MATSUZAKAYA
Dai 4-kai yuryo keshohin taikai • dai 5-kai kokusan yuryo keshohin taikai kiroku shashin jo [Photo albums for the 4th and 5th fine cosmetics competition]
Cosmetics & commercial design in 1930s Tokyo
Two photographic albums produced by the famous Tokyo department store Matsuzakaya (which still exists today) showcasing the very best of cosmetic products and product displays in 1937 and 1938.
From 1935 Matsuzakaya hosted annual competitions for the latest in cosmetics. Not just makeup, this could also include perfume and toothpaste. To celebrate the entries and to boost sales, they invited each brand to put on a display of their products either in the window or on the shop floor. The result was a fashionable festival of the latest beauty products, clearly made to appeal to the modern women of Tokyo. The photographs across the two albums show the enticing displays which used mannequins, printed graphics and decorative ornaments.
Participating companies included Shiseido, Meishoku, Lion and Utena among others. The timing of these albums is a snapshot of Tokyo and its department stores before the War, after which much effort was needed for them to recover from devastation.
Very rare. No copies in OCLC.
