The Bottle Itself:
soyan contains other products and information you need, so please check it out.
Bottles embossed with or having labels marked 'Made in Occupied Japan' were made from September until April .
Enameled lettering, also known as serigraphy (instead of labels), on glass bottles started being used after the 's and was pretty regular feature in the 's onward. This lettering is fragile and can be easily lost with cleaning.
Look for a patent number on the base of the bottle, these patent dates were frequent in the 's and 's, you can look up the number on search engines on US patent webpages online. Also, English Registry Design numbers can also be found on perfume bottles from the United Kingdom, you can search the numbers online also.
Old glass bottles might have etched matching numbers on the base of the perfume bottle and on the bottom of the stopper. This was done at the factory when the stopper would have been ground to fit the bottle, the numbers are to show which bottle goes with the right stopper. These were usually found on French bottles such as Baccarat.
Older bottles stamped their name and origin somewhere on the bottle. In the 's, stickers replaced the stamping but were soon lost or destroyed, making it difficult to authenticate.
Older bottles from the 's-40's would have lot numbers, bottle shape numbers or patent numbers embossed right into the glass base.
By , cosmetic companies were stamping colored numbers on the bottom of their products. This stamping usually consisted of four numbers and was visible on the bottom of each item and is a 'batch code', which is used by the company to note what year and month the product was created. Batch codes are often found either stamped on the glass or the label.
Later, many bottles often have their batch codes engraved into the glass; (Chanel, Dior, Thierry Mugler, etc).
Labels:
Old labels turn brown naturally, however, water and perfume can cause stains on labels over the years.
The styles of the boxes or labels can also help determine age. Art Nouveau is generally -'s, Art Deco mid 's and some styles carried into the 's, psychedelic late 's-early 's. Please note that this isn't always foolproof.
At the beginning of the 20th century, revenue stamps appeared on the imported scents coming into America. This stamped container is very collectible, because of the information on that stamp.
On bottles destined for the Mexican market, you may find labels with a number and the initials TDSP, this stands for Tratado sobre el Derecho Sustantivo de Patentes (Substantive Patent Law Treaty). I have found these small labels on bottles from the 's and 's. The companies found were both Chanel and Ciro. I am sure there are plenty others. I am unsure if this is a patent or trademark used on the perfume name itself or the bottle design, I suspect it was for the perfume name, such as Chanel No. 5. or Surrender by Ciro. These names were registered in Mexico to protect the brands.
Always look at all sides of a bottle. Some labels can be read from both sides, looking thru the back of the bottle. You might encounter labels which have the date stamped on the back of the labels. Sample bottles from the 's onward, often had labels that would say 'sample, not to be sold'. Today's bottles read 'tester'. Factice, or display bottles, were not meant for resale, and will have labels such as: 'dummy, not for sale'. Sometimes a date is also stamped on the backside of the label, I have seen this with old Chanel and Lanvin bottles. Chanel bottles from the 's onward should have the backs of their labels marked with a copyright symbol and CC.
If your bottle has a label which states: 'returning this bottle to the perfumer is a national duty' ' then your bottle dates from - during World War II.
If your label states that the perfume was 'created/compounded/assembled' in France or USA, it dates to after the 's and most likely dates to the 's.
Perfume bottles with labels using the word 'drams' can be dated to before . A dram is 1/8 fluid oz.
The presence of clear labels indicating contents were first used around the 's. These are either on the front, back or base of your bottle.
If your bottle has a label stating SDA (Specially Denatured Alcohol) it dates to the 's-'s.
If your box or label has a number with a degree symbol, this notes the perfume or cologne's alcohol percentage. Two common percentages are 80% and 90% for eau de toilette and cologne. This helps date the bottle to after the 's.
A Zip Code on a label denotes age meaning this bottle is from or later. Before , no zip codes were used. From to , two code numbers were used on mail and labels. In , all zip codes were required by the US Postal Service.
By Manufacturer:
Look on the base of your bottle for acid stamps for Baccarat, Lalique, Cristal Nancy or Cristal Romesnil, these markings add value to your bottle. Cristal Nancy closed their doors in . Only from , Baccarat bottles were systematically engraved with a mark. Prior to this, they were acid etched, stamped and some had round paper labels, while many have no distinguishing marks.
