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Both cuttings taken from the Chorley Guardian, 13th January 1900. Vinolia Soap is still made and was the soap provided for first-class passengers on the R.M.S. Titanic. For any youngsters, there were 480 ha'pennies in a pound.

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AN OFFER FROM ST HELENS

The proprietor of Beecham's Pills desires us to state that he will be pleased to send a gratis box of Beecham's Pills, postage paid, to any individual soldier now on active service in South Africa, in whom any of our readers are interested, if they will send to St. Helens an address which will find their absent friend at the seat of war. He adopts this course, having received so many letters complaining that Beecham's Pills cannot at present be obtained at the front.

VINOLIA SOAP AND THE WAR FUND

As will be noticed from the advertisement in another column, the Vinolia Company have now given over Two Million Ha'pennies to the War Fund, and they propose to continue to give one ha'penny on every tablet sold until the end of the war.





TILL THE END OF THE WAR THE COMPANY HAVE DECIDED TO CONTINUE IT
TILL THE END OF THE WAR.

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(OVER TWO MILLION HA'PENNIES HAVE ALREADY BEEN FORWARDED)

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CONTAINS NO SILICATES, RESIN, INJURIOUS COLOURING MATTERS, OR FREE ALKALIDES.
EVERY CHEMIST, STORE, GROCER, OR PERFUMER IS AN AGENT.

Berenice
Thank you for an interesting post. I remember my mother using Vinolia Soap here in the old Colony. I have mentioned elsewhere that I favour another long-lived British soap - Wright's Coal Tar. On his annual visit 'home', my 'British' son brings me a supply. The soap has now lost its original fragrance, so no longer deters mosquitoes, but I am loyal to it anyway. Disappointingly, it is now manufactured in Turkey, perhaps an indication that the Ottoman Empire is rising again.
Regards
Brett

I remember using Wright's Coal Tar Soap, haven't thought of it in years The reason it's no longer available is that "Coal tar is no longer legal in cosmetics. It was banned in 2005, in the process destroying two really well known brands: Vosene and Wright’s Coal Tar soap. There was evidence that coal tar could cause cancer. This was based on various bits of information, but most convincingly by an increased incidence in cancer amongst people who worked with it.
Coal tar is a byproduct of the coal industry. You get it when you turn coal into coke or natural gas. It is a remarkably unpleasant substance to handle. It has a pungent smell that persists in the nose for ages. It is black and tarry and sticks to most surfaces with which it comes into contact. It is hard to remove and usually leaves a stain behind once you have."

I seem to recall that you'd find it occasionally on the wash basins in pub toilets.

I wonder if Vinolia kept the fund going to the end of the war, and how much they ended up raising. Re. Beecham's Pills, I'm amazed that any of the British troops in South Africa would want them, with so many suffering from enteric fever.

Berenice
Thank you for that information. I knew that Wright's changed its recipe, probably much to the relief of mosquitoes everywhere, but I did not know that coal tar was so dangerous. It is a miracle that I have survived so long!
Regards
Brett

Came across another Vinolia advertisement, in the Burnley Express.

Berenice
My wife kept an eye on the garden of a neighbour who recently spent two months with her daughter in London. As a 'thank you' she was given a bar (or is still a tablet) of Vinolia soap. Although I had not noticed it, I expect,Vinolia must still be sold in this Old Colony. I will take a greater interest in the shelves of soaps in the local Spar tomorrow (Pensioner's Tuesday).
Regards
Brett