This guide is about those mini perfumes that are marked "Made in France" on the base. These bottles are frequently found on the internet, but finding any sort of information about them is close to nil, I have included all that I could find. I always assumed these were from the 1920s-1940s period, however while doing some extensive research, I was able to find the true date of their production.
La Castillere:
In 1961 a notice was filed in the "Official bulletin of civil and commercial announcements" of the introduction of the company La Castillere, S.A.R.L. who opened with a capital 10,000 NF. The company was involved in the manufacture and sale of articles for gifts and articles of Paris, of perfume and jewelry products, import and export of luxury or fancy articles.. Their head office was located at 111, boulevard de Sebastopol, in Paris. The funds were located in Paris, and were received in lease-management, with effect from Jan 2, 1961 of Mrs. Gabrielle-Adélaide-Magdelaine Castan, widow, born Beker, following this taking in lease-management, the company took up activity. In 1963, Mrs. Castan, manager, became Mrs. Ollivier, following her remarriage on August 2, 1963. Mrs. Ollivier, aforementioned, was currently domiciled at 54, avenue de la Belle-Gabrielle, in Nogent-sur-Marne.
La Castillere seem to have sold their own perfume line. The perfumes of La Castillere:
- Chant d'Isles
- Pomme d'Amour
- Une Caresse
In 1967, a notice of cancellation of La Castillere, S.A.R.L. was filed in the "Official bulletin of civil and commercial announcements". Concerning La Castillere, a company involved in the manufacture and sale of gift items, Paris items, perfume and jewelry products, import and export Luxury or fancy items. Transfer of the head office of 113, boulevard de Sébastopol, in Paris, to 54, avenue de la Belle-Gabrielle, in Paris. Headquarters: 54, avenue de la Belle-Gabrielle, in Nogent-sur-Marne (Val-de-Marne), as of November 1, 1963. Termination of the lease-management agreement granted by Mrs. Olliver, nee Beker (Gabrielle Adelaide), as of November 1, 1966. Dissolution of the company, from November 30, 1966, appointment as liquidator of Mrs. Olliver, nee Beker (Gabrielle), residing at 54, avenue de la Belle-Gabrielle, in Nogent-sur-Marne (deliberation of November 30, 1966)
The Bottles:
The bottles are usually molded with "La Castillere Made in France" on the base. Since this is a purse size bottle, they were a souvenir type of perfume bottle offered to tourists who visited the shops in France and it could also may have been imported to American stores during the 1960s and an exported item for the general public.
La Castillere marked bottles only date to the 1960s.
The maker of these bottles is Pochet et du Courval, a French glassworks who provided many perfume bottles to other companies. Their mark is an entwined "HP" symbol molded into the base. All decoration would be done at the glass factory. Many bottles are decorated with silver overlay latticework, gilding, hand painted enameling, or delicate etching. I have seen the majority of bottles in clear glass, and very rarely in milky opaline glass (opaline veritable) or blue.
Bottles usually had ornate silver plated filigree caps with a glass dauber attached, sometimes the dauber is missing. The caps came in a variety of styles, ranging from ornate Gothic filigree to cast floral designs. I have had some luck polishing up the caps with a little bit of silver polish.
You might find the original boxes for the perfume sometimes. They are plain white cardboard covered with white paper or gilded paper and the label of the perfume's name, and a small felt or suede pouch that the perfume would have rested in.
Labels should be on the base of the bottle. It might say "La Castillere Made in France" and the perfume's name. Sometimes La Castillere France is embossed into the base of the perfume bottle.
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CLICK HERE TO SEARCH EBAY FOR LA CASTILLERE PERFUME BOTTLES
photos by etsy seller tropicalcreations
I believe that some companies purchased the remaining unused stock of La Castillere's bottles and boxes and affixed their own labels. The bottles themselves are almost always marked La Castillere, but I have seen labels on the boxes and bottles with the names of Helene Dale, Brajan and Oberon. The labels are on the base of the bottle to cover up the La Castillere name which was molded in the glass.
Helene Dale:
The Helene Dale gift shop, was located at both 5 rue de Presbourg and 7 Rue Scribe, Paris. The shop catered to the tourist trade as they offered discounts on costume jewelry for traveler's checks and was advertised on Air France flights as offering gifts to take back home. They had a great selection of perfumes, gloves, beaded bags, leather bags, umbrellas, dolls, French singing birds, scarves, wines, champagne, liquors, hats, men's ties from top designers like Jacques Fath, and other specialties of France. The company seems to have started around 1939. In 2001, Hélène Dale was located at 37, boulevard des Capucines. Note: any Helene Dale bottles marked La Castillere date to 1967-1970s period, not earlier. Helene Dale also sold perfumes under their own brand name:
- Helene Dale No. 7
Oberon:
Oberon was a French store located at 9, Rue Scribe, Paris, they were active in the 1920-1970s and sold perfumes, Kislav gloves, handkerchiefs, beaded purses, dolls, neck-wear, Haviland and other Limoges china, liquors, and the latest novelties. Oberon often sold perfumes from Fragonard, Lamballe, Nina Ricci, Mercoeur and their own branded perfumes such as Une Caresse. So any Oberon bottles marked La Castillere date to 1967-1970s period, not earlier.
From a 1939 ad:
"Parfum Oberon. Three enchanting 2 Dram perfumes: Gaiety, Gardenia, On Top. ... $1 PERFUME. Hand cut crystal jewel applicator tops in Rose, Blue, Champagne color."
Brajan:
You can read more about Brajan in another article on my blog. Remember, any Brajan bottles marked La Castillere date to 1967-1970s period, not earlier.
Great info - thanks for researching it! I have a bottle and thought it was older based on other sites that apparently were guessing based on appearance.
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