August 14, 2024

All things Perfume Passage Foundation on one website!

A Note From The Founders...


When visitors tour Perfume Passage we are often asked, "what's the story behind..." as they point to a specific item.


While we know there is history that can be found on the items on display throughout our galleries, we also realize that everything does have a story; we just don't always know what it is!

So for this issue, we thought we'd share some of the known history of items at Perfume Passage that we found, with their original story!


Sincerely,

Jeffrey and Rusty, Co-founders

"Old things carry the weight of time, the marks of previous owners and the stories that make them unique..."

As collectors, we are often attracted to a vintage bottle because of its design, not necessarily because of the fragrance it once held. We believe that it's the bottle that would have enticed us to dab and spritz ourselves with the scent if we had the opportunity to wear the fragrance when it was first launched.


We admit, that's often our logic when we learn about new fragrances that we'd like to try. We look at the bottle, and when it's esthetically appealing, we go ahead and give it a try. The fragrance then becomes our story to tell as to how and why we discovered it.


We've shared Jeffrey's story about his initial interest in perfumes, when during his junior year of college he spent a semester studying abroad in Madrid. While buying school supplies, he wandered into the fragrance section of a department store and purchased a Spanish cologne called "Campos de Ibiza" that he liked. He wore it the entire time he was in Spain and, when he returned to the US, packed the bottle away.


"I discovered the bottle three years later when I was moving, and the moment I smelled the cologne, memories of my time and friendships in Spain came flooding back to me.


I wondered how a fragrance could do that, so I began to learn about the history of perfumes and also became fascinated with the stories about the artistry of perfume bottles and their packaging," Jeffrey explained.


"We often share this story with other collectors and visitors to Perfume Passage, Rusty said. When there's a known story about a bottle or vanity item, we both feel that it adds to its history and certainly captures our imagination and gives us an "if only" moment."

It's the Story...

The Caron window in the Passageway includes a bottle of Nuit de Noel (Christmas Night), in the original box. It was created in 1922 by Ernest Daltroff for his partner, Felicie Vanpouille, who loved Christmas Eve. It's a floral fragrance for women with top notes of ylang-ylang (flowers from the cananga tree), rose and jasmine, middle notes of sandalwood and base notes of amber and musk.


The black glass bottle sits inside a green cardboard box with a long green tassel. The bottle is empty. Written on the back of the box is "Our second Xmas together in China 1931. Finished."

We can interpret this note in different ways. It could mean that the user received the bottle from her hubby during their second Christmas together in China. Or the user wanted to keep the bottle as a memento, so she wrote "finished" on the box and noted that she used the last of it during their second Xmas together in China in 1931. On a darker note, perhaps she meant the relationship was finished! But we don't think so, otherwise the bottle and box would have been thrown away.


It would be a sweet story for the owner to tell, as she obviously loved the scent enough to use it up and then saved the bottle with the box. 

Woolf Brothers department store in Kansas City, Missouri advertised Nuit de Noel, just in time for Christmas in this December 16, 1936 ad, selling two or four ounce bottles for $19.75 and $36, respectively. That's $446.40 and $813.69 today!

The Houbigant window in the Passageway displays another perfume bottle that held a story for its owner. Quelques Fleurs was launched in 1912 and created by perfumer Robert Bienaime for Houbigant. It's considered one of the first floral bouquets produced.


This scent combines floral, citrus and woody notes that evoke both a vintage and modern aroma.

This partially used bottle is still in its original box and came with a handwritten note:


My dear Ouida Beth--Congratulations on your 13th birthday. May you always be as sweet and lovely as you are today. Good luck. Best wishes.


The note looks like it's signed Judy and is dated August 19, 1943.


The meaning of the word Ouida is "noble or famous warrior." And if this was a gift from someone named Judy, perhaps it was a favorite aunt who loved her niece.


Or, since the scent was originally introduced 31 years earlier, maybe it belonged to Judy and she was re-gifting it to Beth. And maybe Beth didn't care for the scent or thought it was a scent an older person would wear. Or maybe Beth really did love it so much that she wore it sparingly or on special occasions.

Chas. A. Stevens & Bros., a Chicago department store, advertised a variety of toiletries in the December 10, 1916 Chicago Tribune newspaper. The ad stated, "Perfume, with the subtle fragrance of the original blossoms, in an endless variety, ready for your Christmas gift selection."

Frederick Stearns and Co. of Detroit, also known as Stearns, was established in 1855 and incorporated in 1882. They produced several dozen perfumes, beginning with their Cassie fragrance in 1880. In the early 1900s, the manufacture of pharmaceuticals was an important industry in Detroit, and the Stearns company led the way, eventually supplying thousands of pills, tablets, foot powders and toiletries for the military and Red Cross during WWI.

The Drugstore at Perfume Passage has several Stearns perfumes and toiletry products, all with colorful lithographed labels. A favorite Stearns item is a beautiful Czarina Carnations sealed perfume bottle in its original box.


Included in the box was this faded and worn handwritten note from a daughter to her mother. It's dated December 13, 1907.


