Rediscovering the objects that surround us
As people are spending more time than ever in their homes during quarantine, this strange period of being somewhat homebound can set the stage for rediscovery of our homes and the things in them. Perhaps you haven’t really “seen” many of the items that you have been looking at in your home every day for years. Many people are using the time at home to learn more about some of the things they own and treasure. So, let’s take a look at some of the objects that may have been hiding in plain sight and understand their historical use and significance, as well as their monetary value and rediscover what drew us to bring an item into our homes and our lives.
Let’s start with something that many a woman has in her boudoir — the antique perfume bottle. There is a sense of mystery surrounding perfume bottles from yesteryear. Some may wonder about the life of the vessel's owner. Others may imagine the boudoir where the beautiful bottle held its magical liquid as the lady of the house dabbed just a drop and on her inner wrist. Although perfume making began in Egypt during the second millennium BC, the rst of the modern perfumes was created in 1370 by the Hungarians, for Queen Elizabeth of Hungary. Soon afterward, the art of perfumery spread throughout Europe and advances in organic chemistry laid the foundation of the perfume era as we know it today. Starting in the early 19th century, the majority of perfume was sold in plain bottles at apothecary shops and then put into decorative costly perfume bottles at home.
During the late 1800s, the style and art of perfume bottles changed as artisans and factories made beautifully shaped and colored bottles. Manufacturers included Thomas Webb & Sons and Stevens & Williams Glass Company, both from England and Steuben and Tiffany from the United States.
In 1890, France’s Rene Lilique brought his jeweler’s eye to perfume bottles and became a giant when it came to producing bottles for François Coty, d’Orsay and Roger et Gallet. Unlike his contemporaries, Lalique did not add lead to his crystal, preferring demi-crystal because it was inexpensive, easy to work with, and imbued his perfume bottles with what became his trademark milky opalescence.
The 1920s saw the expansion of the perfume market in the United States when fashion designers, like Christian Dior and Nina Ricci had chemists create their own fragrances. It was then that Baccarat began producing high-quality crystal bottles for most of the perfumers of the day, and, even today, produces the best quality perfume bottles for perfumers around the world.
In 1930, a New York-based company known as Allied Products began selling perfume door-to-door. One of its most popular fragrances was named Avon, and customers began requesting the Avon line of perfumes. A er eight years of success, the company changed its name to Avon Products, Inc. and began selling perfume in gural bottles in a variety of shapes and designs. However, their most popular gural bottles are their “race car” models, produced from 1968 to the 1970s. These bottles were overproduced and, although they are not considered valuable, they are whimsical objects to be enjoyed.
Following are a few tips to help determine the age of your perfume bottle. Take a close look at the bottle itself -those marked "Made in Occupied Japan" were made from1945 until 1952. Enameled lettering, instead of labels, started being used a er the 1930s and was a regular feature in the 1940s onward. A patent number on the base of the bottle, means the bottle was probably from 1930s and 1940s. Old glass bottles, usually French bottles, might have etched matching numbers on the base of the perfume bottle and on the bottom of the stopper, used by the factory to show which bottle goes with the right stopper. And, bottles from 1970 onwards, show colored numbers on the bottom of their products, a “batch code,” usually consisting of four numbers.
Old labels turn brown naturally, and their styles can also help determine age. Art Nouveau is generally 1900-1920s, Art Deco mid 1920s and some styles carried into the 1940s, and psychedelic late 1960s-early 1970s. It is likely that the perfume, and hence the bottle, dates to the 40s or 50s if the label states that the contents were “created/compounded/ assembled in France or the United States.
Examine the base of your bottle for acid stamps for Baccarat, Lalique, Cristal Nancy or Cristal Romesnil, because these markings add value to your bottle. From 1936, Baccarat bottles were systematically engraved with a mark. Prior to this, these bottles were acid etched and stamped.
Older perfumes were sealed with onion skin, viscose or thin celluloid in either red, clear, blue or other colors. Glass stoppers that had dowels that went into corks were in use from 1870s to the 1920s; goldtone metal screw caps were in use in the 1920s; gold tone plastic screw caps were used a er the 1940s; goldtone metal screw caps dated from 1920s onwards. Bakelite screw caps were used from 1930s to 1950, although some perfume bottles, such as the ones for Lanvin, used black Bakelite screw caps into the 1960s.
It is sheer fun to discover how vintage and antique perfume bottles bring a little glamour back into your home. And, whether you use them, or simply display them, learning about the way they were used tells a story and can be a worthwhile distraction.