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Thursday, July 10, 2014

Seely's Perfumes

Seely. A perfume and extract company was established in 1862 by James Madison Seely in Detroit, Michigan.






Seely Mfg Co. 234-236 Fort Street, West Detroit.

 Established 1862. Incorporated 1902.
  • FW Hodges, President 
  • AC Leonard, Vice President 
  • Justin E Smith, Secretary Treasurer and General Manager 


An 1880s tradecard states:
“Superior to Imported Perfumes. Odors - American Rose, Easter Lily, Columbian Bouquet and Anemone. For Sale By All Druggists. Send 50 Cents For Sample Box of Four Odors."

Some of Seely’s perfume bottles were meant for apothecaries and barber shops, these are clear glass and have the name of the perfume or cologne etched onto the front of the bottle. The bottles are easily identified as Seely’s as their name is always etched before the perfume name. Other bottles will have paper labels, some are very ornate with chromolithography, others are a little bit more simpler. A lady could come into the shop and have the perfume decanted for her into her own bottle.

Perfumes were often called “Qualite Royal” and "Triple Extract".

The Orchid Flower line was based on various types of orchids.

They also produced a hair oil called Seely's Opera Hair Oil. Other products included After Shave, Almond  Milk Soap, Cherry Tooth Paste, Cold Cream Soap, and others.

Seely perfumes are not easily found. I have listed all that I could find, if you know of another, please let me know. Whenever possible a date precedes the name of the perfume.


c1892 ad








The perfumes of Seely's as of 1869:

  • 1869 Jasmine
  • 1889 Orchid 
  • 1889 Orchid Flower Perfume Anguloa
  • 1889 Orchid Flower Perfume Calanthe
  • 1889 Orchid Flower Perfume Galeandra
  • 1889 Orchid Flower Perfume Miltonia
  • 1889 Orchid Flower Perfume Stanhopea
  • 1889 Orchid Flower Perfume Vanda
  • 1892 American Rose
  • 1892 Anemone
  • 1892 Cleopatra
  • 1892 Chinese Sacred Lily 
  • 1892 Columbia Bouquet
  • 1892 Mary Anderson
  • 1892 Rococo
  • 1892 Purple Lilac
  • 1892 White Rose
  • 1893 White Lilac
  • 1893 Marie Stuart
  • 1893 Victoria Rega
  • 1893 Frangipanni
  • 1895 Lillian Russell
  • 1897 Japonza
  • 1899 Violet Flowers
  • 1899 Carnation Pink
  • 1901 Daffodil
  • 1903 American Roses 
  • 1903 Ave Maria 
  • 1903 Bouquet Grotesque 
  • 1903 Calla Lily 
  • 1903 Clematis 
  • 1903 Clover Blossom  
  • 1903 Crab Apple Blossom 
  • 1903 Creole Belle as applied to Perfumes 
  • 1903 Daffodil 
  • 1903 Dolly Varden 
  • 1903 Easter Lily 
  • 1903 Elseeta 
  • 1903 English Hedge Violet 
  • 1903 English Violets 
  • 1903 Exotic Violet 
  • 1903 Freesia 
  • 1903 Golden Wedding 
  • 1903 Hasu no Hana 
  • 1903 Hawthorn Blossom 
  • 1903 Japanese Lily 
  • 1903 Japonza 
  • 1903 La France Rose 
  • 1903 La Za La 
  • 1903 Last Sensation 
  • 1903 Le Trefle 
  • 1903 Lilac Flowers 
  • 1903 Lillian Russell 
  • 1903 Lily of Japan 
  • 1903 Locust Blossom 
  • 1903 Marie Stuart 
  • 1903 May Belle 
  • 1903 May Flower 
  • 1903 Meteor Rose 
  • 1903 Moss Rose 
  • 1903 Narcissus 
  • 1903 Noblesse 
  • 1903 Odora 
  • 1903 Oleta 
  • 1903 Oriental Frangipanni 
  • 1903 Parisian Balm 
  • 1903 Pink Peony 
  • 1903 Pride 
  • 1903 Rose Buds 
  • 1903 Royal Heliotrope 
  • 1903 Royal Lily 
  • 1903 Royal Pink 
  • 1903 Stanhopia Orchid 
  • 1903 True Violet 
  • 1903 Tube Rose 
  • 1903 Victoria 
  • 1903 Violet Flowers 
  • 1903 Violet Royal 
  • 1903 Violet Superba 
  • 1903 Wild Olive 
  • 1903 Wood Violet 
  • 1903 White Pink 
  • 1907 Jasmine
  • 1907 Sweet Mignonette
  • 1907 Rose
  • 1907 Locust Blossom
  • 1907 White Heliotrope
  • Aeroplane Girl, after 1905
  • Egyptian Lotus
  • Lilas de France
  • May Queen
  • Narcissus
  • Tess
Prices Current By Fuller & Fuller Co., Chicago, 1907:

2 comments:

  1. I have an etched bottle with a fancy ground glass stopper that says Seely's Musk. Have you ever seen such? I can find nothing online about it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have a pink carnations bottle. Found it in a wall of an old house I bought. Ornate metal label.

    ReplyDelete

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