Does This Man’s Handwriting Look Familiar to You?
James Wood Johnson
Most people, unless they read this blog, have probably never heard of James Wood Johnson, one of the three brothers who founded Johnson & Johnson in 1886. But more than a billion people around the world are familiar with his handwriting. Why? Because the Johnson & Johnson logo is based on it.
James Wood Johnson’s signature
Johnson & Johnson logo circa 1920s
This familiar logo has been a part of Johnson & Johnson since the beginning. It’s not a typeface, but is based on handwriting…one particular person’s handwriting. You can see the similarities between the shape of the “J,” the loop on the “h” and in the “s” in James’s handwriting and in the logo. You’ll also notice above that James Wood Johnson connected the “W” in his middle initial to the “J” in Johnson. When James wrote the name Johnson & Johnson, he did the same thing: he connected the ampersand to the second “J.”
Company name written by James Wood Johnson on a check in 1886. Note the connection of the ampersand and the second “J”
As I mentioned in a previous post, James Wood Johnson and his brother Edward Mead Johnson are the Johnsons in “Johnson & Johnson.” Their older brother Robert joined the Company several months later, once he was free of his obligations to his previous business, Seabury & Johnson. (It’s a measure of the founders’ foresight that they didn’t change the Company name to “Johnson & Johnson & Johnson” when this happened.)
One of the Company’s earliest products. The logo looks even more like a signature here.
The new company wanted a visual identity that would set it apart from its competitors in the medical products field. The Johnsons’ new business was indeed different – it sold the first commercial mass-produced sterile surgical dressings, as well as sterile sutures, and it improved the manufacturing and the efficacy of the popular medicated plasters it sold. So the Johnson brothers wanted a distinctive way to represent their new business’s name.
If anyone has ever wondered about how companies come up with their logos (okay, maybe ONE person out there has ever wondered about that), it’s probably assumed that they hire design firms who submit designs that are tested and re-tested and then one is chosen…which is how you would come up with a logo today. But we’ve had the same logo for well over a century. So what did companies do in the 1800s?
In the 1800s, most companies just set their names in type…like the Lambert Pharmacal Company, which was formed to manufacture LISTERINE® Antiseptic. Or Seabury & Johnson. Or P&G.
A few companies, like the Coca-Cola Company (also founded in 1886) had distinctive logos that gave people immediate visual recognition and a set of expectations, based on their products. (In modern times, we would call that branding.) From its earliest days, Johnson & Johnson used what we call our corporate signature as the distinctive way of representing the Company.
Here’s the logo on some of our earliest products:
It’s not only the Johnson & Johnson logo that’s based on James Wood Johnson’s handwriting, but also the JOHNSON’S® brand name logo too. Here’s an example…in which it’s easy to see how both logos evolved from James Wood Johnson’s signature.
JOHNSON’S® Baby Cream, 1920s
Interestingly enough, the signatures of Robert Wood Johnson the first and his brother James Wood Johnson are kind of similar, especially in the way they signed their last name. So although the logo is based on James’ signature, it also looks like Robert’s too.
The signatures of James Wood Johnson (top) and Robert Wood Johnson (bottom)
The fact that Johnson & Johnson based the look of its name on one of the founder’s handwriting shows how personally the Johnson brothers were connected to their company, their products and their mission of improving health care for people…personally enough for one of them to put his signature on it.
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This is really good information, I’m doing a final project for my economics class and its very helpful to know alot about the logo and how the company started Thanks
It’s miniscule details like this that brings a real human focus to the impersonal images very large companies have.
If you please, I’ll add another bit of NJ big-business logo history to the mix. John Dryden, started Prudential Insurance in Newark in 1875 by selling penny life policies on street corners to laborers to insure decent burials.
In searching for an image for his new company, Dryden, on a train from Newark to NYC, spied an rock outcropping that resembled the the famous Rock of Gibralter. He thought that the strength of the Rock would be a positive image for his fledgling company. And so it was and still is today. This Fortune 100 company still uses that symbol of strength.
By the way, you can still see the inspirational rock outcropping today on the train to NYC.
