Our Artifact Corner today takes a sniff of a Victorian perfume bottle.
www.kentdelordhouse.org/
Hi Everyone and welcome back to another artifact corner. Today we will be looking at a lovely little bottle that was tucked away in our Cumberland Bay Works room. This was the room
where Fannie Delord Webb Hall would treat the sick of Plattsburgh. Upon her passing she left a myriad of medicines behind, many of them dating from the Victorian and early Edwardian
period. This lovely little bottle, complete with it’s paper label stands out because it is for cologne, not medicine. Could this have been worn by Fannie or Frank? Let’s learn a bit more about the history of cologne.
Eau de cologne means "Water from Cologne" or simply cologne is a perfume originating from Cologne, Germany. Eau de cologne is a lighter fragrance blend of 2% - 4% perfume oils in
alcohol and water, invented in the 18th century by Italian perfumer Giovanni Maria Farina for the royal courts of Europe. The word ‘cologne’ comes from the German city of Cologne, where
Farnia was living at the time of his invention. Now, is cologne considered a perfume? Could it have been worn by both men and women? According to the company Ckzech & Speake of
London, yes. “Perfume is a general term for a substance that gives a pleasant smell to one’s body, therefore cologne is a type of perfume that is typically fresh and citrusy in character due to a lower percentage of scented essential oils.” So, this fragrance could have belonged to either Frank or Fannie.
So, what did this Eau de cologne smell like? Well, in 1708, Farina wrote to his brother Jean Baptiste: "I have found a fragrance that reminds me of an Italian spring morning, of mountain daffodils and orange blossoms after the rain.” Farina perfected the art of manufacturing a scent that was so consistent, that each bottle smelled the same, a marvel for the time. The Original Eau de Cologne 4711 is named after its location at Glockengasse No. 4711. It was also developed in the 18th century by Wilhelm Mülhens and produced in Cologne since at least 1799 and is therefore probably one of the oldest fragrances still produced in the world. On 12 December 2006, the perfumes and cosmetics company Mäurer & Wirtz took over 4711 from Procter & Gamble and has expanded it to a whole brand since then. So, you can actually purchase this eau de cologne today! This is the description given of the scent: “Tart and fresh citrus create a lovely blend of scents when you experience the fragrance of 4711 Cologne. Top notes of orange, bergamot, lemon and grapefruit swirl into a mix of heart notes that includes rosemary and rose. Bold base notes of musk, petitgrain, sandalwood and neroli give it a smooth finish.” It sounds like a lovely scent, and as of the time of writing this, you can
purchase a bottle of it for around $30 US dollars. I just purchased a bottle, and if you would like to know if it actually smells like an Italian Spring morning, just leave me a comment below.
Our bottle is in quite excellent condition. In doing the research for this video, I could not find any others with their paper labels still intact. The bottle also still contains the original cork, which sadly does not smell. It would be nice to do a comparison with the modern version of the perfume. It is a gorgeous little bottle, with a big history, and we are so lucky to have it in our collections. Thanks so much for stopping by!
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Sunny Morning by MusicLFiles
Free download: filmmusic.io/song/7813-sunny-...
License (CC BY 4.0): filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/m...