245 - HORSESHOE SOAP - c. 1900

HORSESHOE SOAP - c. 1900 “J.B. Paul - Marseille” Original double-sided wooden advertising laundry beater. 34 x 15 cm. Features a beautiful original patina. This washerwoman’s tool underwent a careful period restoration, with two separate parts joined together using antique nails. This historical restoration preserves the object’s authenticity, though one side is slightly lighter in color than the other. Each side bears an engraved horseshoe, a popular symbol evoking the company’s famous lucky soap. The Savonnerie du Fer à Cheval, founded around 1856 in Marseille (16, Ch. de Sainte-Marthe), grew out of the conversion of a candle factory established as early as 1850. In 1953, the brand merged with the Antonin Roux Oil Mills and the J.B. Paul Soap Factory. Revived at the beginning of the 21st century, it remains one of the oldest active soap factories, renowned for the traditional cauldron-based production of Marseille soap. Bouches-du-Rhône/PACA Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur