Like the celebrities of today, Louise Brooks’ name and image was used in a number of advertisements and advertising campaigns. Beginning in 1926 with the “Louise Brooks Evening Gown” and running through the LUX soap campaign in the late 1920s and early 1930s, Brooks’ name, image and likeness was used to sell all manner of products and consumer goods — not only in the United States, but also elsewhere around the world. Here are a couple of example.
In the late 1920s, Louise Brooks was one of a number of film stars enlisted to promote Deltah Pearls, a once ubiquitous brand of jewelry. Deltah started in the late 1800s as a jeweler focused on fine cultured pearls. However, as the consumer market for jewelry grew, Deltah shifted its focus to simulated pearls and created a popular line of affordable jewelry. (Chances are, your grandmother or great grandmother owned a strand. The brand lasted a long time. Try a Google search, which will result in dozens of sale listings of “vintage” or mid-20th century Deltah Pearls.)
In 1927 and 1928, Brooks was one of a number of stars whose name and image appeared as part of Deltah’s promotional campaign. And what’s more, Deltah issued a “signed” portrait of Brooks modelling Deltah Pearls as part of its promotion. These portraits were made available to jewelers and other outlets either as a give away or as part of the purchase. Below is Brooks’ Deltah portrait with its printed inscription and autograph, “Louise Brooks sends her very best – Paramount Pictures”. By the way, Brooks is modelling the “Collier du Barry” necklace, which retailed for $12.50 (or $225.00 in 2024 currency). This portrait, which was taken by Eugene Robert Richee (the same Paramount photographer who also took the famous Pearls portrait of Brooks), included the familiar Deltah Pearls emblem.
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| Louise Brooks’ Deltah portrait | The Deltah Pearls emblem | Another Richee portrait from the same session |
The other stars who were part of this 1927 Deltah promotion were Marion Davies, Clara Bow, Esther Ralston, Mary Brian, Betty Bronson, Fay Wray, Mary Philbin, Dorothy Phillips, Marion Nixon, Dorothy Gulliver, and Barbara Kent. These stars represented Paramount, as well as Universal and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (or MGM). The rare clipping shown below pictures the entire National Deltah Pearl Style Exhibit; it was published in The Jewelers’ Circular, a trade publication, in August, 1927. In this piece, Brooks is said to modelling the “Le Montmartre” necklace, which contains three dangling strands, or tassels. However, as is evident in the Richee portrait, Brooks’ necklace has only two dangling strands. Thus, I believe she actually modeled the “Collier du Barry” necklace.
By all accounts, the first National Deltah Pearl Style Exhibit was a big success, as news stories in The Jewelers’ Circular reported. According to the piece on the left, a large crowd was drawn to a display (likely something like the display seen above) was it was put on display at a trade show in Chicago. And as is suggested by the article, a big part of the success of the campaign was the participation of various movie stars. Each were young, pretty, and popular — and each must have thought to have brought a glint of glamour to this modestly priced jewelry. I could image a prospective customer saying to a friend, “I mean, if Clara Bow or Marion Davies wears Deltah Pearls, they must be good.”
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| The Jewelers’ Circular, August 10, 1927 |
The Jewelers’ Circular, August 24, 1927 |
The first National Deltah Pearl Style Exhibit was enough of a success that the company did it all over again in 1928, and once again, that year’s campaign included Louise Brooks. And what’s more, the actress had a particular piece of jewelry named for her – the “Louise Brooks Noveltie”, a necklace which featured pearls with a jade pendant and which retailed for $12.75 (or $234.00 in 2024 currency). That year’s campaign also included the “Ruth Taylor Choker,” “Nancy Carroll Ensemble,” “Clara Bow Pendant,” “Mary Brian Trio,” “Bebe Daniels Lariat,” and “Evelyn Brent Sautoir”. As shown below in another rare clipping from The Jewelers’ Cicular, the display for the Second Annual National Deltah Pearl Style Exhibit came with seven oil painting replicas of the seven film stars who were part of that year’s campaign.
Like the first campaign, the second Deltah was widely promoted. There was coverage in The Jewelers’ Circular, and advertisements in daily newspapers. Louise Brooks was mentioned in each. Though I have seen the tinted Deltah Pearls portrait pictured above which was part of the first campaign, I have never seen one of the oil painting replicas issued as part of the second campaign.However, shown below is a similar image of the actress taken which I believe was the basis of the oil painting. (I wonder if the artist added Brooks’ smile? And I wonder if the original painting still exists?) Brooks is wearing that same piece of jewelry in the well known portrait in which she is holding two stuffed toy dogs.
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| The Jewelers’ Circular, August 9, 1928 | Richee Portrait of Louise Brooks | San Antonio Light, September 30, 1928 |