A Note From The Founders...

The Victorian era was the years of Queen Victoria's reign over the British Empire and Great Britain, from 1837 until her death in 1901. The time period produced some of our favorite perfumes and vanity items that we cherish today!

We're thrilled to share a recent acquisition: a stunning oil painting with the name, "Ellen Martin, W.P. Frith," on the frame.

It features an elegant lady in a blue dress holding a perfume vinaigrette! The artist, William Powell Frith (1819-1909), was an English painter renowned for his vivid representations of daily life in the Victorian era. One of his early pieces, Ramsgate Sands (1854) depicting Victorian life, was purchased by Queen Victoria herself. His artwork appears in museums around the world.

This painting hangs in the lower level at Perfume Passage. So for this issue, we're excited to showcase a variety of items on display throughout the galleries that embody the charm of the Victorian era.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey and Rusty,

Co-founders

In 1840 Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, and they had nine children -- four sons and five daughters -- between 1840 and 1857. Following his death in 1861, she retreated from public life for several years.

Victorian society included a clear hierarchy among the upper, middle and working classes. There were dos and don'ts for both men and women, including strict moral codes, especially those that defined traditional roles and living a "respectable" lifestyle.

The Victorian era is generally marked by Queen Victoria's reign from 1837 until her death in 1901. However, many historians and collectors often extend this period to include the years leading up to and following her rule, lasting until the start of WWI in 1914.

Collectors who love the now-collectible Victorian era items focus on clothing, jewelry and vanity items, and in particular, perfume bottles.

While other countries, the US included, produced items during the Victorian years, we typically don't describe them as Victorian, but rather define their style as it relates to their country of origin.

This is true with the collections at Perfume Passage, as we do have a variety of perfume bottles and vanity items on display that were produced during the Victorian years, yet we refrain from labeling them as Victorian in our descriptions.

So we thought we'd highlight the perfumeries and artifacts on display throughout our galleries that are from Great Britain that fit this historical context and that are considered Victorian and manufactured during the Victorian years!

As a young woman, Queen Victoria had strong feelings about cosmetics, as at the time, makeup was often linked to actresses and prostitutes, which she didn't approve of. She had a preference for lighter, delicate floral scents like violet, lavender and rose instead of the heavy fragrances that many were using. Even as the Victorian era progressed, she favored lighter scents and the natural look, instead of what she considered the immoral look of a full face of makeup.

In general, Victorians loved violets! People ate candied violets in their pastries, flower sellers sold nosegays that women attached to their dresses, and men tucked violets into the brim of their hats. A popular pastime was flower pressing, and women pressed violets into scrapbooks. So it makes sense that violets were the floral scent of choice for many Victorian perfumeries.

During the mid-Victorian period, the middle class began wearing perfumes, which led to manufacturers introducing a variety of scents with more blended ingredients.

As the later Victorian years rolled in, perfumeries introduced synthetic fragrances like musk and jasmine. These innovations opened up a treasure trove of options at more affordable prices, making it even easier to indulge in the world of fragrances!

There were many perfumeries during the Victorian era that produced a variety of fragrances that are now part of the collection and on the wish list at Perfume Passage!

House of Rimmel

One important perfume manufacturer was French-born British perfumer Eugene Rimmel (1820-1887), who introduced some of the earliest commercially manufactured cosmetics through his House of Rimmel (now a division of Coty, Inc.). Rimmel was born in France and moved to London as a young boy when his father began managing a perfumery. He worked with his father at the perfumery and, in 1834, opened his own business, the House of Rimmel, and the father-son duo produced their first cosmetics.

Perfume Passage is looking for an early Rimmel Toilet Vinegar bottle as pictured above for the collection!

The Rimmel Violet Toilet Water perfume bottle is made of porcelain and dates from around 1866. It has an embossed wreath design on the side, flowers on the front and a baby on the back. It measures 4-3/4" tall and is on display in the drugstore at Perfume Passage.

This Rimmel perfumery print hangs on the wall in the lower level at Perfume Passage.

Penhaligon's

Choosing one’s signature scent is serious business, and lucky for us, Penhaligon’s has been scenting the world for over 150 years! The London- based perfume house was founded in the late 1860s by William Henry Penhaligon, a barber who became the Court Barber and Perfumer to Queen Victoria. The company still makes fragrances for royalty and perfume lovers.

