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Ayer's Hair Vigor
This product was originally sold by J.C. Ayer & Co., of Lowell, Mass. Ayer and Edward Haeffely registered a Patent for a "Composition for Coloring and Dressing Human Hair" on January 28th, 1868 (Patent #73,865). The primary ingredients were: tartro-plumbite of soda, glycerine, and water. There were several variations of the recipe. The following is a re-wording of the primary recipe used:
(1) Dissolve 9 pounds of lead acetate in water; (2) add 9 pounds of cream of tartar, dissolved in water (as little water as will take it up); (3) wash this precipitate in water twice; (4) dissolve the precipitate in 30 pounds of solution of caustic soda (specific gravity 1.07); (5) add sufficient water to bring quantity to 13 pounds; (6) add 6 1/2 gallons of glycerine.
Ayer registered "Ayer's Hair Vigor" and the picture of the woman with long flowing hair as trademarks for his hair preparation in 1876. The picture shown was included with the trademark petition as an example of how the trademark was used. The petitioners for the trademark (J. C. Ayer & Co.) indicated that they had been selling the brand name for over eleven years, and that the preparation was also a patented or propriety article of their own invention. The trademark for the Hair Vigor was re-registered in 1914 (#s 95726 & 96,087). The preparation was not represented in an 1867 Ayer's Almanac. In the early years of its sale, Ayer's Hair Vigor was in direct competition with Hall's Hair Renewer. It was the product of Reuben P. Hall of Nashua New Hampshire (see Hall). They weren't in competition long though, because Ayer bought out Hall in 1870. A couple of months after they were issued the Trade Mark for their own brand, in 1876, J.C. Ayer & Frederick Ayer, calling themselves "R.P. Hall & Co.," registered a Trade Mark for "Hall's Vegetable Sicilian Hair Renewer." They mentioned in that petition, that they had bought the business of Hall in November of 1870.

Advertisements up until 1903 still showed the older bottle design. It's likely that they didn't start making the real pretty ones until around 1910. Note that the both variants of Ayer's Hair Vigor and Hall's Hair Renewer were similar to each other. The early ones both had oval bottles, embossed only on the base, with tight wrappers around the entire bottles. The later variants were both the real pretty, colorful bottles, with similar fancy shapes, and embossing only on the sides. Anyway, both of the variants of both bottles were similar because they were being produced under the same management. It is very possible that they started using the fancy bottles after Sterling Products bought out the products. Ayer's Hair Vigor was still for sale in the 1898 National Druggist and, according to Fike, it was still being advertised in 1930. I've seen circulars for Ayer's Hair Vigor from 1923 picturing the common fancy bottle.

Numerous Other Images

The 1870 Detroit Review of Medicine and Pharmacy examined this preparation and found it to contain 2.89 grains of lead per fluid ounce.

BOTTLE DESCRIPTIONS
1 Rectangular, 6 1/2", ring top, no panels, BIM, peacock blue, side: "AYER'S" side: "HAIR VIGOR"
2 Rectangular, 6 1/2", ring top, no panels, BIM, cobalt blue, side: "AYER'S" side: "HAIR VIGOR"
3 Oval, 7 1/2", double-ring top, no panels, BIM, aqua, "AYER" (in circle on base)
Ayer's Bottle