Jasmin de Corse by Coty: launched in 1906. Corse refers to Corsica, Francois Coty's place of birth. Had a great following from the Russian princess, Tatiana Romanov and the French writer Colette who was enamored with the fragrance and wore it daily.
So what does it smell like? Coty Jasmin de Corse is an very sweet, heavy and lingering with indolic jasmine with smoky undertones.
A 1925 ad reads:
A 1926 ad reads:
Chemist & Druggist - Volume 126, 1937:
Other perfumers advised women to seek out perfume based on their personalities or moods rather than their looks. These marketing techniques worked and thousands of bottles of perfume were purchased, probably by those who needed to buy gifts for others or were unsure of what perfumes to wear.
Fragrance Composition:
So what does it smell like? Coty Jasmin de Corse is an very sweet, heavy and lingering with indolic jasmine with smoky undertones.
- Top notes: cassie, neroli
- Middle notes: jasmine, orange blossom, orris
- Base notes: civet, ambergris, ambrette, benzoin, castoreum
A 1925 ad reads:
"For the Woman of the Dreamy Elusive Type: Jasmine de Corse, La Jacinthe & Lilas Blanc."
"Jasmin de Corse - breathing of romance and dreams,poetic, illusive, - stirring the soul to exquisite longings."
Chemist & Druggist - Volume 126, 1937:
"All the natural, haunting fragrance of jasmin blossoms, without the heavy, overpowering effect sometimes encountered, has been captured in Le Jasmin de Corse, which is sweet, fresh and elusive."
In the 1920s and 1930s, it was customary for perfume companies to introduce the idea that women of certain complexion or hair color would be better suited to particular perfumes. Incidentally, perfumers said, blondes should wear light perfume, brunettes, heavy Oriental perfumes.
- For Blondes: Paris, L'Aimant, L'Effleurt, La Rose Jacqueminot & L'Or.
- For Brunettes: L'Aimant, L'Origan, Emeraude, Chypre, Ambréine, Fougeraie au Crépuscule, or Styx.
- For Red-Haired Women: Emeraude, Paris, L'Origan, L'Ambre Antique, Iris & Cyclamen.
Other perfumers advised women to seek out perfume based on their personalities or moods rather than their looks. These marketing techniques worked and thousands of bottles of perfume were purchased, probably by those who needed to buy gifts for others or were unsure of what perfumes to wear.
- For the Woman of Sunny Joyous Type: L'Effleurt, Muguet & Violette.
- For the Woman of the Dreamy Elusive Type: Jasmine de Corse, La Jacinthe & Lilas Blanc.
- For the Exotic Types: Chypre, Violette Pourpre, Ambre Antique
- For the Mysterious Types: Ambre Antique, Styx & Cyclamen
- For the Brilliant Sophisticated Temperaments: Emeraude, Paris, L'Origan
Bottles:
The little bottle below was used in the Coty chest or rack of perfume testers. The bottles are clear glass and the stoppers have a dauber at the end of the stopper plug. Each bottle stands 2.25" tall and was manufactured in France by the Depinoix glassworks. Both the wooden chest and the brass rack have a locking mechanism akin to a tantalus which prevents the bottles from being taken out. Only the stoppers of the bottles can be accessed. This device helped keep the bottles in place during travel as well.
Moth Stopper Parfum Flacon:
One of the first bottles used was the Rene Lalique designed bottle that featured the double moth/butterfly frosted glass stopper, patinated in brown. This bottle was originally designed by Lalique for the Coty fragrance Muguet (Lily of the Valley) in 1912, but was later used for almost all of the Coty fragrances. The flacon is a simple square shape, measuring slightly over 3" per side, with straight shoulders, slightly convex, an indented base, a small neck and a fancy molded stopper.
The Lalique flacons came in two sizes: 3.34" tall and 3.93" tall. The mark of a genuine Rene Lalique bottle is an impressed intaglio-molded long-tail L "LALIQUE" signature. See photo below. The bottle also has an elongated oval indentation in the center of the base. They were not marked "R. Lalique" so beware of fake signatures applied to old non-Lalique produced bottles.
In 1914, to save money, Coty commissioned Baccarat to make the flacons based on the original Lalique designs. This caused a falling out in the friendship which resulted in the two men not talking for 13 years. Eventually, the two friends made up and Lalique designed one last bottle for him in 1927. Baccarat started making the bottles in 1916, the bottle being mold number 307. These bottles have sloping shoulders, not as straight as those found on the Lalique flacons. These bottles should be acid marked Baccarat on the base. Like the Lalique flacons, the bottle also has an elongated oval indentation in the center of the base. The Baccarat bottle can be found standing at 3.25" tall. You can see this bottle pictured in the book "Baccarat: The perfume bottles" by Addor Press, 1986, as #307.
