Difference between revisions of "Gold Dust Twins"

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[[File:Gold Dust Washing Soap box.jpg|200px|thumb|A box of Gold Dust Washing Soap featuring the iconic "Gold Dust Twins", 'Goldie' and 'Dustie']]
 
[[File:Gold Dust Washing Soap box.jpg|200px|thumb|A box of Gold Dust Washing Soap featuring the iconic "Gold Dust Twins", 'Goldie' and 'Dustie']]
'''Gold Dust Twins''' is the trademark for Fairbank's Gold Dust washing powder products, appeared in printed media as early as 1892. "Goldie" and "Dusty", the original Gold Dust Twins, were often shown doing household chores together. In general use since the early 1900s, the term has had popular use as a nickname on several occasions.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Dust_Twins Gold Dust Twins]. Retrieved December 26, 2020.</ref>
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'''Gold Dust Twins''' is the trademark for Fairbank's Gold Dust washing powder products, first appeared in printed media back in 1892. The original Gold Dust Twins, "Goldie" and "Dusty," were always seen doing household chores together. The word has been in common usage since the early 1900s and has been used as a nickname on many occasions.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Dust_Twins Gold Dust Twins]. Retrieved December 26, 2020.</ref>
  
Gold Dust washing powder was an all-purpose cleaning agent first introduced in the late 1880s by the Nathaniel Kellogg Fairbank Soap Company based in New York City. Gold Dust Washing Powder came in a bright orange package with a black and white illustration. Two young African-American children were pictured washing dishes in a large tub. The very recognizable trademark was drawn by E.W. Kemble who was staff artist of the Chicago Daily Graphic.<ref>Schock, Barbara. [https://www.sandburg.org/SandburgsHometown/SandburgsHometown_Gold-Dust-Twins.html The Gold Dust Twins], sandburg.org, 1 July 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2020.</ref>
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The Nathaniel Kellogg Fairbank Soap Company in New York City first introduced Gold Dust washing powder in the late 1880s as an all-purpose cleaning agent. Gold Dust Washing Powder was sold in a light orange box with a black and white picture on the front. In a big pool, two small African-American children were seen washing dishes. E.W. Kemble who was staff artist of the Chicago Daily Graphic created the instantly familiar trademark.<ref>Schock, Barbara. [https://www.sandburg.org/SandburgsHometown/SandburgsHometown_Gold-Dust-Twins.html The Gold Dust Twins], sandburg.org, 1 July 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2020.</ref>
  
 
[[File:Gold Dust Twin Soap ad.jpg|200px|thumb|This ad campaigned slavery]]
 
[[File:Gold Dust Twin Soap ad.jpg|200px|thumb|This ad campaigned slavery]]
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The Gold Dust Twins used recognizable mascots, two asexual African-American children that promote racist stereotype.
 
The Gold Dust Twins used recognizable mascots, two asexual African-American children that promote racist stereotype.
 
[[File:Casualty Gold Dust ad Slave if you will in Home and flowers March 1902.jpg|thumb|"Are you a slave to housework?" Gold Dust washing powder advertisement]]
 
[[File:Casualty Gold Dust ad Slave if you will in Home and flowers March 1902.jpg|thumb|"Are you a slave to housework?" Gold Dust washing powder advertisement]]
By the 1903 launch of a national advertising campaign, renderings of the twins had been transformed into a cartoonish pair of caricature, bald, black children of unspecified gender shown wearing tutus that sported the words "Gold" and "Dust" on them. On product containers and in advertisements, they were often comically depicted, along with a huge stack of dishes in a washtub, with one twin cleaning, the other drying.
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Drawings of the twins had been turned into a cartoonish pair of caricature, bald, black children of unidentified gender depicted sporting tutus with the words "Gold" and "Dust" on them by the time a nationwide advertisement campaign was introduced in 1903. They were often portrayed in a comical manner on product containers and commercials, along with a large stack of dishes in a washtub, with one twin cleaning, the other drying.
  