Dear Mama:


I know this isn't much--but anyway I didn't forget the day. Many happy returns of it too.


With Love, Judy

Judy's mother obviously thought it was such a special gift, too good to use, and so she tucked the note and bottle away for safekeeping 117 years ago!

Several early newspaper ads have been found for Czarina Carnations perfume. It's interesting to note that none of them actually mention the Stearns name or show a line drawing of the bottle. This October 10, 1901 ad from the Arizona Republic newspaper claims that Czarina Carnations "is the proper thing in up-to-date perfumery." It was sold by Elvey & Hulett druggists, and the ad didn't mention Stearns or the price of the perfume.

The Drugstore has another perfume bottle on display that was once someone's token of affection over 100 years ago.


This 3-3/4" unmarked Victorian bottle has beautiful handpainted flowers and birds on both sides. It has a sterling silver ornate hinged cap without any hallmarks.


The cardboard box is plain and unmarked. After we purchased the bottle, we found a folded note inside the box.


On stationery with a blue flower was written, "Thursday morning" from Mrs. Andrew to Mrs. Redfield.

There's no punctuation within the note so it's an interesting read--


Mrs Andrew's compliments to Mrs Redfield begging her acceptance of this little token of affectionate regard brought from Paris expressly for her.

Did the friends have a disagreement, perhaps because Mrs. Andrew traveled to Paris and Mrs. Redfield did not? At least, she thought about her friend and brought her a souvenir from her adventure.



Compacts Have Stories to Tell...

We met Roselyn Gerson and her husband Alvin for the first time in 2015; what a remarkable woman she was! We were struck by her enormous passion for sharing her knowledge about compacts and for inspiring collectors to appreciate the beauty and history of vanity items.


Roz's collection of compacts, purses, Estee Lauder compacts and solid perfumes is part of Perfume Passage.

Roz shared with Perfume Passage how she began collecting compacts in 1976, explaining that she loved going to antique shows as there were always so many beautiful items to see. And that it was actually Alvin who found her first compact, and it only cost a quarter, and she loved it (right). She thought compacts were small, inexpensive and would be fun to collect. Little did she know...


A fun compact set from her collection intrigued us, as the back of the box included a written note from a boyfriend to his girlfriend.

This Ripley & Gowen Company gold-tone heart-shaped compact came with a matching expandable heart bracelet. The Attleboro, Massachusetts, company was known for their beautiful enamel compacts in the 1920s through the 1940s, along with their jewelry.


There was plenty of room on the back of the 7" cardboard box to include a sweet note dated November 3, 1946.


To my dearest Dottie,

Wishing you best wishes & success in your future years. I wish you a very happy birthday.


It was signed, "loving boyfriend Bill."


This note confirms our theory that compacts were often a gift from a boyfriend or husband. And the recipient thought they were "too nice or too special" to use, so they were placed in a drawer for safekeeping.


The unused compact and bracelet set is now a treasured item on display at Perfume Passage with other compacts from the Roz Gerson collection.


And it certainly leaves us wondering if Bill and Dottie ever got married!

Mary Martin (1913-1990) was an American actress and singer, originating many leading stage roles for composers and lyricists Rodgers and Hammerstein. Her iconic roles included Nellie Forbush in South Pacific (1949), the title character in Peter Pan (1954) and Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1959), among others.


South Pacific premiered on April 7, 1949, to critical acclaim at Broadway's Majestic Theatre. In 1950, South Pacific won each of its 10 Tony Award nominations, holding the distinction of being the only musical in Tony Award history to win in all four acting categories.


The production received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and the Broadway show went on to play a 1,925-performance run of nearly five years.


Too bad it was before our time, as we would have loved to attend the show. Our interest in theater and the film industry has carried over to Perfume Passage, as there's an entertainment display in the Vault gallery with vanity-related items from Hollywood, films and the theater.

Mary Martin gave this 3-1/4" gold tone Wadsworth powder compact as a gift to South Pacific cast mates and friends in 1950. It's engraved "Xmas 1950 to CJL." It came with a cardboard engrav-a-card printed Miss Loughran. She was Martin's personal assistant during South Pacific.


Martin also gave a bottle of scotch to her male cast mates as a Christmas gift. Perfume Passage purchased both of these items at a Hollywood memorabilia auction several years ago.


Both of these items are on display in the Vault gallery.

Jack Benny (1894-1974) was one of the leading American entertainers of the 20th century. He had a popular comedic career in radio, television and film from 1932 until 1974. He always claimed to be 39 years old!


He had a script assistant named Jeanette Eymann, beginning in the mid-1940s. Perfume Passage bought this 14k gold powder compact from a California antique dealer several years ago. It has an etched image of a man on the lid; perhaps it's Jack? On the back, it's etched "to Jeanette."

The compact is also part of the entertainment display at Perfume Passage. If it could only talk...

Ephemera Tells a Story Too...