I was suggested to look at your home web since you are exellent and stable company. One of the causes you have a long history more than 120 years and are now is becasue of ‘Our Credo’, which was read in one of the books mentioned about internal control of companies.
In these years during almost 30 years after share markets in the world has been boosted very much, like in United States, the number One or the first runk of the stakeholders for the listed compnaies is group of the shareholders. In Japan, such idea has not been supported before. In Japan every company takes workers or employess as the most important for the company. The compnaies render people or workers places to realize their own ability or capability for life. This idea is still kept in a lot of compnaies in Japan. Your ‘our credo’shows that interest of the shareholders lanks in the fourth. I understand that shareholders responsiblity is limited to the paid or invested money for the shares held, but at present company laws in every country has no limit at all on the maximum amount of the profit to be gained by the shareholders. We agree with you on the reasonableness on the interest to be paid to the shareholders.
hi, my mother always swore by johnson and johnson products, and i myself have always used them. My mother told us a story about johnson and johnson during the war, she told us that there was a shortage of johnson products during this period, but lucky for her the G I’s came into the port of Gourock, Scotland regularly with much needed suplies of johnson products, shipped over from America. these products, i am told were very cheap for the girls. it cost my mother a kiss for a tin of talc! I still have 2 full tins of talc, which smell just as nice now as they did in 1940. my mother must have been a very good kisser! yours diane
i just wrote about some of this on my design blog (and cited this page). thought you’d like to know! thanks for the great resource!
great organization means great people..it is the sucess story of johnson&johnson…
Interesting blog. I’m a former employee of Jasna Polona, the estate built by the late J. Seward Johnson, Sr.
I have a box of Red Cross Cotton made by Johnson & Johnson and was wondering how old it was. My mom had it and after she passed away I took it home. Are there any markings on it to show how old it is or is there any way that I can send a picture of it?
Thanks
Hi Jim,
Without seeing a picture of the Cotton, it’s hard to tell. If you send me a picture, I’ll be happy to take a look at it. You can email it to me at the blog’s mailbox: RA-JJCUS-KilmerHouse@corus.jnj.com If for some reason, this link is not working, the email address is also on the “About the Author” page of the blog.
Its has been really very good and interesting about knowing the history of your company. Since I am working on a project on “Branding” this serves me a good amount of information about the evolution of brand name of your company. Thank you for providing with these informations…
HI..my father remarried after my mother passed away..i guess us boys are trying to see if there is any truth to our new steep mothers storys… that she designed the logo Johnson & Johnson.. around 1970s..she worked at label making plant in Exeter Ca.(Diamond international)… not to make problems in the family but could there be any truth to this story..Thanks vince in visalia ca..
Hi Vince,
There’s no truth to the story. The Johnson & Johnson logo has been around since the 1880s. It appeared on our first products over a hundred years ago, so it couldn’t have been designed in the 1970s. Throughout this blog, you’ll see pictures of old products dating back to the beginning of Johnson & Johnson with the logo, which was based on James Wood Johnson’s signature.
Thanks for the fast responce…Vince in Visalia…
Hi, where is the famous “lady tin” from the 50′s? Also, who designed it. It has a sort of cult following among collectors.
Thanks!
Christopher
Hi Christopher,
I take it you mean the BAND-AID Brand Adhesive Bandage tin with the very stylish looking woman on it? http://www.geocities.com/bandaidtins/lady3.jpg I have one of those in my personal collection at home, and it’s one of my favorites! I don’t know who designed it, but I will do some research and try to find out and will do a post on it in the future….so keep checking back here.
i’m working in Ireland for 2 weeks, Cashel. Johnson & Johnson have a company called Cordis, it’s so amazing seeing people from accross the globe working in this little village. I’ve learnt so much from this blog. By the way I work for the BEST company in the wrold, Johnson Controls…….he he…..
I was given a 4oz tin of Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder, my mother. She knew that I like to collect old and odd tins. It still has a small amount of powder inside. I was wondering about what year this design was marketed. Is there a website that I can go to to look.
