Americana at it's finest...A Priceless Story had to be told or be lost forever

My Auntie Mabel Williams, 1915

I've had a passion for my family history since I was in Jr. High School.  My grandmother told me about the birth of the Maybelline company and how my Great Auntie Mabel mixed the ashes from a burnt cork with Vaseline and dabbed the mixture on her brows and lashes to make them grow and give them more color.   She told me how Mabel’s brother, Tom Lyle, a 19 year old entrepreneur with a small mail-order business in 1915, realized the value of her idea and brought it into the world.  He invented mascara and he named his company Maybelline in her honor and it became the greatest success in the cosmetic field.  I gave a speech, got an “A,” and won popularity overnight. From that minute on, I became obsessed with uncovering the lost story about the people who shaped my life.  

My Grandmother, Evelyn F. Williams 1917

I spent time with all my grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, collecting stories, photographs and vintage Maybelline ads for years and years.  Then, in 1978, when my grandmother was killed in an arson related fire, I was determined not to let her memory die and vowed to write her story.  For the last the next 20 years, I became an intensive journal writer, using the Ira Progoff system, and eventually found my writer's voice.  

My Father, Bill Williams and me, 1983

When a fire took my own home in 1993 and all my memories with it, I turned to my father for support and sat for two and a half years writing a 963 page manuscript about the family and the Maybelline history.  However, it wasn’t until fate brought Bettie Youngs, an author and publisher, into my life that the book began to take form.

After three years of working together, and my story being edited a dozen times, The Maybelline Story was born and will be sent out into the world to inspire, entertain and leave a legacy for the people I have loved and who have passed on.  If I wasn’t given this passion, a piece of American history would be lost forever and would have died with me.  I hope other people have also been inspired to research their roots and capture what they find for their children and grandchildren.  

Family History is the greatest gift one can pass on..... and to connect with your background..... PRICELESS. 

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Starting off with a $500 loan, today Maybelline thrives as a billion-dollar Icon, the world’s largest cosmetic brand.

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I am so sorry I bought this book before knowing you would sign a copy. I LOVED the book! Excellent writing and fantastic descriptions of your family's personalities. I sure wish I had met your grandma before her tragic death... Thanks so much for writing this! Anastasia Rose

The Maybelline Story starts almost a century ago and takes you though the interesting life of founder Tom Lyle Williams and his fascinating family as he climbs his way to achieving the all American dream. Cross country it will take you from Chicago to Hollywood, mingling with the who's who in each era and location. Read how a fluke turned into a simple product, and how it turned into an international sensation and empire. Follow their lives and families lives for almost 80 years.        

The Maybelline Story is one that has left a lasting impression upon America, yet not many realize just how vital a role the cosmetic brand has played in shaping idealism today.  The obsession with perfection is widely seen throughout Hollywood, as it was nearly 100 years ago.  However, the obsession at that time did not reach the rest of society as it has today.  Early cosmetic developers, such as founder Tom Lyle Williams of the Maybelline Co. brought cosmetics to the everyday woman, pushing the idea that every woman, young and old, regardless of class, can obtain glamour and beauty with a simple swish of the eyes.  That’s where Maybelline got its start.  Developed in a time where women were breaking away from being modest and obedient housewives, and starting to seek their right as legal voters and equals in society.

The story captivates all audiences by its incredible survival through economic, social, and personal turmoil.  The Maybelline Story takes you on a journey through 20^th century America, and
into the 21^st century where Maybelline thrives as a billion-dollar Icon, the world’s largest cosmetic brand.  

Hilarious Old Hollywood Glamour at the Brown Derby in Beverly Hills, 1940...

Tom Lyle and his custom Packard Victoria

My 16 year father, Bill Williams along with his uncle Tom Lyle Williams and Emery Shaver, pulled up to the valet at the famous Brown Derby in Beverly Hills in TL's new 1940 Packard Victoria,

 just as Mae West and W.C. Fields pulled up in a flashy white Rolls Royce. 

West and Fields, dressed in full regalia for publicity shots, posed for photographers before entering the restaurant, while Tom Lyle and Bill turned in time to see Starstruck Emery slam into a pole and land flat on his rear.

