Anya's Garden Perfumes + The Natural Perfumery Institute

 Originally posted June 24, 2013 I’m going to revive my Vintage Vault series on beautiful perfume rarities.  that I hosted on my old blog site.  Here are two beauties and what I wrote about them previously: These Fritzsche bottles are very rare.  One perfumer told me the musk one is museum quality due to its rarity and design.  I’ve also a suspicion that the Sweet Birch one contains the pre-IFRA really great salicylic-rich sweet birch that is the type that was used in leather fragrances such as Cuir de Russie. Rare Fritzsche essence bottles: Musk and Sweet Birch 1 Comment Rae Lynn Reffruschinni   on June 24, 2013 at 3:57 pm I love old bottles! I have a large one from my grandfather’s pharmacy.

I purchased this bottle from England.  The quality of the crystal is impeccable, and the pewter is fancifully beautiful, with dragonfly and botanical figures.  I believe the bottle would hold two ounces (60mls) of perfume. The bottle is clear crystal, but my camera's lighting makes it look grey here. Anyone have an idea how old it is? I admit I'm embarrassed but at the moment, I can't remember the industry term for a bottle such as this, purchased to be filled with perfume, unlike a perfume you purchase from me or a perfume house that of which is a commercial bottle. Here's a nice reference to differenty types of bottles.  I'll take some time and try to refresh my memory.  Can anyone assist with the name of this type of bottle?

I snapped this wooden perfume case up, even though it looked a little rough, and one bottle was missing.  Sadly, another bottle broke during transit, and only four of the original six remain.  The bottles stoppers are fused into the bottle very strongly, and I'll think about trying to get them open.  Only a tiny scent, very oxidized, remains where the stoppers meet the bottles, nothing I can identify. Do you love antique perfumery items?  I sure do, and I like sharing them with you.  It's been a long, lazy summer, and now I am going to revive my Vintage Vault series.  I have LOTS to share with you! Spare, elegant gilt work on the top of the box The silver mirror is tarnished.  I wonder what faces gazed into it as the lady (ladies) who owned it dabbed on the perfumes? Lovely that the key survived all these years, along with four of the original bottles.

This is the first perfume bottle I ever purchased as a collectible.  I was living in Syracuse, New York and was a student.  I couldn't resist this Devilbiss black and chrome Art Deco beauty, and I have cherished it from the day I obtained it.  It's traveled from Syracuse to Tampa, to Philadelphia, to Naples (FL) and then Fort Lauderdale and eventually to Miami.  It now resides on the upper right shelf of my new perfume display cabinet.  It only cost $12, but it is priceless and irreplaceable to me.  From research, I believe it was made in 1927. A triptych view of my Devilbiss:

I'm totally right-brained when it comes to collecting perfume bottles. If something catches my eye, I have to have it.  No logic involved.  I have some bottles with dings that lower their market value, but that doesn't matter to me, the beauty of the bottle is what pulls me in. This antique perfume bottle is worn, so some of the 18-karat gold wash is missing, but to me that only shows that the bottle was used, and loved, by someone many, many years ago.  It stands about 3/5" tall with the stopper, so it holds (held) a good amount of perfume.  There is no scent left in the bottle.  Here are several views of the bottle.  The third one shows the pontil mark. Click on the images to see closeup details of the scroll work.  I believe the gold band leaves represent acanthus leaves, which may indicate the Art Nouveau era.  If anyone has an ideas about the gold band images, or the finer detail work above and below the gold band, please leave a comment....

Tonquin Musk and Sweet Birch - from Anya's Garden Perfumes Vintage Vault These Fritzsche bottles are very rare.  One perfumer told me the musk  one is museum quality due to its rarity and design.  I've also a suspicion that the Sweet Birch one contains the pre-IFRA really great salicylic-rich sweet birch that is the type that was used in leather fragrances such as Cuir de Russie.  I'm having some trouble getting the stopper out of the Sweet Birch bottle, but if you leave a comment, you'll be in the running for a half milliliter (enough for a sniff and a few applications) of the Tonquin musk.  There were some grains left in the bottle when I got it, and I rehydrated them, plus added a few musk grains of my own.  The comments must all be in by 11:59 PM Feb 28th.  Good luck!

After roses, I'll bet that orange blossoms, when in season, are the next most popular flower in a bridal bouquet.  Sweet yet seductive, the orange blossom has persisted through the centuries as a floral symbol of love.  Neroli, the distilled essence of the flower, if cherished for its ability to raise the spirits by generally providing an uplifting, beautiful aroma. My vintage neroli treasure comes from Lautier et Fils, a Grasse-based perfumerie and distillery dating back to the 18th Century.  I have found bits and pieces of the history of this well-regarded company on the Internet, most of it in French.  This was the only bottle from them I ever found.  When I took it from the refrigerator to photograph the other day, the glue had dried up, and the majority of the label started to fall to the floor.  As I reached to catch it, due to its age, it broke into pieces.  Using perhaps not the best solution, in a panic, I used tiny bits of double-stick glue...

I've decided to get serious about creating a photo album of my perfume treasures.  I have never had the heart to break this bottle to get at the contents.  I have tried every method possible to get the stopper out, but to no avail. I adore cassie absolute, so you know I have great self control - and a respect for a true antique. 1906! I think you can click the image on to enlarge it.  You can see the one-ounce bottle is about 2/3rd full.  Another perfume once told me to smash the bottle with a hammer and filter the contents. NO!