Thank you so much
Claudia
Hi there, I’m not sure if this is the right avenue to go through? But I am after some information about a “framed print of 2 babies wearing crowns & cloth nappies. The baby boy has a necklace with the J&J logo on it”. If anyone knows anything about this could you Please leave a comment for us.
Hi Claudia,
We made JOHNSON’S® Baby Powder in tins up to 1963. After 1963, the container was plastic. So your tin could be from any date between 1893 and 1963, but without a picture, I couldn’t give you any more information. If you e-mail me a picture of your tin, I can get it dated more specifically for you. You can e-mail me through the blog — just go to the “About the Author” page for the link to the blog’s e-mail.
Regards,
Margaret
Hi Michael,
If you can e-mail me a picture of your vintage print of the two babies, I will see what I can find out for you. If you go to the blog’s “About the Author page, there’s a link to my e-mail.
Regards,
Margaret
i was happy to see your website , the company which is working for the human health since 1886. and till date it is working for its further progress . As i am a medical Representative of one of the indian pharmaceuticals . i was very happy to see the acchievements of the company since 1886. All the best .
Regards
yabesh.M
Hola super bien me parece excelente y ademas de eso pues me encargaron hacer un trabajo de ustedes asi es que estoy investigando sobre su historia excelente
IM HAPPY TO COMMENT HERE JOHNSON&JOHNSON S ONE OF THE MULTINATIONAL COMPANY WHICH S STEPING FORWARD IN A SUCCESFUL PATH WISHING ALL THE BEST
Respected Sir/Madam
Im a MBA final year student of DMI College of Engineering,im intrested to do my project in ur established company JOHNSON&JOHNSON,kindly provide me a chance 2 be in ur JOHNSON&JOHNSON family for a project work.
thanking you
your sincerly
R.Jasmin
In the 60′s-80′s, I believe J&J made an appliance cleaner that was a white creamy liquid in a glass bottle. I have made myself nuts trying to remember the name. HELP
Hi Pat,
That doesn’t sound familiar — I think the product you’re looking for was made by S.C. Johnson, which makes home cleaning products. S.C. Johnson and Johnson & Johnson are not related in any way. Johnson & Johnson is a health care products company and doesn’t make home cleaning preparations. The confusing thing, of course, besides the “Johnson” in both names is that, by some strange coincidence, both companies were founded in 1886. Here’s a link to the history section of S.C. Johnson’s website: http://www.scjohnson.com/family/fam_com.asp Perhaps someone at S.C. Johnson can help you identify that product.
I M A MBA FINAL YEAR STUDENT WITH MARKETING SPECIALISATION , THIS WEB SIDE HELP ME A LOT FOR MAKING PRASENTATION IN J&J AND HELP ME TO KNOW J&J’S LOGO HISTORY, I M THNKING U…..
You may be looking for “Jubilee.” It was marketed as a ‘kitchen wax’ and my mom used it on the fridge, etc. I think she may have used it on the tile in the bathtub to reduce water marks…BUT NOT ON THE TUB ITSELF! TOO SLIPPERY. Good luck. K.
If you look up “Jubilee” on the web, it is indeed an S.C. Johnson product and not a Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies product. But you can probably find out where to get it, if it’s still made.
Margaret
How good to see that this company basically started and continued so strongly because it focused on sterile products such as bandages and sutures, which are ‘bread & butter’ items in the hospital settings such as operating theatres where I’m currently working.
I’m sure you know, but your readers probably do not, that Edward Mead Johnson left NJ & J&J because one o his children was quite ill and could not nurse. He devoted his full attention to developing a baby formula
for his child and other children with similar problems. That product was Pablum and the company which he started was called Mead Johnson & Co. He moved the company to Evansville, Indiana to be closer to the raw materials required. That company grew and developed many other nutritional products for infants and adults. It was acquired by Bristol Meyers in the 1960′s, but was just recently spun off in the 1st IPO of 2009 and is now traded as MJN. To this day they make the products conceived of and developed by Edward Mead Johnson.
