Dr. E. L. Graves' Unequaled Tooth Powder [Dr. E. L. Graves Tooth Powder Co.]

An 1895 "Dr. E. L. Graves' Unequaled Tooth Powder" advertisement.[7]

Dr. E. L. Graves, an American dentist, claimed that his "unequalled" tooth powder “cleanses, brightens, beautifies and saves the Teeth, heals soft and bleeding gums and makes fillings last”.

An 1890 "Dentist E. L. Graves' Tooth Powder" advertisement.[4]

The founder of the Dr. E. L. Graves Tooth Powder Company was born in Fulton, Rock County, Wisconsin, in 1845.  At sixteen years of age, E. L. Graves ran away from home in answer to Lincoln's call for volunteers to join the Union army.  After four years of military life, Graves transferred to the engineer corps and was sent to West Point, where he studied dentistry.

An 1891 "Dr. Graves' Unequalled Tooth Powder" advertisement.[2]

He plunged into research and experiment in his profession, particularly with regard to the effect of various dentifrices upon the teeth, with the resultant decision that no dentifrice then in the market contained the essential ingredients properly compounded.  After some hard labor he perfected what is now known as Dr. Graves' Tooth Powder.

An 1891 "Dr. E. L. Graves' Tooth Powder" advertisement.[11]

In the practice of his profession at New York City, New York and Janesville, Wisconsin, Dr. Graves made good use of his dentifrice, which soon established an enviable reputation.

A 1909 test and published review of Dr. E. L. Graves' tooth powder product.[10]

In 1868, Dr. Graves moved to Madison street, Chicago, where he started to manufacture his tooth powder on a commercial scale.

The original method of mixing the dentifrice powder was by shaking the ingredients by hand in a large glass bottle.  As the business grew, a churning machine replaced human workers.

A 1898 advertisement for "Dr. E. L. Graves' Unequaled Tooth Powder".[8]

In the general laboratory there was an industrial high-speed engine which drove the powder mixing and the bolting machinery.  The working capacity of the latter was quite large, but it still barely met the level of demand on most days.  Supplementary machinery bottled and corked thousands of pounds of the powder each day, after which labels were attached to the bottles and the goods were ready for the market. 

An employee preparing Dr. Graves Tooth Powder samples in the sample department.[1]

Another adjunct to the business that was responsible for much of the great growth in the company's trade was the samples department.  A specially constructed machine would fill one hundred of the two-dram homeopathic vials per day with powder.  The little bottles, after having been filled, were then wrapped in a circular, and finally boxed when they were ready for distribution as free samples. 

1899 "Dr. E. L. Graves' Unequaled Tooth Powder" advertisement.[5]

 

1902 Dr. Graves' Tooth Powder Co. advertisement.[3]

The trademark "Dr. E. L. Graves Unequalled Tooth Powder" was registered to S. H. Gunder on February 12, 1907.[6]



The tooth powder would have been sprinkled on a brush, and used just like how we now use toothpaste.





















Prior to the emergence of the metal canister for Dr. Graves' Tooth Powder around 1906, embossed glass bottles would have been the main containers for the product.

1911 Price list.

The metal canister was packaged in a cardboard box (shown below) and was produced for the tooth powder from 1906 to 1916.  The text "Dr. E. L. Graves Unequalled Tooth Powder for Health and Beautiful Teeth" was embossed on the shoulder of the can itself and printed on a paper label as well.[9]

A "Dr. E. L. Graves' Unequaled Tooth Powder" metal canister and box.[9]

References:

[1] Parsons, Charles W.  The Pharmaceutical Era, Volume XXV.  New York: D. O. Haynes & Co., 7 March 1901. Pg 273.

[2] Campbell's Illustrated Weekly, Volume 1.  1891.

[3]  O'Loughlin, Robert S., et al.  The Delineator.  Butterick Publishing Company, 1902.

[4]  The Chicago Blue Book of Selected Names of Chicago and Suburban Towns:  Containing the Names and Addresses of Prominent Residents.  1890.

[5] The National Druggist, Volumes 29-30.  1899.

[6] United States Congressional Serial Set.  U.S. Government Printing Office, 1909.

[7] Western Druggist, Volume 17.  1895.

[8] The Dental Review: A Monthly Journal Devoted to the Advancement of Dentistry, Volume 12.  H.D. Justi & Son, 1898.

[9] Tooth Powder, Edwardian, Original.  Object Lessons:  Islington Education Library Service.  London.  2013.  <http://www.objectlessons.org/health-and-beauty-20th-century-to-present/tooth-powder-edwardian-original/s72/a1000/>.

[10] Wiley, Harvey W., Pierce, Anne L.  1001 Tests of Foods, Beverages and Toilet Accessories, Good and Otherwise: Why They Are So.  New York: Hearst's International Library Co., 1916.

[11] Harlan, Allison W., Johnson, Charles N.  The Dental Review: A Monthly Journal Devoted to the Advancement of Dentistry, Volume 5.  Chicago:  H.D. Justi & Son, 1891.