Lalique perfumes were marked with a signature on the bases. The signature has changed over the years and you can date a bottle by the style of the signature. Older bottles are marked R. Lalique in block lettering. You can look up various websites or books on Lalique to find signatures and the dates they were used. If your bottle is signed Rene Lalique or R. Lalique, this mark was used until when Rene Lalique died, after this date bottles will be simply marked Lalique France.
If your bottle has an embossed entwined HP mark on the base of the bottle, it was made by the glass factory of Pochet et du Courval in France after .
If your bottle is marked S or SGD on the base, it was manufactured by the Saint Gobain Desjonqueres glass factory of France after the 's, when the factory was rebuilt after WWII and equipped with modern fully-automatic machinery.
Brosse of France after the 's when the factory installed semi-automatic bottle making machines. In , Brosse switched from making hand ground stoppers to precision machine grinding. In , Brosse patented two new stopper innovations, the first is a ring made of polypropylene with horizontal joints placed on the stopper dowel. The second is a polypropylene coating of the stopper dowel designed with internal friction teeth.
If your bottle is marked Gaillard, J. Viard or J. Villard, it was made during -'s. Lucien Gaillard was a contemporary of Lalique and designed many Art Nouveau perfume bottles for notable French perfume houses such as Clamy and Violet. Julien Viard was a French glass designer of the 's and designed bottles for Richard Hudnut, Isabey, Favolys and Langlois. Both Gaillard and Viard collaborated and you might find the mark of J. Villard on some bottles.
Caps or Stoppers:
Older perfumes are sealed with onion skin, viscose or thin celluloid in either red, clear, blue or other colors.
Bakelite screw caps were in usage from 's-'s. Some perfume bottles, as the ones for Lanvin, often continued using black Bakelite screw caps into the 's. If you rub the cap with your finger briskly or hold it under hot running water (remove cap from bottle first!) for about 20-30 seconds, then smell it, if it has a formaldehyde odor, it is Bakelite.
Lucite caps were used from the late 's-onward. The older lucite caps become yellowed or discolored from perfume and can have small fractures or chips.
Another feature was the use of plastic caps placed over the base of a ground glass stopper. The finest plastic caps began to be used by when the glass factory of Saint Gobain Desjonqueres introduced the first plastic covered dowel stoppers.
Glass stoppers that had dowels that went into corks were in use from 's-'s.
Goldtone plastic screw caps were in use after the 's.
Goldtone metal screw caps were in use from 's onward.
Boxes & Packaging:
If there is a EAN barcode on the box, this perfume dates to after .
Starting in , the Green Dot recycling symbol will appear on the box.
If there is an e-sign, also known as the estimated sign, next to the volume, it was made after . This is a mark that can be found on some pre-packed goods in Europe and indicates that the packaging is filled according to the European Union Directive.
Period-after-opening symbol or PAO, is a graphic symbol that identifies the useful lifetime of a cosmetic product after its package has been opened for the first time. It depicts an open cosmetics pot and is used together with a written number of months or years. This symbol has been in use since .
Refer to Insert: A hand pointing at a book means there is information or instructions contained on a leaflet, booklet, or other insert which can't be listed on the primary label. The information can be things like an ingredients list, usage instructions, or warnings. This symbol is particularly useful for smaller cosmetic products since they don't have enough space on their container to list all the product's information. This has been in use at least since .
The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act is a U.S. law that applies to labels on many consumer products. It requires the label to state:
* The identity of the product;
* The name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor; and
* The net quantity of contents. The contents statement must include both metric and U.S. customary units.
Passed under Lyndon B. Johnson in , the law first took effect on July 1, . The metric labeling requirement was added in and took effect on February 14, .
From -, a short list of ingredients are listed on the back of the box. Prior to this a box may only have listed the following ingredients: water, alcohol, fragrance. Older bottles, will have no ingredients listed at all.
By , there will be a long, complicated list of ingredients listed on the back of the box.