Charles,
I did know that about Edward Mead Johnson, but haven’t really gone into depth about it on the blog. Thanks for adding to the history and bringing it to the attention of readers here!
Margaret
Margaret,
A correction to my earlier comment… the 1st product was dextri-maltose, Pablum was introduced in the early 1930′s. If you are interested in more detail, Mead Johnson Nutritional has a history section on their web site, both about the company and E. Mead Johnson.
Charles,
Thanks for the correction. I’m definitely interested in more detail. Here’s the link to the Mead Johnson Nutritionals site if anyone wants to read more: http://www.mjn.com/app/iwp/MJN/Content2.do?dm=mj&id=-9685&iwpst=MJN&ls=0&csred=1&r=3413471433
And here’s the link to their section with biographical information on Edward Mead Johnson: http://www.mjn.com/app/iwp/MJN/Content2.do?dm=mj&id=-9681&iwpst=MJN&ls=0&csred=1&r=3413471539
Thanks for pointing me to that information!
Margaret
When I was little, my Mother had a Johnson & Johnson tin can with buttons in it. I used to play with the buttons. I asked her for it the other day, and she gave it to me. I would like to know the date when this can was made. It says, Johnson’s TRAVELKIT First-Aid Outfit. It is half white and half blue. On the bottom it has Johnson & Johnson (GT BRITAIN)LTD. SLOUGH Made in England. Could you tell me about this tin?
Loli,
Without seeing a picture of your JOHNSON’S® First Aid TRAVELKIT, it sounds as if it might perhaps be from circa the 1930s. (I have a similar half-white, half-blue one in my collection at home that’s from the U.S. from that time period.) As the name TRAVELKIT suggests, it was s first aid kit that was small enough for people to take with them in the car, on vacation, etc. If you are able to send me a picture through the blog’s e-mail (a link to send an email is in the “About the Author” page of the blog), I will try to identify the date further.
Margaret
hi ,
i m a NIFT student doing the assignment on intellectual property right of some brand .I was going through with this brand ,and i found this informative article .It was really great to know about all this things.
Could u plz tell me about the intellectual property rights of the co.and if any controversy happened related to that. Thank u
Regards
Kiran Sharma
Hi Kiran,
As you can imagine, for a company that has been in existence for the past 123 years (since 1886), there have been numerous times that we have taken steps to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world. If you have specific questions, you can contact me directly through the blog’s e-mail: http://www.kilmerhouse.com/?page_id=46
Louise Johnson Carpender, daughter of James Wood Johnson was my Great Aunt who used to tell me stories about how her father insisted on her helping with the war effort so she and the rest of her family members volunteered to make and “roll” bandages for the WW1 soldiers. I always thought that was so admirable and that the family participated in the worst of times and eventually, because of that, came up with medicated bandages later on and of course many other life-saving meds used today.
She was a very gracious and humble lady and had a great sense of humor!as did her husband, Sydney Carpender,my grandmother’s brother.
To the last posting, I was just looking up my family and saw what you wrote. My great grand father was Sydney Carpender, his son James Wood Johnson was my grandfather, he died when I was a baby. Anyway, small world. The Carpender’s have a fascinating history!
I left another comment/request on another of one of your websites, anyway I have a poster ad with a baby wearing a diaper surrounded by baby chicks and was wondering how old it was…. with reading the other comments, it sounds like I need to e-mail a photo of it through the blog’s e-mail so that you could see it in order to receive an answer, let me know if this is the case or of any assistance.
Thanks Lisa
Hi Lisa,
It’s hard to tell without seeing the ad. If you could e-mail a picture of it, I can do some checking and see what I can find out. Also, any other information you might have — is it a U.S. poster or from somewhere else? Does the poster have any other information on it that could help identify the ad? The blog’s email is experiencing some temporary technical difficulties, so you can send it to: mgurowi@its.jnj.com
Thanks,
Margaret
Just FYI, I e-mailed a couple of pic’s to the above address, hope you had a nice few days off. Lisa
Hi Lisa,
I got your email and the pictures. Thanks for being patient over the extended holiday weekend. What a cute print (and baby)! I don’t have any information on it from our archives, but I’m checking around the Company to see if anyone else does. I will let you know what I find out!
