top of page
1/1
Hoyt's German Cologne began production in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1870.
A young apothecary, druggist and distributor of crow poison, E.W. Hoyt created a cologne which by 1873 was so successful that it would establish international branches.
What set Hoyt's company apart was its marketing. Dozens of lushly illustrated vignettes were sold in retail outlets, but the serious collectors sent two pennies to the company directly for rare or "exclusive" cards. Children swapped them on the playground and even today a vintage Hoyt's card can command a price in the ephemera market. So yeah, it was basically Pokémon, except with cologne.
Fountains of Hoyt
The Jett Set:
The artwork in this collection uses images taken from scrapbooks collected by my great-great-uncle, Coleman "CC" Jett in 19th century Kentucky. The ephemera he kept– advertisements, auction notices, newspaper clippings– gives a fascinating insight into daily life nearly 200 years ago.
bottom of page