Cellophane packaging was developed in by a Swiss textile engineer, Jacques Brandenberger, and in assigned his patents to La Cellophane Societe Anonyme and joined that organization. On December 26, , an agreement was executed between Du Pont Cellophane Company and La Cellophane by which La Cellophane licensed Du Pont Cellophane Company exclusively under its United States cellophane patents. It was originally used to wrap luxury items, but was expensive and not moisture proof. Finding early perfumes with cellophane packaging is very rare. It wasn't until the late s that cellophane started to become a regular feature on perfume box packaging.
If your label or box has the perfume company's address, you might be able to date the bottle by comparing the addresses for the company if a company has had more than one address.
The styles of the boxes or labels can also help determine age. Art Nouveau is generally -'s, Art Deco mid 's and some styles carried into the 's, psychedelic late 's-early 's. Please note that this isn't always foolproof.
Some perfume boxes or labels might have a warning label such as: 'Warning'Use only as directed. Intentional misuse by deliberately concentrating and inhaling the contents can be harmful or fatal'. This warning was approved by the FDA starting in .
Any cosmetic, perfume or lotion labeled 'hypoallergenic' dates to after , when the FDA allowed companies to mark their products in this manner.
Miscellaneous:
The word 'dram' to denote contents was used mostly during the 's and 's. It is equal to about 5 ml or 1/8 oz. Dram bottles were small, usually purse sized, but were an economic and affordable way for women to purchase their favorite perfumes during the Great Depression and the WWII period.
Sealed perfumes which look to have some perfume missing, have had their alcohol and water content evaporated, this is caused by heat, light, and poor storage as well as aging.
Vintage perfume will start to darken and the oldest perfumes have a very dark, thick, syrupy texture due to the alcohol and water evaporating, which leaves only a high concentration of essential oils and aroma chemicals behind. If you still wish to wear the perfume, it can be revived with some perfumer's alcohol or worn as parfum, though it will never smell fresh like it once was.
Check out vintage advertisements for perfumes in old magazines. They will usually have a date on them and you can use these to compare your bottle to what is shown in the ad.
For more sourcing classic perfume bottleinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.
DATING REALLY OLD FRAGRANCE BOTTLES by Bill Ellis
(usually without labels)
These are some characteristics of very old bottles, that may help you in dating them, based on my experience with old bottles and drawing on information in Glass ' Volume 2, by Jane Shadel Spillman () ' one of the Knopf Collectors' Guides to American Antiques.
Rough pontil ' before ('bottles made later only occasionally have rough pontils') [Spillman, p. 16] A 'rough pontil' mark is a circular broken glass edge centered on the bottom of the bottle, where the pontil rod was broken from the bottom after blowing the bottle.
Flanged lip ' first half of s in the US [Spillman, bottle #65] A wide thin lip on a bottle formed by spreading the mouth of the bottle
Free blown or part-size molds ' - in the US; no uniformity in size or pattern; not attributable to the glass house unless the bottle has an identifying mark [Spillman, pp. 12, 34] Free-blown bottles have no mold seams;bottles made in part-size molds may have a mold seam around the bottle at the shoulder; the upper part of the bottle was finished by hand.
Full-size molds ' starting , all bottles by ' uniform size and pattern [Spillman, p. 34] Bottles made in full-size molds have vertical seam lines from the base to the neck; the upper neck and lip were finished by hand.
Automatic bottle-blowing machines ' starting in the late s [Spillman, p. 35] Machine-made bottles have a mold seam from the base through the lip; the whole bottle is molded at one time.
Source: 'How to Date Your Perfume Bottle' article on Cleopatra's Boudoir website.
You have a newly purchased antique scent bottle. You bought it just because you like it, but you know little about it. At the very least you may want to know what it's made of, where it was made, when it was made, who made it. Yes, you can take it to 'Treasures Found' at the next IPBA Convention. You can look in collector books or on the IPBA website. You can ask a question on the IPBA Facebook interactive discussion page, but where do you start?
This article focuses on a three-step process for examining your bottles and identifying features and characteristics that are clues as to the 'who, what, when and where' of their origin. Three examples illustrate the three steps and give you some tips for your further research. These steps guide you through a detailed examination and description of the bottle itself.
