1935 CP Soap

[steffamarie]

So today my boyfriend found a book at an estate sale called “Money Making Formulas: 1059 Ways to Start a Profitable Business” and of course, soapmaking is included! Thought some of you may be interested

 

[lsg]

That was right in the middle of the Great Depression. I wonder how many people had the money to buy those ingredients.

 

[steffamarie]

That was right in the middle of the Great Depression. I wonder how many people had the money to buy those ingredients.

Very true!! This book also lists recipes for dry cleaning soap, machinery soap (?), solid perfumes, lotions, astringents, and a whole slew of other cosmetic products. I'm really intrigued!!!

 

[Relle]

So nice to find old books and just have a read of what they did then.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I'm always amazed at the huge quantity of soap those old-timey recipes make! Thanks for sharing!

 

[cmzaha]

It is a fun book to read. I had forgotten about it and pulled it out to look at it again.

 

[SudsanSoaps]

I’d be curious what they meant buy the tallow being soft or mixed with grease.

 

[cmzaha]

Back during the depression and before fats, especially bacon grease, would be saved. They would mix different fats they had for making soap and other applications. Anything that could be saved and used usually was

 

[DeeAnna]

The recipes made big batches because it was a time-consuming royal pain to make soap back in the day before stick blenders. My grandmother usually made enough soap to fill a newspaper-lined peach crate to a dept of 3-4 inches. It too most of an afternoon to do, but it was enough to last the year for laundry.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

What's the silicate of soda for?

 

[DeeAnna]

BG -- Sodium silicate (aka water glass) adds detergency (cleaning power) somewhat like rosin. Its main benefit, however, is to reduce the cost of the soap. By adding water glass, more water can be "hidden" in the soap and still end up with a hard soap. Water glass is made by reacting sodium hydroxide with sand, something a soap maker could easily do. Water and sand are cheap compared to fats. (Rosin was also cheap back in the day, which is why it was also a once-common additive in soap.)

"...Silicated Soaps: Sheridan's Process. — Of all the numerous cheapening substances which have been introduced into pure soaps, the silicate of soda, or soluble glass may be deemed the most important, since it not only favours the introduction of a large percentage of water in certain kinds of soap, but it also possesses in itself a high detergent property...."

Alexander Watt. The art of soap making.
Google a portion of the quote above to find the source.