Flower Brand hair grips (bobby pins) on original card

Object/Artifact

-

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

"Flower Brand" hair grips (bobby pins) on original card

Entry/Object ID

2026.1.4

Description

A retail card of black metal hair grips (bobby pins), with about 18 pins held in three rows under cross-bands on a printed card. The card has a red banner with Flower Brand in script; below, BEST QUALITY and the Chinese name 名花牌发夹 at left, HAIR GRIPS at right over a red-and-white striped panel; a black roundel with a white rose/peony device labeled TRADE MARK; and at the foot SHANGHAI CHINA / 中国上海.

Collection

María Teresa Cornide Hernández collection

Acquisition

Accession

2026.1

Notes

Belonged to María Teresa Cornide

Made/Created

Place

City

Shanghai

Country

People's Republic of China

Continent

Asia

Notes

Maker: "Flower Brand" (名花牌), a Shanghai hair-grip/bobby-pin make — a long-running Chinese export product (still supplied today, e.g., via Shanghai Yangming Imp. & Exp.). Specific factory/date not indicated on the card. Date: Not closely datable. The brand has been produced for decades, so it doesn't fix a date; no year is printed. The card's mid-century graphic style and the simplified Chinese characters (发夹/中国上海 — post-1956 script reform) indicate a later-20th-century date, plausibly within range, but it cannot be firmly confirmed within 1959–1990 and may fall outside it. (Undatable from the object; leans mid-to-late 20th c.)

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Notes

Flower Brand; BEST QUALITY; 名花牌发夹; HAIR GRIPS; TRADE MARK (rose/peony roundel); SHANGHAI CHINA / 中国上海. No date or lot number.

Materials

Material

Metal, Cardboard

Material Notes

Materials: Lacquered/japanned steel hair grips (black finish); printed paper/card backing with cotton retaining bands. Technique: Stamped and bent sprung-steel bobby pins with black lacquer finish; lithographed retail card; pins held by sewn/folded cloth bands.

Condition

Overall Condition

Good

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Maria T. Cornide Hernández

Notes

owner

Related Places

Place

City

Havana

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Research Notes

Notes

Dating cue is the card, not the brand: the simplified characters (post-1956 reform) and the litho style suggest mid-to-late 20th century; a precise year isn't recoverable from the packaging.

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

January 30, 2026

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

June 18, 2026