Getting to Know Your Bottle
Step 1: What do you notice first when looking closely at your bottle?
' Material such as glass, porcelain, metal, stone, ivory/bone, other. Can the material date the bottle to a particular period? Have you seen others similar?
' Decoration on the bottle's surface, if any. Is there paint/enamel, engraving, carving, metal or attached metal work, gemstones, other? Sometimes these decorative elements are characteristic of a period, place or maker. Are you familiar with any or have you seen any similar?
' Style features, such as shape, size, decorative elements, closure device, hinge style on cap, figural stopper and others. Are these style elements related to, or characteristic of, a particular period or country (e.g., Rococo'term for very ornate ornamentation style used extensively in France in the 18th century; also, Rococo Revival in later 19th century France, etc.)?
' Metal (or other) mounting'how much exists on the bottle (top, neck, foot, cage work)? What's the material (silver, gold, brass, other)? Does the mounting contain any kind of marks that help date it (e.g., maker's mark, country of origin mark, quality mark)? A resource for marks is Tardy's Poinçons D'Argent or International Marks on Silver, available in many editions.
Step 2: What characteristics and details did you find in your examination that may help frame the scent bottle in a particular period or country of origin?
The examples shown below will illustrate how certain features can be studied more closely to aid in your identification.
Step 3: What insights can you gain? What information can you look for and where?
You will want to compare your scent container to others. Look first for bottles of known origin in your own collection that may have one or more similar features. Look at resources on the IPBA website, especially the Virtual Museum that contains many bottle images. Back issues of the Perfume Bottle Quarterly are now being put on the IPBA website, making them available to all members. You can also find a comprehensive bibliography of perfume bottle and glass books there, as well as a listing of books available to borrow from the IPBA Lending Library (free except for paying return postage). The internet, of course, offers additional resources to view, including museum collections.
How It Works'Three Examples
In the examples below, we apply our three steps to three different antique decorative glass and metal scent bottles, trying to frame the period, country and style of each.
Example 1
Step 1. What do you notice at the first glance?
Colored thin glass with heavy gilded decoration, metal mount and hinged cap, probably made of brass; finger chatelaine (attached chain with device for wearing); no marks.
Step 2. What details do we see that provide clues as to period, country of origin?
' Cap has a very typical engraved design that we see in similar ones.
' Gilt decoration covering a large surface of the vessel is heavily applied, typical of the so-called 'Moser style' seen in the second half of the 19th Century in Bohemia (Ludwig Moser & Sons is a glassmaking firm founded in Bohemia and known for intricately enameled glassware during this period).
' Can we find similar scent bottles?
' Can we find similar caps?
Step 3. What have we learned, and what else do we want to know?
Insight: All these small bottles have brass caps with engraved designs and most have chains attached. Many bottles with these features pictured on the internet, in perfume bottle books, etc., are identified as Moser or Moser-style. They also are frequently identified as having been made in Bohemia (where the Moser firm was located).
Is there other information you would like to have? For more information, look for references to answer such questions as:
' Why Bohemia had such a great production of glass? When did it start?
' Who were the main makers? Who was Moser? Why is his name applied to this style?
' Are there museums or collections that have these kinds of scent bottles?
' Were these scent bottles (and others similar) made mostly for wealthy buyers or for a newly emerging middle class?
Example 2
Step 1. What do we notice at the first glance?
Thick smoked glass, finely cut, enclosed in a heavy alloy metal cage executed in Rococo style, hinged perforated 'mushroom' cap with belt chatelaine clip (chain is fastened from the bottle to a clip which would have then been attached to the wearer's belt); no marks.
Step 2. What details do we see that provide clues as to period, country of origin?
' Rococo cage work, possibly indicating French origin.
' Combination of glass and metal elaborate cage is typical of the second half of the 19th century in France.
' 'Mushroom' cap shape which is perforated, seen especially in chatelaine bottles that, while being worn, allow the perfume to diffuse around the wearer. Such caps are also characteristic of this kind of scent bottle made in France.
' Can we find similar scent bottles?
