Gerly Parfumeur of Hollywood

The House of Gerly Parfumeur, Ltd. (product of Howe Company, California) was headquartered at 6705 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, California; also mistakenly reported as Ferly. 

The Gerly Perfumes were at first only distributed on the west coast, and handled by Marvel Products Company, Studio MA12, 1023 North Sycamore, Hollywood, California.

In 1935, their products were no longer confined to the west coast, their products were now distributed in the territory east of the Rocky Mountains by Merz-Mihm Company, located at 38 West 32nd Street, New York City.

In a 1932 publication Gerly's address was listed as 210 Central Bldg., 108 W. 6th St. Los Angeles, CA.

The earliest mention I can find for the Gerly name is a newspaper ad from 1928. The last mention in a newspaper ad was in 1955.

Gerly produced personally blended perfumes for famous actresses in the 1920s and 1930s, these were sold under the names of some of the most famous film stars of the day such as Leila Hyams, Anita Page, Joan Crawford, Sylvia Sidney, Bessie Love, Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, Helen Twelvetrees, Raquel Torres, Dorothy Jordan, Estelle Taylor, Gail Patrick and Renee Adoree. 

• Leila Hyams' perfume named Jardin de Leila, it was sometimes shortened to just Leila.
• Anita Page's perfume was named Mon Page, it had a heavy sophisticated, fruity odor.
• Bessie Love had a cute perfume named B'Love, it had a light, delicate, woodsy springtime floral scent. 
• Claudette Colbert, the beautiful actress from Cleopatra had a perfume simply named Claudette. 
• Joan Crawford had a romantic sounding perfume called Reve d'Amour, meaning the dream of love. 
• Renée Adorée had Mon Adoree.
• Raquel Torres had her fragrance as Raquel Mia, a haunting exotic scent. 
• Gail Patrick's scent was Coquette. 
• Liska March had Liska.
• Lilian Gish had Lilian.
• Myrna Loy had Le Songe de Myrna
• Jean Harlow had De'esse.
• Claire Windsor had Amour de Clairette, a dainty and spring-like odor.
• Alice White had Idole du Jour, very heavy and exotic.
• Gerly held a nationwide contest for the naming of Mary Astor's perfume in 1932, the winner was awarded $1000.

Mary Astor, Estelle Taylor, Laura LaPlante, Thelma Todd, Sylvia Sidney, Helen Twelvetrees, and Dorothy Jordan also had perfumes by Gerly but I am unsure which those were. The other Gerly perfumes were: Marjorie, Nuit d'Ete, Mardi Gras, Fleurs de Montmartré, Little Orchid, Sonata, La Primavera, Lilas, Carolyn, Rendezvous, Toujours L'Amour, Sous Bois, Jasmine, Scheherazade, Astral, Pois de Senteur (Sweet Pea), Audrey, Tendresse, Gardenia, Fleurs Printanierez, Kathryn, L'Espirit du La Danse, Fascination, L'Heure Exquise, Scent from Hollywood, Musc d'Arabie, Celui Que J'aime, Movie Star, Bouquet de France, Mimi, Dernier Cri, and Chypre. 

Gerly specialized in making what they termed "personality perfumes", these were individually blended perfumes made to suit various personalities. In the 1920s and 1930s, it was customary for perfume companies to introduce the idea that women of certain complexion or hair color would be better suited to particular perfumes. Incidentally, perfumers said, blondes should wear light perfume, brunettes, heavy Oriental perfumes. but these were also a way to suit perfumes to women's hair color and complexions. So the blonde, platinum, brunette and red haired woman would be able to pick out the perfect fragrance made for her type.

Gals like Mary Astor and Myrna Loy had auburn hair so their perfumes would most likely have been scented with patchouli, aldehydes, oakmoss, musk, vetiver, rose, civet, jasmine, bergamot, vanilla, ambergris, carnation, rose, spice oils, lilac, violet, orris, heliotrope, incense, ionones, sandalwood.

Blonde gals like Thelma Todd, Leila Hyams, Jean Harlow and Anita Page may have worn fragrances scented with light, floral fresh aromas of citrus oils, peach, heliotrope, ylang ylang, honeysuckle, orris, aldehydes, rose, violet, ambergris, orange blossom, orchid, lily of the valley, lilac, geranium, jasmine, also perfumes with sandalwood and vetiver notes.