Margaret
Great – Thanks for your time
Lisa
Just was curious if you had found out anything yet? Again, I thank you for your time
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
I haven’t found out anything yet. It may take a little time because I have to reach out to people around our organization. I’ll keep you posted!
Margaret
great work done people in our history ..=]
by the way it helped me in assignment eheh=]
i like all the information in this blog……..
it help me for my asingment and i said help me a lot.
tank q
ijust wanted to read up on companies to see there backghrtoung history. Good information to learn!
your blog was nicely put together, congratulations!
Lisa
I am James wood Johnson’s great grandson and I am trying to get his Date of Birth and the day he died,even though he died while at sea on the ss Magestic. Also does anyone know what ever happened to The Gold Cigar Box the Russian government gave him? Thanks
Anthony,
Great to hear from one of James Wood Johnson’s descendents! James Wood Johnson was born on March 17, 1856 in Crystal Lake, Pennsylvania. He passed away in late August of 1932 — I don’t have the exact day of the month. If I find out the exact day, I will post it here in the comments section. According to the information I have, he was on his way back from Scotland — on the SS Majestic, as you had pointed out. I don’t know what happened to the gold cigar box — it’s not among our archives at Johnson & Johnson. Since it was a personal possession, he may have kept it at home. There are a lot of posts on Kilmer House relating to your great grandfather – he was the reason Johnson & Johnson is located in New Brunswick, NJ, he rented our very first building here in 1886, and he was a talented engineer who designed and built the Company’s early manufacturing machinery. If you’re interested, just type his name into the search window on the right side of the blog — you will see the search window when you scroll down.
Best Regards,
Margaret
I just noticed this last night when I was looking at a bottle of Jonhson’s bedtime bath. Hasn’t anyone ever noticed the HUGE grammatical error Johnson and Johnson had made in their logo??? I simply cannot believe this error has been printed on billions of products for decades and no one has ever noticed.
There were 3 brothers, 2 at first. If it is 2 Johnsons, then wherever it says Johnson’s it should be Johnsons’.
Am I wrong? Am I crazy?
Is there some crazy reward to the consumer that can figure out the biggest company error then secret? Hmmmm….
Wonderful and I am really delighted of knowing the history World class brand Johnson and Johnson.
Actually,I was making PPT on Brand Development Management of Johnson and Johnson and Brand History was the part of it.
@Sara,you are right! Grammatically, if there were three Johnson brothers, it correctly should be “Johnsons’” plural possessive. So why didn’t they spell it that way? My guess is that since they all came from the same family as brothers, they were looking at the name as one entity — since they all three shared the last name of Johnson, the brand would just be called JOHNSON’S®.
Margaret
I am doing a project for my Economics class and was assigned Johnson and Johnson. This blog has helped me out tremendously with the logo history, but I have a question… would you happen to know a general number of how many products Johnson and Johnson have made since their start. I cannot seem to find ANY information about this anywhere and it’s driving me nuts! Haha. Thank you! -Mary
Hi Mary,
Unfortunately, that’s a question I can’t answer! We couldn’t even begin to count the total amount of products from the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies since 1886. (It would be in the many, many, many thousands.) Johnson & Johnson has been highly decentralized since the 1920s/1930s, and each individual operating company around the world would keep track of its current and past product lines. Today, Johnson & Johnson has more than 250 separate operating companies in 57 countries, so you could imagine the impossibility of counting every separate product line. To add to that, over its history, the Company has had many operating companies that it either no longer owns or that no longer exist, and it would be impossible to account for all of those product lines as well. So even though that’s a question we can’t answer because we just don’t have the information, I hope that this explanation as to why will at least help you with your project.
