Advertisement for the Poro System agency: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A cardboard sign advertising Annie Malone’s “Poro” System agency. The advertisement is red, white, blue, and yellow. The product name is centered at the top of the sign in a blue rectangular field with white text outlined in light blue that reads, [“PORO” / REG. U.S. PAT. OFF.]. Below is a rectangular field bordered in a blue and green floral motif. The field itself is dominated by a red and white vertical striped banner outlined in gold and blue, resembling an American flag bunting. At the top of the banner is a light blue oval with decorative flourishes. In the center of the oval is dark blue text in varying fonts that read, [For / HAIR AND SKIN]. At the bottom of the banner is a yellow rectangular box with dark blue text that reads, [AGENCY]. There are two holes punched along the top, middle edge for hanging the sign. On the bottom left corner of the sign is blue text that reads [This sign remains the property of / PORO COLLEGE, ST. LOUIS, MO.]. The embosser’s mark is on the bottom right corner. There is an inscription in pencil on the back of the sign.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1925
• Distributed by: Poro System, American, 1902 - 1951
• Printed by: St. Louis Embossing Inc., American
• Subject of: Poro College, American, 1918 - 1950s
• Owned by: Lucille Brown, American, 1892 - 1960
• Type: advertisements
• Medium: ink on cardboard
• Dimensions: H x W: 10 7/16 × 13 9/16 × 1/8 in. (26.5 × 34.4 × 0.3 cm)
• Place made: Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Advertising
• Topic: Beauty schools
• Topic: Business
• Topic: Hair
• Topic: Women
• Object number: 2016.90.4
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.