Alexander Ostroumov
| Alexander Ostroumov | |
|---|---|
| Error creating thumbnail: Alexander Mitrofanovich Ostroumov, Russian pharmacist, perfumery and cosmetics maker.jpg | |
| Born | 1859, Moskow, Russian Empire |
| 1920, Constantinople, Turkey1920, Constantinople, Turkey | |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Russian |
| 💼 Occupation | Pharmacist, perfume and cosmetics maker |
| 👩 Spouse(s) | Olga Alexandrovna |
| 👶 Children | Inna, Maria, Nikolay, Lidia, Olga |
Alexander Mitrofanovich Ostroumov[1] (Ostroumoff)[2] (born 1859 in Moskow – died 1920 in Constantinople) was a Russian pharmaceutical chemist, perfume and cosmetics maker. He invented the anti-dandruff soap, which enabled him to open his own perfume and medicinal cosmetics factory and was the founder of the Moscow Institute of Medical Cosmetics, the first of its kind in the world.[3][4]
Professional activity
Ostroumov entered the business as an ordinary pharmaceutical chemist and referred to himself as such even at the peak of his career as the path to becoming a professional pharmacist was very difficult. Ostroumov worked as an apprentice for three years whilst completing a university degree in Moscow. Once he completed his degree he had to work in a pharmacy for three years before being admitted to a two-year degree at Moscow University, which, upon graduation, led to him becoming a full-fledged pharmaceutical chemist.[5] After he creating the anti-dandruff soap in 1885, he invested in research and experimentation in order to create acne lotions, skin lightening products, and anti-aging creams. In 1900 the Perfume Factory Partnership of Pharmacist A. M. Ostroumov was established. Ostroumov, making use of advances in chemical and technological equipment, invented the cream "Metamorphozis",[6] designed to get rid of freckles, age spots and protect against severe sunburn, which quickly became the favorite of Russian beauties and brought him fame.[7]
In 1909, Ostroumov established a laboratory on Tverskaya Street in Moscow, which grew into the Institute of Medical Cosmetics and him becoming the father of Russian cosmetics.[8] In the Moscow Institute of Medical Cosmetics, Ostroumov worked on the prevention and treatment of skin and hair diseases where there were devices for electrolysis, electronic sinus vibration massage, steam, dry air and light baths and showers for sagging skin, rosacea removal, wrinkle, pimple, blackhead freckle treatment, sunburn and other disease treatments.[9]
Marketing and advertising strategy
In 1912, the Moscow Institute of Medical Cosmetics A. M. Ostroumov published an album of promotional photos with autographed notes entitled "Our Artists" ("Nashi artistki").[10] The album was printed in 1912 at the A. I. Mamontov Printing House in Moscow and the artists photographs were taken by Karl A. Fischer, the photographer of the Russian Imperial House.[11][12]
The Ostroumov company employed local stars for their "artists" which fitted in with their narrative of transformative beauty to gain an advantage over their foreign competitors.[13] Among the artists featured was Elizaveta Azerskaia from the Bolshoi Opera, who welcomed Ostroumov’s perfumery, calling it a serious rival of foreign perfumeries. Wearing an elegant dress, dramatic soprano Leonida Balanovskaia issued the following statement: Since I have become familiar with chemist Ostroumov’s ‘Cream No.2’, I have understood the importance of choosing the right cosmetics. The amazing effect of this cream on the skin is incomparably superior to all other creams.[13] Some singers have been shown in character costumes reminiscent of the product names they are praising. Photographed as Cio-Cio-San from "Madame Butterfly" by Giacomo Puccini, the Zimin Opera soprano Vera Liutse opined: The unusually delicate and natural aroma of Ostroumov’s ‘Japanese Lilac’… reminds me of the native land of this flower, the land of the rising sun and flowers.[14] Based on Liutse’s image and text, "Japanese Lilac" alludes to Puccini’s popular opera and heroine with the image of Liutse in the kimono of the foreign Cio-Cio-San providing a sense of the exotic. Other Ostroumov products shared the names of opera characters and were more directly associated with celebrities and their distinctive roles. Star Bolshoi soprano Antonida Nezhdanova, who appeares as the heroine oft the same name in Leo Delibes’s opera "Lakme", explained that she likes the perfumes of the Ostroumov company very much, especially the soap, cologne and powder 'Lakme'.[13]
Ostroumov kept the recipes secret by splitting them into three parts with references to each other with each part kept in a different place. It was necessary to have all three parts in order to understand the full recipe and to be able to manufacture the product.