To embarrassed to go back, they sauntered into the Derby, trying not to laugh and waited for Emery to pull himself together and meet them at  the booth.  It was a true W.C. Fields pratfall and one they never let 
Emery forget.

Tom Lyle and Emery at The Villa Valentino

Read more about Tom Lyle and Emery, during Old Hollywood's Glamorous Heyday, in The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It.  

Review From a Guy's Point Of View

It's one thing for women to love The Maybelline Story, but check out this great review from a James Pringle.

I just wanted to let you know that your book captivated my attention, from beginning to end. The Maybelline Story, your family history, is a mixture of joy and sadness, complete with a full array of emotions, as well as plenty of adventure and drama to stimulate the imagination.

Throughout your book, I drew mental pictures of locations and events which you eloquently described.  The photos in your book helped to complete my mental images of your family.  While reading your book it was as if I were watching a movie of "The Maybelline Story" in my mind.

In fact, I would be very surprised if "The Maybelline Story" is not someday showing in theaters as a full-length movie or as a  mini-series on TV.  Indeed.  

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Speaking of scary nightmare stories, here's one that actually happened to Tom Lyle Williams and Maybelline.

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There was one tiny little problem with the Williams copyright. A St. Louis man by the name of Benjamin Ansehl had started a company called Lashbrow Laboratories in 1912 and was already marketing a similar product. Williams sued for copyright infringement by Ansehl and a counter suit immediately ensued.

The case of ANSEHL v. WILLIAMS was heard in the Circuit Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, St. Louis, Missouri, July 15, 1920. You can read the entire decision, but here is a little background of the case as recorded in The Federal Reporter: 

In September, 1915, appellee [Williams], under the name of Maybell Laboratories, commenced selling at Chicago, Ill., a preparation for promoting and stimulating the growth of eyebrows and lashes, under the tradename of Lash-Brow-Ine. The name was suggested by preparations of a similar character then on the market under the names of Eye-BrowIne and Lashneen. The suffix "ine" was used, because the principal ingredient contained in appellee's preparation was chiefly petrolatum, a form of vaseline. Appellee commenced to advertise his preparation in October, 1915, and since then has advertised in over 50 different magazines, and had paid for advertising at the time of trial $67,084.19; the monthly expense for advertising having increased to about $3,000 per month. The preparation, sold directly to consumers at 50 cents per box, had amounted to 149,000 mail orders since the business was started. Sales were also made in gross to about 3,000 dealers, located in every state of the Union. Appellee testified that he never heard of Lashbrow, or Lashbrow Laboratories, until about September 1, 1918. About November 1, 1918, appellee caused appellant [Ansehl] to be notified to cease infringing appellee's trade-mark. Appellant refusing so to do, this suit was commenced December 17, 1918.

Since commencing the sale of his preparation appellee has done a business amounting to $111,759.73. The trade-mark Lash-Brow-Ine was registered in the United States Patent Office April 24, 1917. The main ingredients of the preparation sold by appellee were a superfine petrolatum and paraffine, a high-grade perfume, and other small ingredients. No reply was received by appellee to the notification above stated until November 11, 1918, when the receipt of the letter of appellee of November 1, 1918, was acknowledged with a statement that appellant had used the trade-mark "Lashbrow" much earlier than 1915, and a request that appellee desist from infringing the same, or suit would be brought by the appellant for an injunction and an accounting. No such suit was brought.There was introduced in evidence a large number of advertisements appearing in various publications. The evidence on the part of appellant showed that he conceived the idea of manufacturing and putting on the market a preparation for stimulating and promoting the growth of eyebrows and eyelashes in 1911; that the formula for this preparation was one used by his mother for her eyebrows and eyelashes when she was a girl. Appellant commenced selling his preparation in the spring of 1912, under the trade-mark of "Lashbrow," to a small drug store on Jefferson and Lafayette avenues in the city of St. Louis, Mo. This was followed by soliciting trade from all the large dealers and retail stores in St. Louis, where the preparation was offered for sale. Appellant then started a campaign of advertising which began on October 12, 1912, in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. This advertising brought him business from nearby states, such as Illinois and Indiana, and the entire Southwest. Appellant's business has been conducted since its commencement at 1755 Preston street, St. Louis, Mo., where he was doing business when enjoined in May, 1919. The stores referred to by appellant in his testimony were Wolf-Wilson, Judge & Dolph, Grand Leader, Famous & Barr, Nugent's, Hirsch's Hair Bazaar, and Schaper, being the leading stores in St. Louis. The preparation was sold through these stores in 1912. Appellant had printed 1,000 cardboard fliers and 1,000 transparent fliers, which were mailed to about 1,500 stores throughout the United States. A counter display card was also distributed throughout the country in 1913. A sample of appellant's preparation was mailed to the buyers of about 800 or 900 department stores throughout the country.