The company's first scent was Hammam Bouquet, introduced in 1872. It's an Oriental woody fragrance for men, and the nose behind the scent was William Penhaligon. Notes include lavender, bergamot, rose, jasmine, cedar, musk, sandalwood and amber.

Today, Penhaligon's is owned by the Spanish fashion and fragrance company Puig International.

Grossmith

Another great British perfume house was Grossmith. Founded in London in 1835 by John Grossmith, they are one of England’s longest-established perfume houses. John’s son, John Lipscomb Grossmith, developed the company into an influential perfume house that manufactured a wide range of perfumes, oils, soaps, face powders and toiletries.

This photo of the Grossmith display was from the Brussels International Exhibition in 1897.

In the early 1900s, Grossmith formula books contained formulas for over 300 different items. Thanks to their products, creativity and innovative marketing, the company rivaled many of the best French perfume houses.

In 2011, Simon Brooke, the great-great-grandson of the founder, John Grossmith, was the keynote speaker at the International Perfume Bottle Association's annual convention. He spoke about the company's history, products and the discovery of original formulas and Baccarat bottles in 2006. He announced that his family had begun to restore Grossmith as a classic English perfume house that would once again produce some of the finest perfumes in the world.

Using the original formulas, the company "reintroduced" three classic fragrances: Hasu-no-Hana (1888), Phul-Nana (1891) and Shem-el-Nessim (1906).

Hasu-no-Hana, Shem-el-Nessim and Phul-Nana from the Grossmith Archives

Floris of London

Floris is the oldest English retailer of fragrances and toiletries. Also known as J. Floris Ltd., it's still family-owned and run by family members today. The company has been associated with British monarchs since Juan Famenias Floris arrived in England from his native island of Menorca, (one of Spain’s Balearic islands in the Mediterranean Sea) to seek his fortune.

Floris initially set up a barber shop and comb-maker business in central London shortly after he arrived in 1730. It's been said that he missed the aromas of the Mediterranean, and so, along with his wife Elizabeth, he began making and selling perfumes.

The current London store is on Jermyn Street, in the same building Juan Floris created the business. The store's mahogany counter was purchased from the Great Exhibition that was held at the Crystal Palace in 1851.

One of their earliest scents, the now-iconic Limes fragrance, was created by Juan Floris in 1740. It's a fresh and invigorating scent, created to combat the oppressive London summer heat. These images at Floris were taken in 2015 when members of the IPBA visited during the UK Chapter's conference.

Popular style Victorian perfume and scent bottles were made of glass and sterling. Sometimes figural in design, the bottles were purchased and then filled with the user's favorite scents. For collectors, documenting Victorian sterling perfumes is made easy, as most will have the English hallmarks that prove the history of the bottle.

The purpose of hallmarks, also called punchmarks, is to certify the metal purity of an item, so you know if it's gold, silver or platinum. Testing precious metals for purity is called “assaying." The small hallmarks are stamped on an item and will include a symbol for the assay office, manufacturers initials and a letter that will coincide with the date that the item was manufactured.

A book documenting hallmarks is a must for collectors, as they help tell the story of our treasures!

This 3-1/4" x 2-1/4" Victorian glass horseshoe-shaped perfume bottle has blue, red and black enamel, sterling mounts and a hinged jockey cap lid. It includes the hallmarks with the lion indicating the bottle is sterling, the London assay office symbol and the letter 'q' that dates the bottle to 1871.

The Victorian display in the Vault gallery includes this 8” cut glass perfume bottle with a screw off sterling dog head cap. He has red glass eyes and includes the English hallmarks dating it to 1896.

These two sterling perfume bottles have a nautical theme! The larger one measures 2" around and has the hallmarks for the Chester assay office, lion (sterling) and letter dating it to 1892.

The 1-1/2" perfume (above) includes a chain to hang from a chatelaine and a screw-off cap. It says Life Buoy on both sides with a detailed lion in the center. It has the hallmarks for the Chester assay office, lion (sterling), maker initials for the White & Reynolds company and letter dating it to 1902.

A beautiful sterling heart-shaped perfume holder (below) measures 3-1/2" x 2-1/2" and includes a detailed scroll design on both sides. It has a lift-up cap and a side hinge that opens to reveal the original green glass perfume bottle! It includes the hallmarks for the Birmingham assay office, lion (sterling) and letter dating it to 1905.

