Mineralava

Eighty-eight beauties in Madison Square Garden.

Rodolfo Valentino (real name, Rodolfo Guglielmo) came along.

And there was not a line of free advertising.

The Mineralava Co., manufacturers of "beauty clay," hit upon a great advertising scheme. It despatched Rodolfo Valentino and wife to visit 88 cities and choose the true beauty from all beauties assembled at each place.

Then the 88 beauties were transported to Manhattan. They and their chaperones were housed on an entire floor of the Waldorf-Astoria. They were taken in a fleet of taxicabs to see the Acting Mayor. They were paraded, with three bands, up Fifth avenue. Then, in Madison Square Garden, famed scene of great fistic encounters, the 88 beauties assembled for the Mineralava Valentino Beauty Contest, afterwards known as The National Beauty Contest, while Valentino picked, of all the 88, but one.

But what profited it to the Mineralava Co.? The Associated Press, the United Press, the International News Service passed by Signer Valentino and the Queen of Beauty without a murmur, without mentioning the inspiring name of Mineralava.

In the cities in which the semi-final contests had been held there had been some news mention of Mineralava. In Manhattan with the entire four score and eight present to invite admiring eyes, The New York Times did not allude to their presence and other papers steadfastly refused to mention the amalgamated and all-responsible word of Mineralava*

"We are not running an advertising agency," said the International News Service.

"There is a limit to everything, and the limit in press agency . . . has been reached. . . ." said the United Press.

*In their rotogravure sections last Sunday, The New York Times and The New York Herald published pictures of Mr. Valentino presenting a fine cup to 17-year-old Norma Niblock, of Toronto. But no mention was made of Mineralava.