However, the Baccarat bottles also proved to be too expensive, and François Coty, who was excessively cheap, had the Lalique-copied bottles produced at his own glassworks. Like those by Baccarat, these bottles have sloping shoulders, not as straight as those found on the Lalique flacons. The bottles made at the Coty glassworks are marked "Coty" on the base either embossed in the glass or acid stamped. Unlike the Lalique and Baccarat examples, the Coty made bottle does not have the elongated oval indentation in the center of the base, presumably to cut costs. The Coty base is flat. The Coty marked bottle holds 1.6 oz of parfum and stands 3.25" tall, it was housed inside of a green leather covered box. Another size is 2.75" tall.
The beautiful moth stoppered bottle was finally discontinued in 1961.
Chain Cap Travel Bottle:
The bottle shown below has a gilded brass cap complete with its very own chain, I am dubbing it the Chain Cap Travel Flacon. The metal collar is marked with "Coty Paris." This bottle is the modified version of the Moth Stopper Parfum Flacon, which was the Rene Lalique designed bottle that featured the double moth frosted glass stopper. This bottle was originally designed by Lalique for the Coty fragrance Muguet in 1912, but was later used for almost all of the Coty fragrances. This bottle was also made by Baccarat in 1916, mold number 307. These bottles should be acid marked Baccarat on the base. The Baccarat bottle can be found standing at 3.25' tall. This was later made by Coty's own glassworks and will be marked "Coty" on the base.
The Moth Stopper Parfum Flacon's bottle shape was adapted in 1916 originally for L'Origan for travelling by the usage of an inner glass stopper and a gilt brass screw cap, this bottle was made by Baccarat, model number 291. In 1928, these flat, square shaped crystal bottles were available in French leather cases. These bottles held Emeraude, Ambre Antique, L'Aimant, L'Origan,Jasmin de Corse, Chypre, Paris, and possibly others.
A 1922 ad reads:
The perfume seems to have been sold until 1950 then discontinued.
In 2004, to celebrate the firm’s 100th anniversary, Henri Coty, François’s son, commissioned the re-creation of his father’s Jasmin de Corse perfume, to be housed inside a French crystal flacon. These were sold in a limited number of just 200 only available to the French Market, and the perfume was reformulated by Daphné Bugey. Bottom of the bottle is marked in raised letters, "Bottle Made In France". This bottle measures 2" tall x 1 1/4" square. Other perfumes in this limited edition set included: Emeraude, L'Origan, and La Rose Jacqueminot. The perfume set was celebrated with the launch of a book Coty: The Brand of Visionary by Editions Assouline.
"Coty's Jasmin de Corse, 1 oz cut crystal, gold cap and chain, regularly $7.00, now at $4.98."
Briar Stopper Flacon:
Rene Lalique designed this flacon in 1911, and it was later made by Coty's own glassworks after 1920. The clear glass bottle is tall, with a square base, and features a frosted glass stopper molded with the "briar" motif. The bottle was originally made to house the various Eau de Toilettes, but the design was later adapted to include different sizes including a miniature versions to house parfum. The most common miniature size is dubbed "Petite Modele" and debuted in 1936 and held 0.27 oz.
In the 1920s, the boxes had messages inside reminding the owners of the bottles that ""These exquisite crystal flacons are hand-cut in the Paris ateliers of COTY - Care must be taken in placing them on the dressing table to avoid breakage of the corners."
Sizes:
The parfum bottle was available in three sizes: 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz and 1 oz. The bottles were discontinued in 1932. The 1/4 oz bottle itself was discontinued in 1934.
Bottles stand:
Larger sizes of this bottle were also created for the boudoir, standing at 6" tall, 7.25" tall and 8" tall and hold Eau de Toilette. These bottles were also used for other Coty perfumes: Eau de Coty, L'Origan, Chypre, Paris, La Rose Jacqueminot and L'Aimant.
Heliotrope Flacon:
The "Heliotrope" flacon, also known as "Coty Perfume No. 14" was first made by Rene Lalique in 1911 for the Coty perfume Heliotrope. It is roughly a triangular shape with canted corners along the bottom. The bottle was used for various Coty fragrances: Emeraude, L'Aimant, L'Origan, Styx, Chypre, Muguet, Jacinthe, Jasmin de Corse, La Rose Jacqueminot, and Paris.