Victorian perfume bottles were also made of porcelain with beautiful florals, scenics or portraits. Many included a finger ring so a lady could dance the night away while carrying her favorite scent!

Cameo glass is generally considered Victorian, as the technique to produce the exquisite cameo glass perfume bottles was extremely popular in England during the Victorian era and in France in the early 1900s.

Cameo glass is a glassmaking process where several layers of colored glass are fused together, and the outer layers are removed to produce the finished product. The layers can be carved away using wheels, drills or acid-etching, where the finished product includes white opaque glass figures and motifs on a darker-colored glass background.

While the cameo technique has its roots tracing back to ancient Roman times, it was during the Victorian years that high-quality cameo glass perfumes flourished. Mythological scenes, portraits, birds, owls and swans graced the bottles produced by prominent English glassmakers including Thomas Webb and Sons, Stevens & Williams and Philip Pargeter. The vault gallery at Perfume Passage includes a display of beautiful Victorian cameo glass perfumes!

In the Victorian era, accessories such as bonnets, parasols, fans, handbags, chatelaines, vinaigrettes and jewelry often reflected a lady's social status. No well-dressed Victorian lady would ever leave their house without adding a variety of Victorian fashion accessories to their outfit!

Those in mourning followed significant mourning practices, wearing jewelry made of black-colored materials that usually included hair from their deceased loved one. Victorian men wore simple jewelry including cufflinks, watch chains, signet rings and often used ornate walking sticks or canes.

Perfume Passage has a variety of Victorian-era accessory items from Europe and the US that are included in displays throughout the galleries.

Chatelaines

Today we have pockets, backpacks, totes and fanny packs to hold our everyday necessities. However, from the 17th to the 20th centuries, chatelaines were an innovative and popular accessory item that allowed both women and men to carry a variety of items and were often worn as a fashion statement.

Chatelaine comes from the French word meaning "lady of the castle," as in medieval times, the lady of the castle wore a belt hook that she suspended her keys to the castle.

Today, when referring to a chatelaine, it includes the clip or pin that hangs from a lady's waist, along with the dangling chains with accessory items that are attached to the chains.

Chatelaines and their usefulness came in a variety of styles that followed the fashions and trends of the time period. They evolved from single rings and chains in the Middle Ages that allowed men to carry knives and weapons to ladies wearing them at dance balls in the mid-1800s, wearing fans, pencils with writing tablets, small purses, vinaigrettes, sewing implements and other household items suspended from several chains.

The chatelaine display in the Vault gallery at Perfume Passage includes several Victorian-era examples!

Vinaigrettes

We know early scents were often used to ward off disease and odors, so musk, ambergris and spices, among other ingredients, were often formed into a ball or apple shape and called "pomme d'ambre, "pomme de senteur" or musk ball.

The French name pomme d'ambre eventually became the word pomander, which describes the perfumed balls, along with other perforated containers such as vinaigrettes that were found hanging from chatelaines.

The Perfume Passage vinaigrette collection is on display in the Vault gallery. It includes these recently acquired sterling vinaigrettes.

The horn-shaped vinaigrette measures 4-1/2" x 1-1/2" and opens to reveal the vinaigrette area. It includes the London hallmarks for 1853.

The 2" barrel-shaped vinaigrette opens at both ends. It includes the English hallmarks for 1869 and for the well-known Sampson Mordan company.

Powder Jars

A Victorian lady's vanity table would have included a variety of dresser jars and trinkets. This beautiful 2" round, 1-1/2" tall Gorham glass dresser jar has an ornate sterling lid that features a man on a horse. It's engraved "Souvenir 175th DeKoven and Smith's Performance The Highwayman, April 13, 1898 Broadway Theatre Opera Company." The lid also has the name Andrew A. McCormick, Manager.

The Highwayman is a romantic comic opera in three acts with music by Reginald de Koven and a book and lyrics by Harry B. Smith. It was produced by the Broadway Theatre Opera Company at the Broadway Theatre in New York, beginning in 1897.

Perfume Buttons

Some perfume oils were known to stain clothing, and that was unacceptable to Victorian ladies. A smart solution was the manufacture of buttons that had a cloth base, often velvet, that could absorb fragrances. Adorned with metal floral designs, these buttons were both practical and stylish!

Produced across the US in the 1800s, scent buttons were all the rage not only here but also in France and England. During the Civil War, ladies would send their perfume buttons with soldiers heading into battle as a token of love and remembrance, and some were found in the pockets of soldiers.

