Pears Soap

Pears transparent soap is a brand of soap first produced and sold in 1807 by Andrew Pears at a factory just off Oxford Street in London, England. It was the world's first mass-market translucent soap. Under the stewardship of Thomas J. Barratt, A. & F. Pears initiated a number of innovations in sales and marketing.

Andrew Pears, the son of a farmer, was born about 1770 in Cornwall and moved from his native Mevagissey to London around 1787. He completed his apprenticeship in 1789, established a barber's shop in Gerrard Street in Soho and began to produce cosmetic products. At that time Soho was a high-end residential area, and Pears' clientele included many wealthy socialites who took pride in their appearance. The fashion among the wealthy of the period was for pristine white complexions; tanned faces were associated with those who laboured outdoors. Pears found that his powders and creams were frequently being used to cover up damage caused by the harshness of the soaps and other beauty products (many of which contained arsenic or lead) that were in general use at the time. Pears began to experiment with soap purification and eventually managed to produce a gentle soap based on glycerine and other natural products. The clarity of the soap gave it a novel transparent appearance which provided a marketing advantage. To add to the appeal, Pears gave the soap an aroma reminiscent of an English garden.

During the nineteenth century, Pears built a large market for its soap in the United States.

In 1835 when his grandson, Francis Pears, joined the business the firm was renamed A & F Pears. After three years, Andrew retired leaving Francis in charge. At The Great Exhibition of 1851 A & F Pears was awarded the prize medal for soap. Production moved to Isleworth in 1862. 23-year-old Thomas J. Barratt, sometimes referred to as the father of modern advertising, was appointed bookkeeper in 1864. The next year Francis' son, Andrew, joined A. & F. Pears as joint proprietor and ran the Isleworth factory. The same year Thomas married Mary Pears, Francis's eldest daughter, and was set to running the administration in London.

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