William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme a painting by Edmund Leighton. Lever's rival in the soap industry, A & F Pears, had taken the lead in using art for marketing by buying paintings such as "Bubbles" by John Everett Millais to promote its products. Lever's response was to acquire similarly illustrative works, and he later bought 'The New Frock' by William Powell Frith to promote the Sunlight soap brand. In 1922 he founded the Lady Lever Art Gallery at Port Sunlight in Cheshire which he dedicated to his late wife Elizabeth. William Lever was born on 19 September 1851 at 16 Wood Street, Bolton, Lancashire, England.
Pears (soap) developed immunity to the effects of breathing the alcohol-laden atmosphere in the building. The concave shape of the soap is formed by shrinkage while the soap is drying, and is not due to deliberate moulding. Bars of soap produced in the factory come in two sizes: 75 g and 125 g. Nowadays this soap comes in three colours: the classic amber, the green, and mint (blue colour). Each variety has a unique aroma. The soap now comes in two new sizes: 69 g and 119 g. Recent changes to quality of ingredients used in the manufacturing process (see "Changes to