It's an interesting look at doing business in the early twentieth century and the birth of a mega corp.

In October, 1920 the decision was set down in favor of Benjamin Ansehl. Williams had to stop using the Lash-Brow-Ine name. From then on the ads, like the one at left featuring film star Phyllis Haver, featured only the Maybelline name. Williams had lost the battle. But a walk down any cosmetics aisle will tell you he clearly won the war. 

There was one tiny little problem with the Williams copyright. A St. Louis man by the name of Benjamin Ansehl had started a company called Lashbrow Laboratories in 1912 and was already marketing a similar product. Williams sued for copyright infringement by Ansehl and a counter suit immediately ensued.

The case of ANSEHL v. WILLIAMS was heard in the Circuit Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, St. Louis, Missouri, July 15, 1920. You can read the entire decision, but here is a little background of the case as recorded in The Federal Reporter: 

In September, 1915, appellee [Williams], under the name of Maybell Laboratories, commenced selling at Chicago, Ill., a preparation for promoting and stimulating the growth of eyebrows and lashes, under the tradename of Lash-Brow-Ine. The name was suggested by preparations of a similar character then on the market under the names of Eye-BrowIne and Lashneen. The suffix "ine" was used, because the principal ingredient contained in appellee's preparation was chiefly petrolatum, a form of Vaseline  Appellee commenced to advertise his preparation in October, 1915, and since then has advertised in over 50 different magazines, and had paid for advertising at the time of trial $67,084.19; the monthly expense for advertising having increased to about $3,000 per month. The preparation, sold directly to consumers at 50 cents per box, had amounted to 149,000 mail orders since the business was started. Sales were also made in gross to about 3,000 dealers, located in every state of the Union. Appellee testified that he never heard of Lashbrow, or Lashbrow Laboratories, until about September 1, 1918. About November 1, 1918, appellee caused appellant [Ansehl] to be notified to cease infringing appellee's trade-mark. Appellant refusing so to do, this suit was commenced December 17, 1918.

Since commencing the sale of his preparation appellee has done a business amounting to $111,759.73. The trade-mark Lash-Brow-Ine was registered in the United States Patent Office April 24, 1917. The main ingredients of the preparation sold by appellee were a superfine petrolatum and paraffine, a high-grade perfume, and other small ingredients. No reply was received by appellee to the notification above stated until November 11, 1918, when the receipt of the letter of appellee of November 1, 1918, was acknowledged with a statement that appellant had used the trade-mark "Lashbrow" much earlier than 1915, and a request that appellee desist from infringing the same, or suit would be brought by the appellant for an injunction and an accounting. No such suit was brought.

There was introduced in evidence a large number of advertisements appearing in various publications. The evidence on the part of appellant showed that he conceived the idea of manufacturing and putting on the market a preparation for stimulating and promoting the growth of eyebrows and eyelashes in 1911; that the formula for this preparation was one used by his mother for her eyebrows and eyelashes when she was a girl. Appellant commenced selling his preparation in the spring of 1912, under the trade-mark of "Lashbrow," to a small drug store on Jefferson and Lafayette avenues in the city of St. Louis, Mo. This was followed by soliciting trade from all the large dealers and retail stores in St. Louis, where the preparation was offered for sale. Appellant then started a campaign of advertising which began on October 12, 1912, in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. This advertising brought him business from nearby states, such as Illinois and Indiana, and the entire Southwest. Appellant's business has been conducted since its commencement at 1755 Preston street, St. Louis, Mo., where he was doing business when enjoined in May, 1919. The stores referred to by appellant in his testimony were Wolf-Wilson, Judge & Dolph, Grand Leader, Famous & Barr, Nugent's, Hirsch's Hair Bazaar, and Schaper, being the leading stores in St. Louis. The preparation was sold through these stores in 1912. Appellant had printed 1,000 cardboard fliers and 1,000 transparent fliers, which were mailed to about 1,500 stores throughout the United States. A counter display card was also distributed throughout the country in 1913. A sample of appellant's preparation was mailed to the buyers of about 800 or 900 department stores throughout the country.

