Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Friday, April 1, 2016

Bertae

Bertae seems to have been one of those short-lived American perfume companies that utilized a vaguely French sounding name and only released one perfume, Narcissus. Narcissus, launched in 1927, was a line that included perfume and  toilet water, face powder, cold cream, talcum powder and bath salts. The perfume proved to be very popular and was sold until around 1934.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Parfums Forvil

Parfums Forvil of 1 rue de Castiglione, Paris France. The company was established in 1922 by Leo Fink as Forval.

In 1923, the company was sold to La Societe Anonyme les Dentifrices du Docteur Pierre Mussot (dental hygiene company established in 1837 by Dr. Pierre Mussot) and renamed Forvil.


Forvil was bought out by Bristol-Myers  by 1968 and the business was closed in 1969. Luckily for us, Forvil is being resurrected, here is the new website  http://forvil.com/?lang=en .

Dune by Christian Dior c1991

Dune by Christian Dior: created by Jean-Louis Sieuzac, Dominique Ropion and Nejla Bsiri-Barbir under the guidance of Maurice Roger and was launched in 1991 (in USA in 1992).




Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Antique Ebony and Sterling Vanity Sets

In the late Victorian era up until around 1920, ebony wood vanity sets were very popular amongst men and women alike. Usually these utilitarian items were fitted with sterling silver mountings that could be monogrammed. 




You could find trays (dresser trays, pin trays, comb trays), hand mirrors, powder shakers, perfume bottles, perfume atomizers, hatpin holders, combs, ring holder/tree, all sorts of brushes (hair brushes, clothes brushes, military brushes, toothbrushes, bonnet brushes, curved hat brushes), jars or boxes (hair receivers, powder jars, salve jars, rouge jar, hair pin boxes), glove stretcher, curling irons, buttonhooks, shoe horns, manicure implements (nail buffers, nail files, cuticle knives, tweezers, nail brushes, corn knives) sewing implements (thimbles, bobbins, needle cases, awls, thread winders, sock darners, pin cushion, etc), clock, candlesticks, travel sets in cases and more, all fitted with ebony backings, bases, lids or handles.


Fabrics, Fancy Goods and Notions - Volume 46. 1912:
"WOODS USED IN THE MAKING OF MIRRORS - The variety of woods which are used in the manufacture of toilet mirrors is practically limitless. The most expensive, ebony is to all other woods what gold is to the metals - first in wide spread popularity. Comparatively few people. however. are conversant upon the subject of ebony. They do not know. for instance. that there are several grades of it used commercially/ The best is known as Gaboon Ebony. This is very black, marked by fine gray streaks, and is extremely brittle. It grows in equatorial Africa;, is cut into logs four feet long; carried on the heads of black slaves for upwords of a hundred miles to the coast, where it is dumped into the sea, sinking, and afterwards fished out and loaded on vessels for exportation/ It has the appearance of dilapidated rail road ties when bought, and is, therefore subject to considerable waste. Macassar, found in South and Central America, is the next highest grade of ebony. The best specimens come from the Brazilian jungles. It is characterized by beautiful streaks of yellow and brown, and is used chiefly for our Natural Ebony products. It is also known as Turtle Ebony. Other good grades of ebony grow in Jamaica, Madagascar, the Isle of Pines, and the Philippine Islands."

Most of the ebony was imported from Africa and into France and the sterling pieces were applied in the USA. The little sterling silver appliques are clearly marked "Sterling." Items can be found marked with "Ebony", "Made in England, "Made in France", "Real Ebony", and "Genuine Ebony." Oftentimes, only the larger pieces in a set are marked, other times, smaller pieces were made up of black tinted celluloid, Bakelite, or as with earlier pieces, "Bois Durci". In 1907, "wooden and "bois durci" articles: Brushes - mounted in silver, in boxes...." were noted in The Canada Gazette.


















Bois Durci was an early plastic molding material based on cellulose. It was patented in Paris and  England in 1855, by Francois Charles Lepage. Lepage claimed in his patent that he had invented "A new composition of materials which may be employed as a substitute for wood, leather, bone, metal and other hard or plastic substances."

Bois Durci was made from finely ground wood 'flour' and mixed with a natural animal derived binder, either egg or blood albumen or gelatine, animal waste products leftover from the Parisian slaughterhouses. Wood from ebony or rosewood was ground to a very fine powder, with a flour-like consistency. Once mixed with a binder and some black dye, the mixture is dried, powdered again and placed in a steel mold where it was compressed in a powerful hydraulic press whilst being heated by steam. The final product has a highly polished finish imparted by the surface of the steel mold, and the natural wood powder, provided a black or brown result. 

Lepage's patent referred to small household items, such as combs, pipe stems, etc. The Societe du Bois Durci was established to produce desk items, especially decorative inkwell stands and plaques. The factory was at Grenelle in Paris and products were sold through A. Latry & Cie. of 7 Rue du Grand-Chantier, (Au Marais) in Paris. By the end of the 20th century, the firm had been taken over by MIOM (La Manufacture d’Isolants et Objets Moulés) which was founded in 1898. They continued to make Bois Durci until about 1920, by which time it had been superseded by newer plastics materials, such as bakelite.

