Miss Clairol Color Dial

I've been saving this one for you! Believe it or not, we actually have two of these. Why? For investment purposes, of course! We sat at a hotel computer in Hawaii, anxiously awaiting the final countdown on eBay so we could snatch it up at the last minute. Wheel-collecting is exciting and serious business. When we got home from vacation, another one appeared for auction and it was in better shape, so we nabbed it, too. You can't be too careful.

This wheel is a whopping 13 inches in diameter. I think this is our largest wheel so far. It's made of a heavy cardboard and is in good shape. If you think this one is big, you should see the one hanging on the wall of the salon in San Francisco where John used to get his hair cut. It was enormous -- probably 24 inches across, at least. Alas, the owner wouldn't part with it. And she used to have two of them and had thrown one away. Imagine!

Of course, the best thing about this wheel are the women peering seductively over the edge of the interior disk. Another thing I like is the names of the colors: Sun Bronze, Moongold, Sparking Sherry. Of course, each color name is copyrighted. In case you can't make out what on earth Moongold is supposed to be, they've included the real name in tiny, uncapitalized type above: reddish blonde, ash blonde, light auburn.

This wheel was copyrighted in 1962 and I'm sure was intended to be a reference for professional hair stylists. It carries the Good Housekeeping Seal!