We know that postcards are thick pieces of paper or thin cardboard that are intended for writing and mailing without using an envelope. But did you know that the study and collecting of postcards is called deltiology, from the Greek word "deltion," which is a small writing tablet.


Postcard collecting probably began as soon as postcards were circulated, and postcards with vanity-related themes were popular in the 1920s, with many produced in Germany, England and France. Postcard purchasing, mailing and collecting are sometimes called postcarditis, and today postcards are a common ephemera category and a wonderful way to add vanity themed ephemera to a collection.


The vintage vanity-themed postcard collection at Perfume Passage features hundreds of postcards that depict images of ladies, children and pets with their perfumes, powders and lipsticks! While many of these are unused, the story behind those that were actually mailed tells an interesting tale.

This French postcard by artist Oscar Wilson has a lady powdering her nose and is postmarked 1918. It also has a "passed by censor" stamp on the back.


It was sent to a woman named Elvine who lived in Guernsey, which is the second largest of the British Channel Islands, about 30 miles west of Normandy, France. The sender's signature is not clear.


The message is so significant at the time and reads:


I am still in the pink especially during Sunday morning when everything is nice and quiet and the French people going to church that reminds me of the good old pre-war days. I shall write a letter today if all goes well.


It makes us stop and take a pause, doesn't it?

The postcard says Je ne crains pas la poudre non plus, meaning -- I'm not afraid of powder either.



This beautiful 1940s German postcard has a raised celluloid design on the front. It also has a small, unmarked perfume flask wrapped in a ribbon.


The back of the card is dated 1942 and has a message written in Spanish that translates to:


On your saint's day I send good thoughts and a hug, Yours truly Felicia.


Perhaps it was hand delivered by a friend or girlfriend, as there's no postmark. Or perhaps that's a picture of Felicia and her beau in the center!


It's amazing that the postcard survived, as celluloid can be fragile. We purchased it in Spain several years ago.

Essence of Summer...

Perfume Passage Foundation celebrated our fifth anniversary with a recent Essence of Summer afternoon event!


Jeffrey and Rusty began the event with a presentation, highlighting the history of how Perfume Passage came to be and shared the accomplishments, activities and collections from the past five years.


"Our mission has always been to preserve the history, beauty and artistry of perfume bottles, compacts, ephemera and related vanity items, and the past five years just flew by as we've been achieving our goals, said Jeffrey.


Sharing our collections with visitors, collaborating with the other organizations and adding to our displays has allowed us to continue educating and inspiring people to keep this history alive."

Since our grand opening in 2019, Perfume Passage accomplishments include:


  • Providing tours to thousands of visitors and groups, including the International Perfume Bottle Association, Chicago Art Deco Society, Haviland Collectors, Women of Walgreens, American Society of Perfumers and Women in Flavor and Fragrance Commerce, among others.


  • Developing educational materials, including the monthly PassageWAY eNews and Journal magazine, both highlighting the known history of specific companies and items in the collection.


  • Expanding the Library to include nearly 4,000 books, catalogs and magazines, allowing researchers access to all the publications.


  • Hosting a virtual event for students at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). As part of their cosmetic and perfume marketing curriculum, the students study the cosmetic industry and its impact on the fashion world. The FIT video can be viewed on the Perfume Passage website.


  • Receiving the “Welcome Award” from the Illinois Association of Museums for our dedication to preserving the history, beauty and artistry of perfume bottles, compacts, ephemera and related vanity items and for our vision to educate and inspire visitors by illuminating the connection between perfume and the human experience.

Local perfumer Kamala of Kamala's Own Perfumery, a 38-year-old niche perfumery specializing in oil-based original perfumes and other scented products, held a perfume-making workshop, guiding attendees through creating a unique fragrance commemorating the event. All participants received a vial of the scent they created.

Tours for the upcoming months and information about the events and happenings at Perfume Passage are posted on our website at perfumepassage.org.


Available tour dates may be found at UPCOMING TOUR DATES!

Perfume Passage Publications...

All of our journals are available on line and for purchase! 

The Issue No. 8, A. A. Vantine & Co. will be available on line soon. In the meantime, you can find it on-line along with our first published book, The Art of Montral Powder Watch Compacts 1927-1931, written by authors and collectors Howard W. Melton and Anne de Thoisy-Dallem .


Perfume Passage Is On Social Media...

You will find everything on one site. Check out our Linktr.ee

You will find links to our past PassageWAY newsletters, video content such as the virtual tour by Erin Parsons, and much more!

Interested in visiting the collection?


  • As a private residence, we are not open to the general public except through pre-arranged tours.


  • Experiencing the collection is best when done in smaller groups, therefore we limit admission for an up close and intimate experience. See the link below for upcoming available dates. 


  • We also offer private group tours and many other events throughout the year. 
Contact us for more information

Our mission is to preserve the history, beauty and artistry of perfume bottles, compacts, ephemera and related vanity items. Through education, outreach, and awareness of the Perfume Passage collection and library, our goal is to inspire art lovers, collectors, arts and curators to keep this history alive. 

Perfume Passage Foundation perfumepassage.org

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