Perfume Passage has reopened to the public for the first time since it closed due to the Covid pandemic in 2020.
"Although we were closed, we continued to expand and add new exhibits and displays and we're excited for visitors," said Jeffrey Sanfilippo, co-founder of Perfume Passage.
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A visit to Perfume Passage in Barrington, Illinois, allows you to tour the world through an international collection of beautiful perfume bottles, ladies compacts, and related vanity items that date as far back as 2500 BCE.
The docent-guided three hour tour offers a trip back in time, as you stroll through a 1900s Paris passageway, exploring the history of the great perfume houses and learning about the Perfume Passage collections.
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Entry to the fully-restored interior of a 19th century American drugstore and soda fountain is from the Passageway. Exploring the science of scent and making perfumes through interactive experiences are found in this gallery. Restored to its former glory, the drugstore displays of perfumes, barbershop items and early makeup products brings the room to life.
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You will then immediately be transformed into the 1920s, reliving the Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs of 1925. Inspired by the Expo's iconic Rene Lalique fountains, the deco gallery highlights perfume bottle design, exuding the spirit of the Art Deco movement.
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The tour will also include "The Vault," where the treasures of the collection are on display. Artifacts include a cologne bottle from Napoleon I (pictured here), vinaigrettes, chatelaines and rare perfumes that illustrate the magnificence of perfume through the ages.
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In addition, there are a variety of special exhibits including Made in Chicago, It's a Mini World and a 1940s Beauty Bar display case filled with vintage lipsticks, powder boxes and beauty products.
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Perfume Passage provides perfume and compact enthusiasts and collectors a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see very rare and meaningful artifacts.
You can also sign up to receive the monthly PassageWAY eNews and view tour schedules on our website at perfumepassage.org.
Don't forget to follow up our social media platforms Youtube, Facebook, and instagram @perfumepassage to view unusual items on display in the museum.
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The convention theme, Made in Chicago could be seen and experienced throughout the weekend. Beginning with our convention pin, which was the image of the iconic HIS figural cologne bottle, was the first time the IPBA has used a men's cologne bottle for their annual pin design.
Northwood's House for Men was a Chicago company and in the 1940s introduced their HIS aftershave, cologne and talc in the whimsical glass bottle shaped like a gentleman's torso with a head-shaped stopper. The name of the cologne, "HIS" is embossed on the chest.
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A HIS display was also part of the Made in Chicago showcase that was located in the exhibitor showroom at the convention hotel. A fun cardboard store display with the monocled man held a variety of HIS bottles!
This same store display was featured on the cover of Perfume Passage's Spring Journal magazine.
The Made in Chicago Journal is the latest magazine published by Perfume Passage and featured a brief history of our 189 year old city of Chicago. Also included is a fun history of several prominent Chicago perfumeries and toiletry businesses that were instrumental in establishing Chicago as a manufacturing mecca during the 19th and 20th centuries.
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Along with the first three issues on Rudy Profumi, Robj and American Beauty, the Made in Chicago Journal is available for purchase through Perfume Passage's website or the link above. A subscription program will be developed for all future Journals and they can also be viewed online in a flip book format on our website.
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The Made in Chicago display is located on the lower level and features a variety of companies that began in the early 1900s and include Princess Pat, Valmor, Jovan, Parisian Novelty Company and Armour among others.
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A much talked about exhibit is located in the lower level foyer and is a 10 foot long, 8 foot tall Beauty Bar! This 1940s store display was located in a Chicago department store. Unfortunately, we don't know what store filled this wonderful Streamline Moderne showcase with curved glass and bakelite fixtures with a variety of products. But today it's filled with vintage lipsticks, powder boxes, powder puffs, makeup and beauty boxes, all the items that could have been offered for sale 80 years ago! Perfume Passage purchased it several years ago at a local auction and it required very little restoration.
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Located near the Beauty Bar is an original Coty store display case that has been fully restored and bears the Coty name at the top. Four shelves are filled with vintage and limited edition Coty products, including Veronique Coty's Spoturno 2021 limited edition perfume bottle.
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Two deco-looking triangular shaped showcases are also located in the foyer area. These six foo tall cases came from Helena Rubinstein's corporate offices and perfectly highlight 10 successful female cosmetic trailblazers who led the way and left their marks in the cosmetic industry.
Even though public use of cosmetics was still frowned upon in the early 1900s, the sight of women using makeup in public was becoming more common. The changing times allowed courageous women to establish businesses that provided a variety of beauty products. While most are familiar with Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden, the exhibit includes vintage products and history about Estee Lauder, Harriet Hubbard Ayer, Mary Chess, Dorothy Gray, Hazel Bishop, Madame CJ Walker, Jacqueline Cochran and Viviane Woodard.
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An exhibit guaranteed to bring a smile to your face is It's A Mini World!