It's an interesting look at doing business in the early twentieth century and the birth of a mega corp.

In October, 1920 the decision was set down in favor of Benjamin Ansehl. Williams had to stop using the Lash-Brow-Ine name. From then on the ads, like the one at left featuring film star Phyllis Haver, featured only the Maybelline name. Williams had lost the battle. But a walk down any cosmetics aisle will tell you he clearly won the war.
Posted by The Chicago History Journal
Chicago Law History by Joe Mathewson

Recommended reading:

Phyllis Haver: When Stars Burn Out (Tattered and Lost Ephemera)

Lash-Brow-Ine (Cosmetics and Skin)

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Tom Lyle did his best taking over being "dad," while running his growing Maybelline Company.

Tom Lyle  enjoyed his time with his nephew, swimming in The Villa Valentino's Olympic-size pool, playing badminton, dropping dimes in the slot machine in the game room - decorated like the Hawaiian Islands,

or listening to Bing Crosby sing Sweet Leilani, from the film Waikiki Wedding.  When Unk Ile was busy Bill  listened to  The Green Hornet, - Fibber McGee and Molly and curled up on the sofa till he fell asleep.

For Christmas that year Tom Lyle had the Villa decorated  with a 15 foot tree and strung colored lights on some of the trees surrounding the The Villa.

They were a family now, Bill, Evelyn and Tom Lyle and on Dec. 21, when the premier of Walt Disney’s first feature length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs came out, Unk Ile drove them to the Cathay Circle theater is Los Angles, to see it, with dinner at Brown Derby afterwards.

On Christmas Day Unk Ile brought out a little basket with a beautiful Cocker Spaniel puppy in it, named "Lady."   Bill finally got his wish - a dog of his own. 

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Buy my book at http://www.maybellinebook.com/p/buy-my-book.html

Geometry of the Heart ...My Grandmother was in love with both brothers. One was the founder of the Maybelline Co. and one became my Grandfather.

Evelyn and Preston

An odd understanding had developed—a virtual trinomial equation with no solution. Preston had no doubt that Evelyn reserved her passion for him alone, and that Tom Lyle was no threat sexually. If Preston understood why, he kept it to himself.  Evelyn adored them both, but accepted the fact that Tom Lyle had no romantic interest in her. Tom Lyle couldn’t stand for her to know the truth. Perhaps Evelyn convinced herself that Tom Lyle refused to move in on his brother’s turf.  Still, his lack of interest was painful to her. Again, she put on her mask and acted perfectly delighted with things as they were.

Top picture, my Grandfather, William Preston Williams.
 Bottom picture, my Great uncle, Tom Lyle Williams with
 my Grandmother, Evelyn Williams

Why was it that Evelyn was crazy over Preston and wound up being taken care of the rest of her life by her brother in law, Tom Lyle?  You will have to read The Maybelline Story and find out for yourself!

A Stunning American Treasure Filled with Nostalgia, History and Marketing Expertise

1933 Maybelline Ad.

Maybelline founder, (1915,) Tom Lyle Williams, believed a woman’s greatest asset was her ability to capture a man’s imagination through her expressive eyes.

By the 1920's women were expressing their creativity through fashion, music, dance, modern art and writing. The film industry was exploding with new found glamour and Super Stars were born. The launch of radio in 1922 as well as newspapers, fashion and movie magazines.  Maybelline, advertised with full page glossy ads, using Hollywood Movie Queens.  the 1930's Maybelline was a household name. Women wanted beauty and Maybelline gave them beautiful eyes and the allure and confidence that went with them.