Zenith and downfall
The quality of the manufactured products was core to their appeal and helped A. M. Ostroumov to continue to grow which required new warehouses in Petrograd, Odessa, Yalta, Tashkent and Warsaw as the partnership’s products became widely sold and A. M. Ostroumov become purveyor to the court of the Russian imperial family which gave them the right to put the state seal on its products.[15][16] Around 1912 his perfume factory was the largest Russian-owned perfume factory in Imperial Russia with a large variety of products from anti-dandruff soap and medical cosmetics to creams and perfumes. In the factory price list there are hundred names of colognes, including "Chypre", "Lily of the Valley", "Jasmine", "Ideal", "Japanese Lilac", "Empress's Bouquet", "Artist's Cologne" or perfumes like "Fresh Hey", "Vera-Violet" and "Oridis".[17]
After the Russian February Revolution, on 2 March 1917 [O.S. 15 March] the Russian Emperor Nicholas II abdicated and on 1 September 1917 [O.S. 14 September] the Russian Provisional Government, headed by the Social-Revolutionary Prime Minister Alexander Kerensky, proclaimed the Russian Republic.[18][19]
Ostroumov's factory, like all Russian industries, was nationalized by decree on 28 June 1918 [O.S. 11July][14] and in 1918, the entire Ostroumov family fled from the Civil War and the Bolsheviks to their own home in Yalta.[20] In 1920, when the front of the Civil War reached Crimea, Ostroumov fled to Constantinople with his youngest daughter Olga and her husband Nikolai Baron von Stempel[13] and died of a heart attach shortly afterwards. His body was returned to Crimea and buried in Yalta.[21]
References
- ↑ Spelling versions of the family name in translations: The version with "v" is the most used but there are also some older labels with "ff". See the label of "Kongo soap" in the chapter "Marketing and advertising strategy"
- ↑ Lang-ru: Александр Митрофанович Остроумов
- ↑ Kozharinov, Veniamin (27 December 2004). "Empress's Bouquet, or Red Moscow". The Moskows News (49 / 2004).
- ↑ Kozharinov, Veniamin (1998). Russkai︠a︡ parfiumeri︠a︡ : XIX-nachalo XX veka = Russian perfumery : 19th and early 20th century. Sov. sport. p. XXI. ISBN 978-5850094652. Search this book on
- ↑ Kozharinov, Veniamin (27 December 2004). "Empress's Bouquet, or Red Moscow". The Moskows News (49 / 2004).
- ↑ Rascanu, Dan (March 15, 2022). "English: This is the label of Matamorphosis cream, produced by the pharmacist A.M. Ostroumov in Moskow - Russian Empire, at the beginning of the XX century. This photocopy is after an original label from the archive of my family Rascanu / Ostroumov" – via Wikimedia Commons.
- ↑ Kozharinov, Veniamin (1998). Russkai︠a︡ parfiumeri︠a︡ : XIX-nachalo XX veka = Russian perfumery : 19th and early 20th century. Sov. sport. p. XXI. ISBN 978-5850094652. Search this book on
- ↑ Kozharinov, Veniamin (27 December 2004). "Empress's Bouquet, or Red Moscow". The Moskows News (49 / 2004).
- ↑ Rascanu, Dan (March 31, 2022). "English: Advertising Poster "Institute of Medical Cosmetics A. M. Ostroumov", Moskow, Russia, from about 1912, with translation from 2022. Photo collage based on an original photo from the family Rascanu - Kosmachev - Ostroumov archive" – via Wikimedia Commons.