Dark haired women with brunette tones such as Joan Crawford and Claudette Colbert probably had oriental perfumes with citrus notes, ambergris, musk, civet, incense, orange blossom, lavender, rose, lily of the valley, lilac, vanilla, spices, jasmine, violet and ylang ylang, while those with black hair most likely wore modern, aldehyde blends, rose, jasmine, cedar, ambergris and musk notes.

Gerly also gave away free perfume sachet samples of the perfumes to every woman that attended certain matinee showings at the Fox Theatre and the Paramount Theatre. Special arrangements had been made so that the theatre would be perfumed through the ventilating system at each star's performance. Also, some theatres participated in giving away $35 to $50 full size bottles to a lucky lady during certain showings. One especially fun giveaway held in 1929 was a $100 bottle of the Joan Crawford Reve d'Amour perfume to the lady who held the sachet bag containing Miss Crawford's signature!

The fragrances of Gerly:

• 1928 Fleurs de Montmartre
• 1929 Mon Page by Anita Page
• 1929 B'Love by Bessie Love
• 1929 Rêve d’Amour by Joan Crawford
• 1930 Jardin de Leila by Leila Hyams
• 1930 Raquela Mia by Raquel Torres
• 1930 Mon Adorée by Renée Adorée
• 1930 Amour de Airette
• 1930 Amour des Fleurs
• 1930 Astral
• 1930 Audrey (Audrey Munson?)
• 1930 Bouquet de France
• 1930 Carolyn (Carolyn Lee?)
• 1930 Celui Que J'aime
• 1930 Chypre de Gerly
• 1930 Claudette by Claudette Colbert
• 1930 Coquette by Gail Patrick
• 1930 Dernier Cri
• 1930 Enaya
• 1930 Mary Astor perfume
• 1930 Fascination
• 1930 Fleurs Printanierez
• 1930 Gardenia de Gerly
• 1930 Idole du Jour
• 1930 Jasmin de Gerly
• 1930 Joy de Coeur
• 1930 Kathryn (for Kathryn Crawford?)
• 1930 La Primavera (springtime) (also spelled La Premavera in ads)
• 1930 Le Songe de Mema
• 1930 L'Espirit du La Danse
• 1930 L’Heure Exquise (exquisite hour) (also spelled L'Heure Exquisite in ads)
• 1930 Lilian (for Lilian Gish)
• 1930 Liska (for Liska March)
• 1930 Little Orchid
• 1930 Marjorie (this may have been for Marjorie White)
• 1930 Mardi Gras
• 1930 Madame Mimi (Mimi Allmine?)
• 1930 Muguet de Gerly
• 1930 Musc d'Arabie
• 1930 Pois de Senteur /Sweet Pea
• 1930 Rendezvous
• 1930 Scent from Hollywood
• 1930 Scheherazade
• 1930 Sonata
• 1930 Songs of the Desert
• 1930 Sous Bois (of the woods)
• 1932 Deesse (goddess)
• 1932 Toujours L'Amour
• 1932 Idole (idol)
• 1933 Nuit d'Ete (summer night) (also spelled Nuite d’Été in ads)
• 1933 Petale Noir
• 1933 Astral
• 1933 Sweet Magnolia
• 1933 Sweet Pea
• 1933 Violet
• 1933 Tendresse
• 1938 Carnation
• 1938 Lilac
• 1954 Chere Amie
• Movie Star

Motion Picture, Volume 43, 1932:

"Smell FRUITY odor of "Mon Page," Anita Page's personally blended perfume by Gerly."

Deseret News, 1933:

"Introducing Gerly Perfumes. The most exclusive line of French perfumes now sold by ZCMI Toilet Goods Dept. Gerly Perfumes are imported direct from Paris, they are highly concentrated odeurs, each one alluringly romantic. Sold in the original package or by the dram."

Chain Store Age, Volume 11, 1935:

"GERLY PERFUMES, product of Howe Company, Hollywood, Calif., are now being distributed in the territory east of the Rocky Mountains by Merz- Mihm Company, 38 West 32nd Street, New York City. "

Drug and Cosmetic Industry, Volume 38, 1936:

"Armstrong's Artmold Caps add the finishing touch of dainty design to these new "Gerly" perfume packages as well as provide secure seals that protect product quality from the factory to the home. "

Bottles:

It seems that for the most part, Gerly used the gleaming cut crystal flacons from Czechoslovakia for their full sized perfumes. Guerly's perfumes ranged in price from $1 for purse size bottles to larger sizes from $17.50 to $100.