Page 131 - Swann Galleries - Printed & Manuscript African Americana- Sale 2308 - March 21, 2013

223 ● (BUSINESS—BEAUTY & COSMETICS.) MALONE, ANNIE M. TURNBO.
Atlanta Poro Graduating Class of 1939. Mrs Annie M Malone, Founder, Miss
Ella Ramsey, Manager, Miss Lavinia Henson, Instructor. Photograph, 11 1⁄
2 x 191⁄2
inches, framed. A few small wrinkled areas at the edges. Atlanta, 1939 [1,000/1,500]
A rare group photograph that includes the founder of the Poro College, Mrs.Annie M. Turnbo
Malone who stands in the center. Annie Malone (1869-1957) was born in Metropolis,
Illinois, one of eleven siblings. When both parents died, Annie was sent upstate to be raised by
her elder sister in Peoria. While there, she took an interest in hair textures. In the 1890s, she
began investigating better methods of hair care for African-American women, many of whom
used goose fat, lye and heavy oils to straighten their hair, all of which damaged both scalp and
hair. Around the turn of the century, Annie Malone began to revolutionize hair care methods
for all African Americans by creating a variety of hair care treatments, including the first
patented hot comb, which preceded the one popularized by an early employee of hers, Madam
C.J. Walker. As early as 1902, she and her assistants sold her unique brand of hair care prod-
ucts door to door. She called it all “Poro”, a West African word signifying physical and
spiritual growth. By 1917, as the United States entered World War I, Annie Malone had
become so successful that she founded and opened the Poro College in St. Louis. It was the first
educational institution in the United States dedicated to the study and teaching of black cosme-
tology. The school employed nearly 200 people and its curriculum included personal styling for
black women to present themselves at work, instructions on walking, talking and style of dress
designed to maintain a positive public image. Though most people have never heard of her
name or that of her schools, Annie Turnbo Malone actually preceded Madam C. J. Walker, her
one-time employee both as a millionaire and in the development of hair products.
223