Best of luck,
Margaret
HI CAN ANY ONE TELL ME THE YEAR THAT JNJ STOPPED MAKING THE 2 FLUID OZ BOTTLES OF BABY OIL ON THE BOTTOM OF THE BOTTLE HAS A CIRCLED NUMBER
54 WOULD OR COULD THAT BE THE DATE OF THE OIL IN IT ? ITS STILL HALF FULL,AND WAS GIVEN TO ME BY AN ELDERLY FRIEND IN 1991.{if you would like i can send you a photo of this bottle? }
Hi Frances,
Without seeing a photo of the bottle, it would be hard to tell. But I can tell you that your glass bottle is from somewhere between 1935 to the 1960s, when the baby oil bottles changed to plastic. Can you email a photo through the blog’s mailbox? You can find the link on the “About the Author” page of the blog.
Thanks,
Margaret
History is wonderful! It has ways of opening doors that you never knew were there. Several of my Great grandmothers were Johnsons as well as Great grandfathers. The original workers were infact kin to the brothers (many were cousins, neices and nefs). I work for the genelogical society and as I have tract the Johnson line they were in fact kin, from the few that first came to the U.S. This company is great , upholding a family heritage. I loved finding out that my great great’s as well as my great-great-great’s were so involved. Thats on only one side of the family tree. I am kin in several ways because my grandparents and my parents were cousins. One of the many branchs from this wonderful family line.
Wow, what an interesting story!
hi there, i am a metal detector user in the uk, i am doing some reserch on a silver spoon i have found, on the handle is the name johnson johnson & cos under this pure tea. did your famous company import tea to the uk or is this another company in the uk. the silver marks i cannot find in my british halmark guide any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance. jim lennon.
Hi Jim,
Your silver tea spoon is not from Johnson & Johnson. We started in 1886 making medical products — the first mass produced sterile surgical dressings and sterile sutures, medicated plasters and other products. We have never sold or imported tea. It must be another company that had a very similar name. Best of luck in your search for more information on your silver spoon!
Margaret
Thanks to Johnson, I was born in Africa yet my mum, used Johnson baby products, her mum di the the same. I am a parent now and still use the same. Johnson is like a family tradition. I am truly amazed by the amount of trust the brand has created. It is fascinating.
My cousin was one of i think the first bandaid girls on tv in the 60′s where she held up a finger and said kiss it better with a band aid strip. She has just passed away from breast cancer and was looking for a poster I know was made at the same time This is in australia can you help me
Regards
Wow, what an interesting story!
Just wanted to let you know I have a piece of Johnson & Johnson history. A First Aid Cabinet #1
I would like to see labels on the individual Band-Aids. Right now, they all have the same covering, which means I have to guess whether the Band-Aid I’m selecting from an assorted box is the waterproof, flexible fabric, or other. It wouldn’t need to state the size or any other detail, just, just a simple clue at to the TYPE of Band-Aid, like “Flexible Fabric” or “Water Block Plus.”
Hi Sarally,
I will pass your comments on to the folks at our consumer operating company. In the meantime, here’s the link to the “contact us” section on the product’s web site. You can also send your suggestion to them directly: https://www.bandaid.com/contactUs.jsp;jsessionid=ARXWulHKqtsbFib2hmLDP+Nf7bU
Margaret
I am trying to research my family history and I know that my grandfather jasper muspratt was a director at johnson and johnson, just hoping you may be able to provide some information?
Hi Samantha,
Unfortunately, we don’t have employment records in our archives. I’m assuming that your grandfather worked for Johnson & Johnson in the U.S.? (Johnson & Johnson is a global company with more than 250 operating companies in 60 countries.) If you have some approximate dates and his location, there are a number of online sources you can try — such as census records, sites such as Rootsweb and other genealogy sites. If he served in the military, there are military records online as well. You can also see if his local town or city newspaper is online — that’s a good way to find information too. Many small local papers published information about promotions, marriages, etc. He also may have been involved in local civic institutions where he lived, so if you know that he was a member of one of those, that also could be a source of information for you. If he belonged to a church or temple or other religious institution, that also might be a potential source of family information. If the option is available to you, family members can be a good source of information as well — some people may have stories, or have saved documents or information.
Sorry I couldn’t help more, but I hope this at least gives you some avenues to pursue. Best of luck in your research!
Margaret