These three buttons are larger and were most likely for a cape, coat or other heavier garment.

The four buttons below are smaller and were worn on a blouse, vest or short coat.

Today, these collectible buttons are popular in jewelry making as they are unique vintage items to hang from a necklace or bracelet. The growing perfume button collection is on display at Perfume Passage; if they could only talk...

Fans

Perfume fans were popular during the Victorian era and can refer to:

• fans that are perfumed
• fans that advertise perfumes or a perfume company
• fans that are perfumed and advertise perfumes or a perfume company

Hand fans have been around since the beginning of time, as palm leaves would have been used to fan the air. Over the years, many different types of hand fans were made as decorative and fashion accessories, in addition to being functional as a cooling device.

Perfumed fans, along with leather gloves, became popular during the reign of Catherine de Medici, a French and Italian noblewoman who was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 and married to King Henry II. In Grasse, France, the horrendous odor of the leather that was tanned with urine was problematic, and so local perfumers began using the flowers of the area and came to the rescue of the tanners, resulting in perfumed gloves and fans that became a must-have fashion accessory throughout Europe.

A Victorian fan in the Perfume Passage collection includes this 10-1/2" gold-tone fan below. It has a dangling urn-shaped perfume with a green stone on both sides. The paper fan opens to reveal ornate mother-of-pearl sticks with colorful detailed scenes of people on both sides. Amazing that it survived!

Canes and Walking Sticks

We know that a cane is a stick or short staff that is used to assist with walking. However, did you know that from the mid-1500s through the 1930s, especially during the Victorian era, canes were considered an accessory item that "proper" ladies and gentlemen wouldn't consider leaving the house without one.

Canes, also called walking sticks, weren't intended to be used as much as worn. They could be hand-carved from wood, bamboo, ivory, bone or animal horn. Sometimes they were made of porcelain, Bakelite (plastic), gold, silver or even glass. They could be enameled and embedded with gemstones.

Perfume Passage has a wonderful collection of canes and walking sticks that are on display, including those from the Victorian era.

This fantastic wooden walking stick has a 3" x 2-1/2" hinged cap featuring a devilish-looking jester! The detailed handle opens to reveal the vinaigrette area. It includes the London hallmarks dating it to 1883. Can you imagine the gent who walked some of the unsanitary streets of London, needing a pleasant whiff of scent that was held in his vinaigrette cane?

Jewelry

Victorian jewelry can be characterized by intricate designs, heavy symbolism and often focuses on sentimentality. The jewelry can be divided into three distinct periods: Romantic, Grand (mourning) and Aesthetic, each with its own style and themes. Throughout her reign, Queen Victoria's personal taste significantly influenced the trends of today's collectible Victorian jewelry.

During the Romantic period, Victorian jewelry included delicate designs, floral motifs and love themes. Following the death of Prince Albert in 1861, black materials such as jet and onyx were popular in creating mourning jewelry with intricate hairwork pieces.

The Aesthetic Victorian years, which spanned the late 1800s, included popular trends such as floral motifs, semi-precious stones like opals and turquoise and Egyptian and Asian themes in both jewelry and fashions.

Several pieces of Victorian jewelry, including the rings below, are part of the collection at Perfume Passage.

Both of these gold Victorian rings date from the mid to late 1800s and open to reveal a vinaigrette area. During the Victorian era, snakes symbolized eternal love, wisdom, rebirth and healing. Definitely appropriate motifs for a fragrance! The garnet cabochon ring includes rose-cut diamonds and opens to reveal an area for a perfumed-soaked cloth.

• A letter written by Florence Nightingale in 1863 to Mr. Floris, thanking him for his "beautiful sweet-smelling nosegays," is on display in the Floris London shop.

• While perfumes were an important part of Victorian life, many contained toxic ingredients that resulted in health issues. Some perfumes were made with mercury, which could be absorbed through the skin and lead to mercury poisoning. Scents also contained nitrobenzene, which is highly toxic and can cause skin irritation, respiratory problems and even liver damage. Despite the risks, Victorian ladies couldn't resist the allure of fragrance and regularly wore those poisonous perfumes!



This 3" porcelain powder jar shows a beautiful scene depicting the Victorian era Exhibition. Printed around the edge is "The Grand International Building of 1851 For the Exhibition of Art and Industry of All Nations." It's part of the World's Fair display at Perfume Passage.

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