My apologies to Mark. I'm still getting acquainted with names here, and typing quickly as I do. Congratulations to Mark Pearce.
Here's a link to a radio spot for Campana from 1944 from the First Nighter, a coast-to-coast radio program. One can hypothesize a Coast Guard connection to the Campana Italian Balm bottle, but one also must assume that the Coast Guardsman had been exposed to these stateside ads:
Link:
www.vstreff.org/Scripts/Chinese_Gong.pdfAnnouncer:
Everywhere you go, women are doing extra work subjecting their hands to
extra punishment. Yet, have you noticed how some women keep those busy
hands well groomed? Soft and youthful looking?
Woman:
You can do it too, by choosing Original Campana Balm when work and
weather threaten to make your hands look coarse and unlovely. Beginning
tomorrow, use Original Campana Balm before you start work. It’s
protection against dirt and grime. And be sure to use it every time after
your hands have been in water, also, to help bring back the adorable
smoothness that your [skin] loses when you scrub frequently with soap and water.
Original Campana Balm acts so quickly and with such positive results, that
you too will soon be calling it the before and after lotion. Remember that
smooth, protected, un-chapped hands add to your efficiency, bolster your
morale, and please the man who holds them.
Announcer:
Lack of certain basic ingredients, for a while, caused a shortage of Original
Campana Balm. We’re happy to say that these ingredients are again
available, and your dealer can now obtain supplies of Original Campana
Balm. If he does not have it, ask him to order it from his wholesaler.
Woman:
If you prefer a lighter lotion, ask for the new Campana Cream Balm, the
creamy lotion with Lanolin.
Announcer: Be sure you get either the Original Campana Balm in the green and white
carton or the new Campana Cream Balm in the yellow and white carton.
###
I see evidence, too, however, that there were various angled pitches aimed at those worried about sun protection. Clearly, they weren't trying to exclude men. Maybe the Company was even trying to pick up a male clientele, while all the while maintaining the customer base of females.
I'd also say that the context of other artifacts found nearby - the possible compact case piece, the mirror, the rouge, the feminine-styled ointment pot - establish a contextual point of reference that help establish plausibility that this was a hand lotion, belonging to a woman. It would have been handy as a powder base or a sunscreen.
But...Mark Pearce's analysis once again makes clear why establishing a single smoking gun artifact, or even excluding whole segments of the population from such an artifact indisputably, is fraught with difficulty. The patterns of evidence will always make the stronger case.
Joe Cerniglia
#3078CER
Joe Cerniglia
TIGHAR #3078CER