Two manuscript ledgers each approximately 500 pages. Plus separate index volume to the earlier volume. (Folio) 39.5x26.5 cm (15½x10½") original suede and calf bindings, index in stiff paper wrappers.
Important group of three manuscript ledgers (and assorted collateral documents laid-in) dating from 1897-1928 and pertaining to James Norris Gamble's various business dealings. A compelling collection providing a fascinating glimpse into Gamble's personal and financial life during this period. James Norris Gamble (1836-1932) was the son of Proctor & Gamble (P&G) co-founder James Gamble (1803-1891) and is best known as the inventor of Ivory Soap, one of America's most iconic consumer brands. First sold in 1879, Ivory Soap is also known as the "first floating soap" (Ivory's first slogan, "It Floats!", was introduced in 1891). A chemist by training, James Norris Gamble also founded the first laboratory in P&G history. Ivory Soap's origin was long believed to be an accident. According to an apocryphal story, a P&G worker accidentally left the mixing machine on too long and the company chose to sell the "ruined" batch, because the added air did not change the basic ingredients of the soap. When appreciative letters about the new, floating soap inundated the company, P&G ordered the extended mix time as a standard procedure. Company records however, indicate that the design of Ivory Soap did not come about by accident. In 2004, the P&G company archivist Ed Rider located documentation which revealed that chemist James Norris Gamble had in fact discovered how to make the soap float, and noted the landmark result in his writings. An entry from 1863 in James Norris Gamble's diary reads: "I made floating soap today, I think we'll make all our stock that way." (see The Science and Art of Branding by Giep Franzen & Sandra E. Moriarty, 2009, p. 425). This one-of-a-kind collection contains numerous Proctor & Gamble related entries along with entries pertaining to other members of the Gamble clan (Margaret P. Gamble, Maud & Olivia Gamble, Mary Gamble, Lilian Gamble, William Gamble, estate of P&G co-founder James Gamble, Edwin Gamble, etc.). Many entries relate to Gamble's real estate holdings and stock owned in a multitude of companies in the banking, railroad, iron and steel, coal, insurance, manufacturing, and other industries. Also entries relating to a personal residence Gamble kept in Daytona, Florida. Gamble was a longtime resident of Westwood Village in Cincinnati, Ohio, and numerous entries throughout reflect his involvement in that
community as well as the city of Cincinnati. He advanced the causes of many charitable organizations, both locally and nationally, and was a well-known community leader in Westwood. Gamble served as a village council member and was instrumental in getting Westwood Town Hall built to function as a community center and home to village offices, police and fire departments and a jail. Gamble also served as the last mayor of the village of Westwood and negotiated terms with Cincinnati when the city annexed Westwood in 1896. He also ran a brick company in the neighborhood, donated money to build Westwood United Methodist Church and was a real estate developer who built homes on much of the land he owned in Westwood.