Men and women have adorned themselves with scents for all of recorded history. Scent comes from plants, flowers, fruit, roots, bark and animal secretions.
Popular ones are: Clove, cinnamon, rosemary, sage, thyme, bay leaf, cardamom, Texas cedar, sandalwood, balsam, oranges, vanilla, black currants, eucalyptus, violet, rose, magnolia, sweet pea, hyacinth, honeysuckle (hard to capture), gardenia, carnation.
Find out about other collectibles described by The Saturday Early Show's Tony Hyman in the Collectibles Archive or visit Tony Hyman's Web site.If you think you have a collectible worth a lot of cash, send an email to sat@cbsnews.com with "What's It Worth?" in the subject line. Or write to "What's It Worth?" The Saturday Early Show, 514 West 57th St., 6th floor, New York, N.Y. 10019. |
Jasmine flowers are picked before dawn. As the sun rises, the flower loses 20 percent of its smell. A pound of flowers (about 5,000) will yield a few drops of essence. A pound of essence is worth up to $20,000.Keeping a perfume unchanged over time is very difficult since the scent of jasmine differs from field to field and from year to year, depending on climate, rain, and soil.
Natural and synthetic scents are combined to make perfume. A few hundred natural chemicals and a few thousand aromatic synthetics give wide range of blends.
When it comes to perfume, use it or lose it, especially with modern perfumes made with synthetics. Keep them tightly sealed, in a cool, dark place. Some last a year or two, some 50 or more.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, bottles were largely hand-blown and can run into tens of thousands of dollars. Get expert advice if you think you have any.
Our focus is on the wide range of 20th century bottles:
All photos by Eric Moran |
| Lalique tester bottle, $25 to $50 |
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Lalique: This Art Nouveau leader made bottles for U.S. and Europe. From 1910 to World War II, bottles marked "R. Lalique" were made for Coty, Lelong, and Molinard. Bottles produced after World War II are marked "Lalique France." Depending on the bottle, Lalique values range from $50 to more than $15,000.TD>
| English silver overlay, 1900, $300 to $500 |
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Non-commercial European bottles were especially popular 1920s and '30s. They were primarily made in Germany (Bavaria), but also in England, France, and Japan, and the values of these bottles range from $25 to $500. The bottles often came in the form of such figures as ladies, children, cats, dogs, frogs, ducks, and clowns. Often, they were sold empty or as part of a vanity set.
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| Crystal atomizer |
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Czechoslovakian: These are ornate hand-cut crystal bottles made from 1918 to 1938 (between the wars). The stoppers and bottoms are mixed, and clear bottles are the most common, so the ones with colors are more desirable to collectors. There are so many reproductions of these bottles that it is very hard to tell which are genuine. Those that we sent to U.S. are acid-etched "Made in Czechoslovakia." Often, a bottle that sold originally for only $1 can be worth $35 to $500 today.
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| Imperial clear glass, $55 |
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Fan stopper bottles: Pressed or mold blown 1940-1960. Czech not available due to WWII. Often similar to Czech, made in USA by Imperial, Elbee, and other companies. Sold for $1 to $3. Now from $35 to $150.
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| DeVilbiss atomizers |
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Atomizers: The patent for bulb-spray atomizers was granted to Dr. DeVilbiss in Toledo, Ohio, in 1909. DeVilbiss atomizers appear on a wide range of United States and European bottles, including Steuben, Fenton, Czech and Murano (a famous Italian glass maker). Other companies made atomizers, but DeVilbiss are the most collectible.Pictured at left are two pieces: an aqua flower-topped bottle and an Irice (Irving Rice) rainbow-hued bottle that was made in Germany between 1950 and 1960. Both are worth about $35 each today.Dime store: Some perfumes sold in U.S. dime stores from 1920 to 1960 for less than $1 are now worth $5 to $100 each. Often, they were whimsical, fragile blown bottles in many shapes. Popular scents included Betty Boop, Blue Waltz, and Yesteryear. Very collectible is Evening in Paris, which was a prestige line by Bourjois that later switched to drugstore distribution (worth $35 to $50). Items pictured at right include the Evening in Paris Christmas gift set ($40) and a Babs Creaton figural from 1939 ($30).
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| Three Guerlain bottles |
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Commercial bottles: The value of commercial perfume bottles depends on such factors as the brand name, perfumer, age, and bottle maker. Such bottles can be worth anywhere from $10 to more than $1,000. The list of companies is long and includes Estee Lauder, Hattie Carnegie, Elizabeth Arden, Prince Matchabelli, and Christian Dior. The bottles themselves often were made by top European and American artists and glass makers. Examine them carefully, because bottles are usually mould-marked or acid-etched to indicate the maker or perfume company.
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| Schiaparelli closed |
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One-ounce bottles in boxes are desirable to collectors, as are special sets for holidays and special events. Collectors look for special editions, whimsical or unique presentations. One good example of this is the Schiaparelli book box, produced in 1936 and worth about $75 today.
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| Schiaparelli open |
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In the case of Shalimar cologne, the bottle design was patented in 1937.
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| Avon bottles: telephone, Bugatti and a beehive |
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A good inexpensive way to start your perfume bottle collection is to focus on Avon. Most of their bottles sell for less than $20, but theirs are highly collectible commercial bottles.Contemporary bottles date from 1950 to the present. Their values range from $25 to $500 (mostly under $100), although Lalique pieces are worth more than that.
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| Faberge Tigress whistle, 1970s, $25 |
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A few contemporary bottles and their worth are Lucien Lelong clock bottle, 1999, $350; Lelong Indiscreet, 1997, about $250; Fabulous Brosse bottle, 1996, $95; John Phillips art glass, 2000, $75; Shalimar, 1993, about $250; Bijan, 1993, $150 to $350; and Jicky (a unisex fragrance), half-ounce bottle, 1993, $150.
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| Early miniature: Ciro Danger |
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Miniature bottles originally were created as samples or gifts to encourage trials. Their value may range from $5 to $25. For example, Ciro Danger, a vintage French mini designed by Baccarat in the 1930s as one of the first samples, is worth about $25 today.
If you’d like to buy, sell, or obtain information about perfume bottles, contact author and perfume designer Jan Moran at perfumeldy@aol.com or visit her Web site at www.fabulousfragrances.com.
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| Fabulous |
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Jan is the author of "Fabulous Fragrances II: A Guide to Prestige Perfumes for Women and Men" ($29.95, $5 s/h) from Crescent House Publishing, Box 718-ES, La Quinta, Calif., or by calling (888) 258-2322.Jan created Fabulous, a perfume in the Jan Moran Beverly Hills Perfume Line. You may obtain a gem shaped trial size bottle from the same address for $20 postpaid.
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