Item HT 19327 Deodorant - Odo-Ro-No Cream Deodorant, Odorono Company, Sydney, circa 1941-1960

Summary

Jar of Odo-Ro-No Cream Deodorant, made by the Odorono Company, Sydney. It contains zinc sulphocarbolate and ammonium alum.

Odo-Ro-No was advertised in Australian newspapers between 1922 and 1971. In November 1941 an advertisement in the Australian Women's Weekly depicts the deoderant much as HT 19327 appears. The straight-sided jar shown here was apparently first used in later 1941; a bluging shaped jar was used prior to that date, and earlier still Odo-Ro-No was sold as a bottle of liquid with a brush. In 1957 a push-up stick deoderant was added to the range.

Acquired as part of the William Boyd Childhood Collection. The collection includes most of the childhood possessions of William (Bill) Boyd, as well as some general household items. Bill was born in 1947 and raised in the Victorian town of Maryborough. His mother Lillian Boyd preserved the collection for many decades. Upon her death Bill donated it to the Museum of Childhood at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. When the Museum of Childhood closed the collection was transferred to the Western Australian Museum, but its Victorian provenance saw it later transferred to Museum Victoria.

Physical Description

Small glass jar with metal lid painted cream with pink inscription. Orange and black label on underside. Contains product.

Significance

Encompassing toys, books, clothing and other items, the William Boyd Childhood Collection is rare in its comprehensiveness: even ephemera such as the back of a Cornflakes box are included. The Collection demonstrates a range of prominent themes in the lives of postwar Victorian children, such as the ability to 'make do' under austere circumstances; the shift in toy manufacture towards plastic materials and mass production; the continuing cultural influence of Britain; the increasing embrace of American popular culture; the prominence of gender roles; and the popularity of transport and war themed toys for boys.