Alameda talcum-powder box

Object/Artifact

-

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

"Alameda" talcum-powder box

Entry/Object ID

2025.6.34

Description

A round cardboard talcum-powder box. The lithographed design sets "Talco" in elegant black script over "ALAMEDA" in large pale deco capitals on a turquoise band; below, on a cream ground, is a Belle Époque-style illustration of a lady in a plumed hat holding a fringed pink parasol. Around the lower arc runs the maker's legend "EMPRESA CONSOLIDADA DE JABONERÍA Y PERFUMERÍA," with a small "2" at right and the interlocked state-enterprise monogram centered above the text. The lid is toned, foxed, soiled, and abraded.

Use

Belonged to Mirta Martínez Forteza

Context

"Talco" is talcum powder; "Alameda" is the brand/fragrance name. The maker is the Empresa Consolidada de Jabonería y Perfumería — the early Cuban state enterprise founded in 1961 (Ministry of Industries, under Che Guevara) to consolidate the nationalized soap-and-perfume firms, later renamed Suchel (Suchel-Fragancias from 1966). A box bearing the "Empresa Consolidada" legend therefore dates to the 1960s, the same maker and era as the Tess compact-powder refill in this series. Notably, the genteel Belle Époque parasol-lady graphic continues a pre-revolutionary visual idiom under early-socialist state production. The "2" after the maker line likely designates a production unit/plant number. The monogram matches that on the Minuet, Fantasía, and Realce packaging — the state enterprise's recurring device.

Collection

The Martínez Suquet family collection, Mirta Martínez Forteza collection

Acquisition

Accession

2025.6

Source or Donor

Mirta Suquet

Acquisition Method

Gift

Made/Created

Manufacturer

Empresa Consolidada de Jabonería y Perfumería

Time Period

1960s

Place

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Edition

Alameda

Notes

Manufacturer: Empresa Consolidada de Jabonería y Perfumería, Ministry of Industries, Cuba (the pre-"Suchel" state enterprise) — per the lid legend. Brand: Alameda. Date: circa 1960s; tentative within the decade. The "Empresa Consolidada" name (not yet "Suchel") places it before the Suchel-branded items — within the collection period. Place: Cuba.

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Inscription

Location

container lid

Transcription

"Talco Alameda EMPRESA CONSOLIDADA DE JABONERIA Y PERFUMERIA 2".

Language

Spanish

Translation

"Alameda Talc CONSOLIDATED SOAP AND PERFUMERY COMPANY"

Material/Technique

Inscribed

Dimensions

Dimension Description

diameter: 12; high: 5.4

Height

5.4 cm

Diameter

12 cm

Parts

Lid (lithographed cardboard). Box base. Talc contents.

Materials

Material

Cardboard

Material Notes

Cardboard (lid); lithographed/printed paper surface. Talc contents.

Condition

Overall Condition

Fair

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Mirta Martínez Forteza

Notes

owner

Related Places

Place

City

Pinar del Río

State/Province

Pinar del Río

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Notes

acquisition, use

Research Notes

Notes

The Belle Époque graphic on a socialist-era product is a notable design-continuity point (pre-revolutionary idiom retained by the state enterprise).

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

March 31, 2022

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

July 17, 2026