' Can we find similar caps: mushroom shaped and perforated?
Step 3. What have we learned and what else do we want to know?
Insight: These bottles all have ornate metalwork with raised repoussé decorative elements, known as the Rococo style. We learn that Rococo style was born in France in the s as a reaction against the more formal and geometric Louis XIV style of decoration. It is seen in decorative arts, furniture, jewelry, architecture and more. A somewhat similar Rococo Revival style (heavier, bolder execution of ornamentation that earlier Rococo) emerged during the Second Empire (reign of Napoleon III, -).
Is there other information you would like to have? For example, you may want to look for references to answer such questions as:
' Which are the best known and more frequently used metal alloys?
' Do we know anything about the makers of these chatelaines?
' Are there museums or collections that have these kinds of scent bottles?
' Were these scent bottles made mostly for wealthy buyers or for a newly emerging middle class?
Example 3
Step 1. What do we notice at the first glance?
' Glass, thick 'paste' with aventurine (sparkling glass) inclusions.
' Glass contains tiny figures made in a particular artistic glassmaking technique called 'millefiori.' (This is a time consuming technique involving the combining of glass rods, working at the fire.)
' Brass mount and cap with moulded foliage décor and glass stone at the top; finger chatelaine.
' No marks.
Step 2. What details do we see that provide clues as to period, country of origin?
' Myriad of glass colors, figures embedded. Even to someone who doesn't know much about glass, this scent bottle is amazing for its colors and the decorative inclusions in the glass. This calls to mind the place where the most famous glass of the world is made: Murano, Venice, Italy.
' Brass cap, elaborate décor, stone on top, chain with ring.
' Can we find similar scent bottles?
' Can we find similar caps?
Step 3. What have we learned, and what else do we want to know?
Insight: These bottles all show the glass fabrication techniques characteristic of Murano, Venice, Italy. What is the history of this island? Why is it synonymous with glass?
Is there other information you would like to have? For example, you may want to look for references to answer such questions as:
' These 'portrait canes scent bottles are frequently wrongly identified as 'Franchini & Bigaglia.' Why? Who were these two Italian glass masters?
' Who are the people portrayed on these bottles?
' Are there museums or public collections with this kind of scent bottles?
' Were these scent bottles made mostly for wealthy buyers or for a newly emerging middle class?
A Few Caveats
Be sure to take notes as you are examining your bottle. This will help you remember the specific features and details you find. They can also form a basis for a description of the bottle in your personal catalog or inventory.
There are often 'exceptions' to the 'typical' or 'usual' characteristics you find in certain types of bottles. Occasionally, a bottle will have features that just don't seem to 'go together.'
You need to decide how you will classify a bottle's origins when the glass is obviously that of a particular manufacturer and the cap has hallmarks or maker's marks of a different country from the glassmaker. Bottles might be exported from one country, decorated in another, and then sent to a jeweler or metal manufacturer in yet another for a cap and other metalwork.
'Marriages' between bottles and caps or stoppers not original to them do occur. This may be a source of confusion in the identification process.
Time periods are not precise. Styles overlap one another. A bottle may have elements of two different design movements (e.g., Art Nouveau and Art Deco). Also, styles were copied and reproduced in later time frames (e.g., 18th century Chelsea porcelain figural bottles and their 19th century reproductions).
Some bottles may always remain a mystery!
You're Ready to Start
Examining a bottle closely and describing it in detail are essential to finding out its origin. Using the three-step process will help you be a better observer and give you more information for beginning your research. It requires time and discipline on your part, but you will be on your way to knowing your bottles better and appreciating them more as a result.
Source: Article 'Be Your Own Expert: Identifying Your Treasure Found' by Monica Magnani and the members of the Scent Bottle Research and Discussion Group, PBQ Spring .
IPBA Members Participating in the Research and Discussion Group: Monica Magnani, Coordinator; Susan Arthur, Elizabeth Creech, Cynthia Faraglia, Joyce Geeser, Earline Kopriva, Judy Parker, Jeffrey Sanfilippo, Rusty Hernandez-Sanfilippo, and Teri Wirth.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit sourcing oval perfume bottle.