- ↑ Fishzon, Anna (2012). Fandom, authenticity, and opera : mad acts and letter scenes in fin-de-siècle Russia. Basingstoke. ISBN 978-1-137-02345-2. OCLC 859336143. Search this book on
- ↑ Ostroumov, Alexander (1912). Nashi Artistki (Our Artists). Typography Partnership A. I. Mamontov, Moskow. p. 1-4. Search this book on
- ↑ Rascanu, Dan (March 30, 2022). "English: This is an advertising poster for an anti-dandruff soap produced by A.M. Ostroumov in Moscow – Russian Empire, at the beginning of the XX century. At the top of the image is the coat of arms of the Russian Empire and it says that the company A.M. Ostroumov was purveyor to the court of His Imperial Majesty" – via Wikimedia Commons.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Fishzon, Anna (2012). Fandom, authenticity, and opera : mad acts and letter scenes in fin-de-siècle Russia. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 57-58. ISBN 978-1-137-023452. Search this book on
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedauto1 - ↑ Kozharinov, Veniamin (2021). Comrade Kerensky : the revolution against the monarchy and the formation of the cult of 'the leader of the people' (March-June 1917). A. L. Tait. Cambridge. ISBN 978-1-5095-3364-0. OCLC 1156422683. Search this book on
- ↑ Rascanu, Dan (March 30, 2022). "English: This is an advertising poster for an anti-dandruff soap produced by A.M. Ostroumov in Moscow – Russian Empire, at the beginning of the XX century. At the top of the image is the coat of arms of the Russian Empire and it says that the company A.M. Ostroumov was purveyor to the court of His Imperial Majesty" – via Wikimedia Commons.
- ↑ Ostroumov, Alexander (1912). Nashi Artistki (Our Artists). Typography Partnership A. I. Mamontov, Moskow. p. 1-4. Search this book on
- ↑ Bullok, David (2008). The Russian Civil War 1918–22: The Defeat of the Whites. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-271-4. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2017. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) Search this book on
- ↑ Koenen, Gerd (2017). Die Farbe Rot Ursprünge und Geschichte des Kommunismus. C.H. Beck Verlag. München. ISBN 978-3-406-71426-9. OCLC 982380546. Search this book on
- ↑ Olga A. Baronin von Stempel (youngest daughter of A.M. Ostroumov): Memoirs, unpublished manuscript, kept in family archive Rascanu - Ostroumov, Mühlheim / Main, Germany
- ↑ Olga A. Baronin von Stempel (youngest daughter of A.M. Ostroumov): Memoirs, unpublished manuscript, kept in family archive Rascanu - Ostroumov, Mühlheim / Main, Germany
General sources
Kozharinov, Veniamin (1998). Russkai︠a︡ parfi︠u︡merii︠a︡ : XIX-nachalo XX veka = Russian perfumery : 19th and early 20th century. Moskva: Sov. sport. ISBN 5-85009-465-2. OCLC 39077170. Search this book on
Fishzon, Anna (2012). Fandom, authenticity, and opera : mad acts and letter scenes in fin-de-siècle Russia. Basingstoke. ISBN 978-1-137-02345-2. OCLC 859336143. Search this book on
Ostroumov, Alexander (1912). Nashi Artistki (Our Artists). Typography Partnership A. I. Mamontov, Moskow. p. 1-4. Search this book on
Rascanu, Dan (March 30, 2022). "English: This is an advertising poster for an anti-dandruff soap produced by A.M. Ostroumov in Moscow – Russian Empire, at the beginning of the XX century. At the top of the image is the coat of arms of the Russian Empire and it says that the company A.M. Ostroumov was purveyor to the court of His Imperial Majesty" – via Wikimedia Commons.
Rascanu, Dan (March 15, 2022). "English: This is the label of Matamorphosis cream, produced by the pharmacist A.M. Ostroumov in Moskow - Russian Empire, at the beginning of the XX century. This photocopy is after an original label from the archive of my family Rascanu / Ostroumov" – via Wikimedia Commons.
Rascanu, Dan (March 31, 2022). "English: Advertising Poster "Institute of Medical Cosmetics A. M. Ostroumov", Moskow, Russia, from about 1912, with translation from 2022. Photo collage based on an original photo from the family Rascanu - Kosmachev - Ostroumov archive" – via Wikimedia Commons.
Rascanu, Dan (March 31, 2022). "English: This are pages of the picture book "Our Artists" by the entrepreneur A. M. Ostroumov, from 1912 in Moskow. Vera Liutse, soprano of Moscow's Zimin Opera, made on her page praising reviews of her favorite products of A. M. Ostroumov. This photocopy is based on an original from the archive of my family Rascanu - Kosmachev - Ostroumov" – via Wikimedia Commons.
This article "Alexander Ostroumov" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Alexander Ostroumov. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
|
This page exists already on Wikipedia. |
