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Standard Barber & Beauty Supply (Buffalo, NY)

History:  During the first half of the Twentieth Century, the City of Buffalo, New York was a dynamic hub of trade, industry and commerce. During this time frame, a barber and beauty supply and manufacturing industry flourished. Two of the more well known brands manufactured in the city were Rye's Olive Root Oil and Wildroot Creme-Oil. (Sometimes spelled Wild Root.)

Links to old advertisements on line:

Radio commercial. (Turn your sound on.)

Cartoon

Sports:

Jack Burke Jr., golfer

Duke Snider, Brooklyn Dodgers

Wildroot "Charlie" Speedboat

Porter's Advice

Wildroot had a large plant on the east side on Bailey Avenue and Scheu Park. This location was at the very northwest corner of New York Central's Frontier Yard where the Belt Line to Black Rock curved northwards.

During the 1920's, Daniel Battaglia became the distributor for Rye's products and established the Standard Barber and Beauty Supply Company on Clinton Street in downtown Buffalo. In a photograph dating from the 1930's and taken behind the Battaglia family residence, one of Standard's panel trucks displays the colorful Rye's logo with Daniel's brother Joe on the left and his mother Josephine to the right. (Note that the model freight car has the same ad as is on the truck.)

Daniel Battaglia (3/6/1905 - 9/15/1975), married Josephine Rita Vacanti and together they had three children, one of which is Patricia Ann Battaglia, the wife of Thomas G. J. Gascoigne, the founder and Managing Director of Buffalo Creek Graphics. Daniel's father was Frank Battaglia; his barber shop was on Buffalo's west side.

In commemoration of Daniel Battaglia's endeavor, and of the Buffalo industry of which we was a part for so many years, this Season's Greetings car was issued.

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To see other Season's Geetings cars:  

Build Vinny's Wildroot Barber Shop for your layout.

This page is current as of 11.5.2007.