Also in 1903, Fairbanks & Co. launched its national Gold Dust Twins campaign under the slogan “Let the Gold Dust Twins Do Your Work.” The face of the campaign was Goldie and Dustie—dark skinned, subservient minstrel characters who set white America at ease.<ref>Thomas, Velma Maia. [https://www.atlantastudies.org/2015/07/27/your-advertisement-troubles-me-atlantas-gold-dust-twins/ YOUR ADVERTISEMENT TROUBLES ME: ATLANTA’S GOLD DUST TWINS], atlantastudies.org, 27 July 2015. Retrieved December 26, 2020.</ref>
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Fairbanks & Co. also introduced a nationwide Gold Dust Twins program in 1903, with the slogan "Let the Gold Dust Twins Do Your Work." Goldie and Dustie, two dark-skinned, subservient minstrel characters who put white America at ease, became the campaign's face.<ref>Thomas, Velma Maia. [https://www.atlantastudies.org/2015/07/27/your-advertisement-troubles-me-atlantas-gold-dust-twins/ YOUR ADVERTISEMENT TROUBLES ME: ATLANTA’S GOLD DUST TWINS], atlantastudies.org, 27 July 2015. Retrieved December 26, 2020.</ref>
  
 
==Phased Out==
 
==Phased Out==
By the 1950s sentiments about the use of black children in advertising became less favorable. The arrival of Tide laundry detergent on the market also had a significant effect on the sales of Gold Dust. The entire brand folded in the mid 1950s.
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By the 1950s, attitudes toward the use of black children in advertisement had shifted. The introduction of Tide laundry detergent to the industry had a direct impact on Gold Dust prices. In the mid-1950s, the whole company went bankrupt.
  
 
==External Link==
 
==External Link==

Revision as of 13:26, 13 March 2021

A box of Gold Dust Washing Soap featuring the iconic "Gold Dust Twins", 'Goldie' and 'Dustie'

Gold Dust Twins is the trademark for Fairbank's Gold Dust washing powder products, first appeared in printed media back in 1892. The original Gold Dust Twins, "Goldie" and "Dusty," were always seen doing household chores together. The word has been in common usage since the early 1900s and has been used as a nickname on many occasions.[1]

The Nathaniel Kellogg Fairbank Soap Company in New York City first introduced Gold Dust washing powder in the late 1880s as an all-purpose cleaning agent. Gold Dust Washing Powder was sold in a light orange box with a black and white picture on the front. In a big pool, two small African-American children were seen washing dishes. E.W. Kemble who was staff artist of the Chicago Daily Graphic created the instantly familiar trademark.[2]

This ad campaigned slavery

Racial Issue

The Gold Dust Twins used recognizable mascots, two asexual African-American children that promote racist stereotype.

"Are you a slave to housework?" Gold Dust washing powder advertisement

Drawings of the twins had been turned into a cartoonish pair of caricature, bald, black children of unidentified gender depicted sporting tutus with the words "Gold" and "Dust" on them by the time a nationwide advertisement campaign was introduced in 1903. They were often portrayed in a comical manner on product containers and commercials, along with a large stack of dishes in a washtub, with one twin cleaning, the other drying.

Fairbanks & Co. also introduced a nationwide Gold Dust Twins program in 1903, with the slogan "Let the Gold Dust Twins Do Your Work." Goldie and Dustie, two dark-skinned, subservient minstrel characters who put white America at ease, became the campaign's face.[3]

Phased Out

By the 1950s, attitudes toward the use of black children in advertisement had shifted. The introduction of Tide laundry detergent to the industry had a direct impact on Gold Dust prices. In the mid-1950s, the whole company went bankrupt.

External Link

Gold Dust Twin Soap advertisement at El Dorado Republican (El Dorado, Kansas), 20 Sep 1901, Fri, Page 1, newspapers.com

References

  1. Gold Dust Twins. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  2. Schock, Barbara. The Gold Dust Twins, sandburg.org, 1 July 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  3. Thomas, Velma Maia. YOUR ADVERTISEMENT TROUBLES ME: ATLANTA’S GOLD DUST TWINS, atlantastudies.org, 27 July 2015. Retrieved December 26, 2020.