For sale is a 1923 vintage 20 MULE TEAM POWDERED BORAX Advertisement from the Pacific Coast Borax Corporation. From Death Valley to your kitchen. Ad describes Borax as “world’s most harmless antiseptic”. Frame measures about 11 inches by 14 inches. A great advert.
Boric Acid is used as an antiseptic to treat minor cuts, wounds and abrasions. It was also used as an additive to laundry detergent and household cleanser. The bottom of the ad features a cool graphic of 20 mules pulling carts out of Death Valley. A great advertising collectible that illustrates some of the history of the American West.
20-mule team products were named after the 20-mule teams that were used by William Tell Coleman’s company to move borax out of Death Valley, California, to the nearest rail spur between 1883 and 1889. Francis Marion Smith formed the Pacific Coast Borax Company. After the mule teams were replaced by a new rail spur, the name 20 Mule Team Borax was established and aggressively promoted by Pacific Coast Borax to increase sales. In 1956, the Pacific Coast Borax Company merged with United States Potash Corporation to form U.S. Borax.
