper with gold borders on the slightly protruding upper and lower rims. The lid has a circular, white paper label in the center with a black double line border, a germander sprig above a scroll, and a red signature superimposed over Bulgarian Cyrillic text. Adhered on the sides are 2 rectangular white paper seals with perforated edges: the smaller one has a blue circle and French text, while the other is an excise label with a purple lion crest and Bulgarian Cyrillic text. These stamps cover the lid/base seam. On the bottom of the base is a circular, white paper label with a double lined black border and Bulgarian Cyrillic text. The box is sealed, but usually these containers have a sealed powder drum and powder.
exterior side, paper label, printed, blue ink : - PARFUMERIE GERMANDREE - / CALMET / ON / GARANTIE / MIGNOT - BOUCHER / PARIS [GERMANDER PERFUME / CALMET / ON / WARRANTY / MIGNOT - BOUCHER / PARIS] exterior side, rectangle stamp, printed, purple ink : М. Ф. Такса 20 СТОТ. / Парфюмерия / и тоалетъ [MF 20 CENT TAX. / Perfumery / and toiletries]
Subjects
- Bulgaria--Ethnic relations--History--20th century.
- Consumers--Government policy--Bulgaria.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Bulgaria.
- Bulgaria--History--1941-1944.
- Jews--Bulgaria--History--1941-1944.
Genre
- Object
- Containers