Empowered for the first time since the Victorian era, women discovered a passion for imitating stars who exuded sex appeal on the screen.

Maybelline provided an inexpensive eye beautifier that enhanced a woman's sex-appeal while movies mirrored  celluloid forgeries professing  nonconformity with old world standards.  As Movie stars became models for America's changing values, Tom Lyle threw Maybelline in the dime stores in 1933 and as little cosmetic companies fell by the wayside or were bought out by Maybelline, The Maybelline Company went on to be the undisputed giant in its field during the Great Depression.

Actress Alice Faye and Maybelline's Tom Lyle Williams, mistaken for Jean Harlow and Howard Hughes in the 1930's

                    Times Square 1938, during the filming of 
                             "Alexander's Ragtime Band" 

Alice Faye

Tom Lyle Williams

My aunt Verona said she remembered once running into Tom Lyle and Alice Faye at a posh restaurant in 1938, right after the filming of “Alexanders Ragtime Band.” She said Tom Lyle and Alice Faye made a devastatingly handsome couple, he so tall dark and handsome, and she so petite, blond and glamorous.  “For a second,” she said, “I thought it was Howard Hughes and Jean Harlow.”

Howard Hughes

Jean Harlow

Harlow had already died, of course, but Alice Faye, was a blond bombshell that did have a Harlow aura. Verona went on to tell me that at that time Maybelline had a giant neon sign in Times Square and believed it was Alice who insisted that particular view of Times Square be shot and used in the film.  Verona was sick I didn’t tell Alice who my uncle was, and she knew Tom Lyle would  be very disappointed as well.



Excerpt taken from my book, The Maybelline Story.

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Maybelline's Founder, Tom Lyle Williams... Pioneer and King of the Cosmetic Industry

Tom Lyle Williams, the founder of the Maybelline Company in 1915, was also known as the King of advertising, in the Cosmetic industry.

BEAUTIFUL  EYES  MAKE A  BEAUTIFUL WOMAN 

AND WITH MAYBELLINE,  ALL WOMEN CAN HAVE BEAUTIFUL EYES."

       Tom Lyle Williams, my great uncle,  propounded this universally appealing theme in mass media:  movie magazines, radio, and even the comics section of newspapers during the  1920's, 30's, and 40's.  But it wasn't until the advent of television in the 50's that the single most important selling tool was perfected.  Through Television, Tom Lyle was able to show, as well as tell and sell, exactly what the customers  could do. 

       The  consumer could now observe the fine performance of Maybelline eye beauty aids and learn just how easy it was to apply them through the technology of special effects.  With this new medium,  Maybelline was the first cosmetic company to offer real application and demonstration scenes through the magic of  instant beauty transformation magnificently communicated through  “before and after" sequences."

Buy my book and read more about Maybelline "The Wonder Company''

Review.....A great story about the beautiful mortals

  Sharrie Williams Grandmother..... Maybelline Heiress, Evelyn F. Williams, 1968

By Holly  D. - This review is from: The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It 

I was only casually acquainted with the glamorous woman at the center of this saga. I was 22 years old in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and she was a brilliant but oddly vulnerable creature on the outer boundaries of my life then. This book answers so many questions I have had about her for many years. I am so glad it exists, and even more glad that it was written in a dynamic and thrilling style. The man who may be partially responsible for her death has been aptly described by the author. This book captures the legend that surrounded the woman and her family, and it is a great page-turner. 

More importantly, the shining character of the remarkable Tom Lyle Williams guides this book. Anyone interested in the fashion world and the power of artifice will absolutely relish each and every chapter, to the very tumultuous end of the story. 

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Sharrie Williams interview on the Connie Martinson Talks Books Show in California

Constance Frye Martinson  is an American writer and television personality. Since its 1979 debut, she has hosted the syndicated television show Connie Martinson Talks Books, which airs on public television.A member of the National Book Critics Circle, she writes a column for the Beverly Hills Courier.

Be sure to visit Sharrie Williams Saffrons Rule Blog at http://saffronsrule.com/ taken directly from her Hilarious, 1964 High School Diary.