John Larkin Soaps
John D. Larkin founded a soap factory in Buffalo, New York, in 1875. His factory produced two products, Sweet Home Soap, a yellow laundry soap, and Crème Oatmeal, a toilet soap. The soaps were sold through wholesalers and retailers.
A new approach to sales
In 1881 Larkin began selling his soap door-to-door to residential customers. Included in each soap box were small picture cards imprinted with the Larkin logo. In the 1890s, bonuses were central to Larkin’s sales approach. Larkin’s early premiums included handkerchiefs, towels, and pennies. Larkin later included certificates that could be cashed in and redeemed through the company’s Buffalo headquarters.
Today, small picture cards are collectibles in their own right. The images are often of sweet, smiling children playing. Dogs and kittens are frequent companions of children.
Larkin began selling his company’s products only through mail order, and by 1906 Larkin’s catalog items numbered in the hundreds. Toothpaste, scouring paste, fabric dye, coffee, tea, spices, extracts, baking powder, toiletries, paint, furniture, peanut butter are examples of items that can be purchased through the catalog.
By 19122 the catalog included more than 500 products, including furniture.
Larkin Clubs
The establishment of the “Club Larkin”, whose members were called “Larkinites”, allowed customers to purchase items on the payment plan. Ten customers could form a Larkin Club. Each club member contributed one dollar per month. A Club member, the Secretary, would purchase a Combination Box of soap and then distribute the products and prizes to the Club members. The Club Secretary was entitled to special awards based on the club’s sales volume.
OakFurniture
The Chautauqua Desk is the most recognized piece of furniture offered in Larkin’s 1901 catalogue. The desk was made of solid oak with a polished gilt finish, applied carving, a beveled mirror, and had a drop-down front with an open bottom for storage. The simpler versions of the desk did away with the mirror and had less elaborate carvings. The desk was awarded as a prize for a $10 soap purchase.
Larkin was the first major catalog distributor to actually manufacture the furniture offered as premium products. The Buffalo Pottery factory was founded to serve more premium needs.
Much of the furniture produced by Larkin was unmarked and requires documentation to authenticate its origins. Picture cards or rack cards display the Larkin Company logo and are easily identifiable.
John Larkin died in 1926 and the company closed in 1941. The city of Buffalo demolished the Larkin Company headquarters in the 1950s due to unpaid taxes. The building had been designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright.