ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS: The very first celebrity to endorse a beauty ... trends now
QUESTION Who was the very first celebrity to endorse a beauty product?
British potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood used celebrity, in the form of royalty, to advertise his chinaware. In 1765, Wedgwood produced a cream-coloured tea set for King George III's wife, Queen Charlotte, which led to his appointment as Potter To Her Majesty. He began marketing his creamware as Queen's Ware, signalling its elegance and aspirational qualities.
Wedgwood capitalised and began advertising in London newspapers, naming specific pieces for individual members of the nobility, such as his Duchess of Devonshire flowerpots.
Modern celebrity endorsement begins with the Channel Islands-born actress Lillie Langtry. 'The Jersey Lily' was famous for her stage performances and her scandalous affairs, including one with Edward VII, then Prince of Wales.
She was hired by advertising pioneer Thomas J. Barratt in 1882 to promote Pears Soap. Here, not only was her image used but she also added her signature and endorsement: 'Since using Pears Soap for the hands and complexion I have discarded all others.'
Modern celebrity endorsement begins with the Channel Islands-born actress Lillie Langtry (pictured)
Langtry is said to have been paid £132 for her endorsement — exactly what she weighed in pounds — and later allowed her name to be used on face powders and skin balms.
Advertisers quickly caught on and sought celebrity endorsement from the likes of actresses Sarah Bernhardt and Lillian Russell and the singer Adelina Patti.
Gillian Allen, Chelmsford, Essex.
QUESTION Why was Thomas Hardy's heart buried separately from his body?
The novelist and poet Thomas Hardy wished to be buried in his home town of Stinsford, Dorset, close to his parents and beneath the tombstone of his beloved first wife, Emma.