Collectors love collecting mini perfumes, as they're small and our logic is that we can collect more of them, right?!
Originally miniature perfume bottles were created for ladies as keepsakes or to bring with them on their travels. Perfume houses began creating miniature bottles as gifts for their favorite clients and eventually they were made as incentives or as samples to entice their customers to try a new fragrance, hoping it would lead to a purchase of a full-size bottle!
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Today the "minis" are a popular collectible. They are copies of the original full sized bottles, containing the same scent of the larger flacons and they allow us to display a variety of bottles without taking up much space.
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Avon, previously known as the California Perfume Company, began in 1886 by David H. McConnell, a traveling book salesman. He gave free samples of perfumes while doing door-to-door book sales and soon realized his female customers were more interested in his perfumes than his books.
McConnell understood the importance of selecting the best sales agents and knew that women who would not have to travel, but could sell the company's products in their own communities, would be the ideal agents. Mrs. Persus Foster Eames Albee became the first door-to-door sales agent for the company. McConnell helped women become empowered to take control of their lives and families through their employment and experiences as sales agents.
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The Avon display includes a variety of company awards that were presented to saleswomen over the years, including the Avon Albee figurines!
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In 1939 the company changed its name to Avon Products Inc. Today, Avon has grown from a small New York perfume company into a global cosmetics and fragrance industry. Avon has created jobs to help support women, and some men, around the world. There are Avon representatives on five continents and in over 100 countries.
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In 1934, William Lightfoot Schultz's company, Shulton Inc., was a manufacturer of soaps and women's fragrances, including Early American Old Spice. In 1937, they redeveloped this scent and launched Old Spice for men in 1938, and today it's still one of the most popular colognes for men.
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This display of Shulton products includes a variety of vintage Old Spice soaps, talcs, colognes and aftershaves!
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Treasures of the Collection...
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We all know that we treasure our collections, but we also treasure the friendships we make on our collecting journey.
Deborah Washington was a treasured friend to many IPBA members. She joined the IPBA in 1989 and over the years served on the IPBA board as treasurer, convention chairman and president. She also formed the Chicago Skyliners IPBA chapter in 2006, hosting the first meeting in her home. Perfume Passage is honored to have items from her collection on display.
She began collecting perfume bottles after receiving a Czech glass dresser set with two perfume bottles, powder jar and matching Irice boudoir lamps from her grandmother.
Her early passion was for filigree jeweled perfume bottles and she purchased her first pair of filigree bottles at a Chicago garage sale. The internet and ebay became her new best friends and she started focusing her collection on the 1920-40s jeweled beauties and became hooked!
Her collection grew over the years and in 2003 she led a round table discussion on the filigree jeweled bottles and vanity items at the Orlando convention. She also wrote an article for the PBQ on the items and the history of the companies that manufactured them.
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- The fashion and perfume industries have been intertwined for over 100 years.
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Paul Poiret, a well-known French costumer, introduced perfumes in the early 1900s. His company, Parfums de Rosine, launched over 50 scents between 1911 and 1924.
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Poiret's fashion customers, actresses and artists began purchasing his fragrances as he believed that fragrance was an important fashion accessory. His fragrances became popular throughout the US until his business closed in 1930.
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- Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel launched her iconic Chanel No. 5 in 1921 and it became a successful collaboration between the fashion and fragrance industries which opened the door for many fashion designers.
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- The fragrance and fashion momentum led to many other designers introducing perfumes including: Jeanne Lanvin (My Sin, 1925), Jean Patou (Joy, 1930), Nina Ricci (L'Air du Temps, 1948), Hubert Givenchy (L'Interdit, 1951), Yves Saint Laurent (Y, 1964), Guy Laroche (Fidji, 1966), Paco Rabanne (Calandre, 1969) Pierre Cardin (Pour Monsieur, 1972) and Karl Lagerfeld (Chloe, 1975).
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- Salvador Dali collaborated with fashion designers and perfumers and were influenced by his art in developing their clothing lines and perfume bottles. Elsa Schiaparelli was one of the first to collaborate with Dalí in the 1930s with her designs. In 1946, she released her Le Roy Soleil perfume in a bottle designed by Dali to celebrate the end of WWII
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Psssst.....share our newsletter with your friends and other collectors, and encourage them to sign up!
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Don't wait another day, please share our newsletter with anyone you know that may not be receiving it or would be interested in learning more about Perfume Passage. Click on the link below and stay in the know.
We do not share, sell or distribute our email contacts under any circumstances.
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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, archivists and curators to keep this history alive.
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Types of tours include:
- Private docent-guided tours
- Group tours
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Symphony of Scents and Sounds
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In accordance with local updated guidelines, Perfume Passage no longer requires proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or masks for museum visitors. However, we strongly encourage all of our guests to wear masks while in the building.
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