Rene Lalique designed this flacon in 1911, and it was later made by Coty's own glassworks after 1920. The clear glass bottle is tall, with a square base, and features a frosted glass stopper molded with the "briar" motif. The bottle was originally made to house the various Eau de Toilettes, but the design was later adapted to include different sizes including a miniature versions to house parfum. The most common miniature size is dubbed "Petite Modele" and debuted in 1936 and held 0.27 oz.
In the 1920s, the boxes had messages inside reminding the owners of the bottles that ""These exquisite crystal flacons are hand-cut in the Paris ateliers of COTY - Care must be taken in placing them on the dressing table to avoid breakage of the corners."
Sizes:
- 2" tall miniature (0.13 oz)
- 2.5" tall miniature (0.27 oz) - Petite Modele
- 3" tall (0.60 oz)
- 4" tall
- 4.25" tall (1.70 oz)
- 5" tall
- 5.25" tall (3 oz)
- 5.5" tall
- 6" tall
- 6.25" tall
- 6.5" tall
- 8.75" tall
Banded Bottles with Frosted Stoppers:
The bottle has an embossed band along the upper part and a frosted glass stopper molded with flowers and ridge details. People have mistakenly attributed this bottle to both Lalique and Baccarat, however, the bottle does not appear in either companies catalogs and was not one of their molds. It was made by Coty's own glassworks in France.
Bottles stand:
- 2.25" tall - 1/4 oz
- 2.75" tall - 1/2 oz
- 3.75" tall - 1 oz
Larger sizes of this bottle were also created for the boudoir, standing at 6" tall, 7.25" tall and 8" tall and hold Eau de Toilette. These bottles were also used for other Coty perfumes: Eau de Coty, L'Origan, Chypre, Paris, La Rose Jacqueminot and L'Aimant.
- 3 oz bottle.
Etui a Cigarette Presentation:
Also introduced in 1927, was the Etui a Cigarette presentation. Bottle stands 3 1/8" tall and is molded with Coty France on the base as it was made at Coty's own glassworks.
Metal Case (Etui Metal) Parfum Bottles:
A nice purse size bottle set was created and presented in your choice of a crackle finished or a platinum tone nickel hinged metal case around 1928. The bottle used was the banded bottle with the frosted glass stopper. The case stands 2 3/4" tall. It was invented by Philip A. Reutter and manufactured by Scoville Manufacturing Co. These containers were discontinued in 1933, when a new case was introduced, it was a rectangular shape.
Non-Banded Flacons with Frosted Stoppers:
Other bottle could be found with the frosted stoppers, this thin, rectangular 2.5 oz bottle probably held Eau de Toilette. The label reads "Jasmin de Corse Composition Originale de Coty Contenance Garantie 40 dr égale au flacon de luxe." (Corsican Jasmine Original Composition by Coty Guaranteed Capacity 40 dr equal to the luxury bottle.) Bottles and boxes were shipped to the USA to be filled. These bottles were filled in the United States using Coty's imported perfume extracts and domestic alcohol. The label message was used from at least 1913 to around 1937. It was trademarked in 1924.
The "Heliotrope" flacon, also known as "Coty Perfume No. 14" was first made by Rene Lalique in 1911 for the Coty perfume Heliotrope. It is roughly a triangular shape with canted corners along the bottom. The bottle was used for various Coty fragrances: Emeraude, L'Aimant, L'Origan, Styx, Chypre, Muguet, Jacinthe, Jasmin de Corse, La Rose Jacqueminot, and Paris.
Airspun Face Powder:
Bottles from the 1950s Period:
Fate of the Fragrance:
In 2004, to celebrate the firm’s 100th anniversary, Henri Coty, François’s son, commissioned the re-creation of his father’s Jasmin de Corse perfume, to be housed inside a French crystal flacon. These were sold in a limited number of just 200 only available to the French Market, and the perfume was reformulated by Daphné Bugey. Bottom of the bottle is marked in raised letters, "Bottle Made In France". This bottle measures 2" tall x 1 1/4" square. Other perfumes in this limited edition set included: Emeraude, L'Origan, and La Rose Jacqueminot. The perfume set was celebrated with the launch of a book Coty: The Brand of Visionary by Editions Assouline.
No comments:
Post a Comment