It is not known when the production of "Bois Durci" objects, in Paris, was discontinued. However, it is known that another factory was established in 1883 in Sezanne by members of the Hunebelle family. This factory used the same material to produce very similar items. Although stylistically similar, it is almost certain that none of the molds from Paris were used in Sezanne. The Sezanne factory continued in production, manufacturing items in both the Belle Epoque and Art Nouveau style until the factory was destroyed by fire in 1926.

Also in Sezanne,  at the Department of Marne, in 1899, Mr. A. Arnoult said that he controlled the manufacture in France of "bois durci," or wood pulp hardened by chemical manipulation and that he knew of no other house engaged in the fabrication. Arnoult claimed that the manufacture of bois durci was "not important" on the "account of the great expense of the outfit," "the difficulty of having the wood, entirely uniform in hardness, grain and age at time of use, which is necessary to produce proper results," and the "difficulty of procuring suitable workmen." He mentioned that the "nearest approach to the bois durci is the caoutchouc durci," and names are given of two house in France engaged in this manufacture. The product is probably the same as the vulcanized rubber of the United States."



















You can see images below, shown in advertisements from the 1907 Fort Dearborn Watch & Clock Co. Catalog, Chicago, Il.

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Tabu by Dana c1932

In this guide I will introduce you to the sensual world of Tabu perfume by Dana. Tabu was created in 1932 by Jean Carles in response to a request made to him instructing him to create a perfume that a prostitute would wear, also known as "un parfum de puta".

Sunday, March 6, 2016

20 Carats by Dana c1933

20 Carats was first introduced in 1933 by Dana who launched Tabu just one year before. Originally only sold in their Parisian boutique, 20 Carats may have only been introduced to American women during this time by soldiers returning from duty in France, bringing home perfumes for their sweethearts, sisters and mothers.

Monday, February 29, 2016

Toujours Moi by Corday c1923

Toujours Moi by Corday: launched in 1923 in France, in USA by 1924. Toujours Moi (Always Me) started life as the favored incense used in the Notre Dame cathedral of France. Hundreds of years later in 1923, the great House of Corday translated that incense into a classic perfume which would be known as their signature fragrance.


Sunday, February 28, 2016

Elgin American Compacts c1940 Advertisements

Vintage advertisements for Elgin American compacts from a 1940 N. Shure catalog. Shown as various enameled compacts, some have cloisonne.


Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Diorella by Christian Dior c1972

Diorella by Christian Dior: created by Edmond Roudnitska, was launched in 1972. The name combining Dior's name was most probably inspired by Cinderella.


Friday, February 19, 2016

Shocking You by Schiaparelli c1976

Shocking You by Schiaparelli: launched in 1976. I believe that this may be the reformulated version of 'S' by Schiaparelli as the notes are very similar.


Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Orgia by Myrurgia c1922

Orgia by Myrurgia: launched in 1922. Myrurgia's Orgia, pronounced "orheeah", the Spanish word that signifies a profusion of things in the case of this perfume means many flowers, many lights, many loves.


Saturday, January 30, 2016

Monday, January 25, 2016

Vintage Shampoo - Yucca Dew

"ooh oooh yucca dew "

The all natural Yucca-Dew Shampoo was made by Alberto-Culver in 1972. It was very distinctive at the time for what it contained, it had the oils from the yucca plant to enrich your hair, leaving it soft, glossy and manageable. Yucca roots when pounded, produce a soapy lather suitable for shampoo. This fact has been known to certain Native Americans in the southwestern United States and Mexicans for centuries and the plant is often called soapweed or soap plant.



La Rose by Rochas c1949

 La Rose by Rochas: launched in 1949. Created by Edmond Roudnitska. Reformulated by Mme Thérèse Roudnitska.

The fragrance was available in Parfum (Extrait), Eau de Cologne and an Eau de Toilette cleverly called Eau de Jeunesse "Water of Youth".

Welcome!

This is not your average perfume blog. In each post, I present perfumes or companies as encyclopedic entries with as much facts and photos as I can add for easy reading and researching without all the extraneous fluff or puffery.

Please understand that this website is not affiliated with any of the perfume companies written about here, it is only a source of reference. I consider it a repository of vital information for collectors and those who have enjoyed the classic fragrances of days gone by. Updates to posts are conducted whenever I find new information to add or to correct any errors.

One of the goals of this website is to show the present owners of the various perfumes and cologne brands that are featured here how much we miss the discontinued classics and hopefully, if they see that there is enough interest and demand, they will bring back these fragrances!

Please leave a comment below (for example: of why you liked the fragrance, describe the scent, time period or age you wore it, who gave it to you or what occasion, any specific memories, what it reminded you of, maybe a relative wore it, or you remembered seeing the bottle on their vanity table, did you like the bottle design), who knows, perhaps someone from the company brand might see it.

Also, if you have any information not seen here, please comment and share with all of us.

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