Introduced in 1923, Le Jade by Roger et Gallet was subtitled "The Precious Perfume," a name that perfectly captured the spirit of an era captivated by luxury, exoticism, and modern elegance. More than simply a fragrance, Le Jade represented the growing fascination with rare gemstones, Asian decorative arts, and refined craftsmanship that defined the early Art Deco movement. At a time when perfume houses sought to transport their clientele through both scent and imagination, Roger et Gallet chose a name that immediately suggested beauty, mystery, permanence, and exceptional value.
Founded in Paris in 1862 by Armand Roger and Charles Gallet, Roger et Gallet quickly earned an international reputation for producing fine soaps, perfumes, and toilet preparations of exceptional quality. The firm became especially celebrated for its beautifully presented gift boxes, luxurious scented soaps, and elegant eaux de Cologne, earning royal warrants from numerous European courts and supplying aristocrats, diplomats, and fashionable society around the world. Throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Roger et Gallet developed a reputation for combining French perfumery with artistic presentation, making the house synonymous with refinement, sophistication, and understated luxury.
The name Le Jade translates simply as "The Jade." While straightforward in meaning, the words carried powerful associations in the 1920s. Jade is a hard ornamental stone composed primarily of either jadeite or nephrite, valued for thousands of years throughout China, Burma (now Myanmar), Central America, and other parts of the world. The finest imperial jadeite, prized for its vivid emerald-green color, originated largely from the jade mines of northern Burma before being carved by master Chinese artisans into jewelry, sculptures, ceremonial objects, and treasured heirlooms. For centuries jade symbolized purity, wisdom, nobility, protection, prosperity, and immortality. Unlike diamonds, whose value lay in brilliance, jade was admired for its smooth, silky translucence and its almost living depth of color, qualities that suggested serenity and quiet luxury rather than ostentatious display.
By the early 1920s, jade had become one of the defining gemstones of the emerging Art Deco movement. Following increased trade with Asia and the growing popularity of Chinese decorative arts, jade jewelry became highly fashionable among European and American elites. Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Boucheron, and other prestigious jewelers incorporated carved jade plaques, beads, pendants, and cabochons into their newest creations, often pairing them with diamonds, onyx, coral, and platinum in striking geometric designs. Fashion magazines regularly featured jade necklaces, cigarette cases, vanity accessories, and carved ornaments, while collectors eagerly sought authentic Chinese carvings. To the fashionable woman of 1923, jade represented modern cosmopolitan taste, world travel, artistic sophistication, and access to rare luxuries from distant cultures.
The title Le Jade would have immediately evoked rich visual imagery. One imagines polished green gemstones glowing beneath soft light, intricately carved Chinese screens, lacquered cabinets, silk embroidered robes, carved ivory fans, black lacquer, polished ebony, and sumptuous jewel boxes lined with satin. The name suggests cool elegance balanced with hidden warmth, restraint coupled with quiet sensuality, and beauty that improves with age. Unlike dramatic names emphasizing romance or passion, Le Jade conveyed enduring refinement and cultivated taste. It promised not simply an attractive fragrance but something rare, timeless, and precious—a perfume worthy of being treasured like a gemstone.
Le Jade appeared during one of the most dynamic periods in modern history. The year 1923 fell within the vibrant Roaring Twenties, known in France as the Années Folles, or "Crazy Years." Europe was rebuilding after the devastation of the First World War, and a renewed optimism encouraged innovation in nearly every aspect of life. Cities flourished with jazz clubs, cafés, cinemas, motorcars, ocean travel, and electric lighting, while technological advances transformed daily living. Paris once again became the unquestioned center of fashion, luxury goods, fine jewelry, cosmetics, and perfumery, attracting artists, designers, writers, and wealthy travelers from around the world.
Women's fashion was undergoing a remarkable transformation. Corsets gradually disappeared, hemlines rose, waistlines dropped, and clothing adopted straighter, more relaxed silhouettes that allowed greater freedom of movement. Short bobbed hairstyles, cloche hats, silk stockings, long pearl necklaces, beaded evening dresses, and geometric jewelry became symbols of the fashionable modern woman. Cosmetics were increasingly accepted as an essential part of feminine elegance, and perfume evolved from an occasional luxury into an indispensable finishing touch. A woman's fragrance became an extension of her personality, communicating sophistication, confidence, and worldly refinement.
Perfumery itself was entering a golden age of creativity. Advances in organic chemistry had greatly expanded the perfumer's palette, allowing natural floral absolutes to be combined with newly developed aroma molecules that produced unprecedented depth, diffusion, and longevity. Rather than striving only to imitate flowers, perfumers began composing abstract artistic creations in which florals intertwined with woods, balsams, musks, vanilla, and amber materials to evoke moods, places, and emotions. The immense success of fragrances such as Coty's L'Origan (1905), Houbigant's Quelques Fleurs (1912), Guerlain's L'Heure Bleue (1912), and, soon after, Shalimar (1925), reflected consumers' growing desire for rich, sophisticated perfumes that lingered gracefully on the skin.
Within this context, Le Jade fit comfortably into the evolving tastes of the early 1920s while offering its own distinctive personality. Classified as a floral oriental, it combined luminous floral notes with warm woods, powdery nuances, and an ambery foundation—a structure that was becoming increasingly fashionable during the decade. Yet Roger et Gallet distinguished the fragrance by emphasizing hyacinth as its dominant note. Contemporary descriptions called it "Fresh and heady. Dominant note: hyacinth." This pairing of freshness with intoxicating richness created an intriguing contrast. Hyacinth possesses a unique character—cool, green, dewy, and springlike, yet simultaneously lush and narcotic. In Le Jade, it likely acted as the polished "gemstone" at the heart of the composition, lending brilliance and clarity before melting into warmer floral and oriental notes.
To a woman in 1923, a perfume named Le Jade would have suggested cultured elegance rather than overt sensuality. It would have appealed to someone who admired fine jewelry, appreciated Parisian couture, and embraced the modern artistic influences arriving from Asia. Wearing Le Jade was akin to adorning oneself with a carved jade pendant or an exquisitely crafted Art Deco bracelet—it was a subtle statement of discernment and sophistication. The fragrance's title implied that true luxury was not loud or extravagant but enduring, beautifully crafted, and quietly precious.
Interpreted purely as a scent, the name Le Jade suggests freshness with depth, cool translucence balanced by hidden warmth, polished elegance rather than sweetness, and a graceful floral heart resting upon smooth woods and glowing amber. One imagines the crisp green facets of newly carved jade softened by velvety petals, creamy woods, and luminous resins, producing a fragrance that feels refined, tranquil, and enduring. The name itself prepares the wearer for a perfume that is precious not because it overwhelms, but because it reveals its beauty gradually, much like the gemstone that inspired it.
Although Le Jade reflected many of the prevailing artistic and olfactory trends of the early 1920s, it was by no means merely another fashionable oriental floral. Its jewel-inspired identity, association with the rapidly growing popularity of jade in Art Deco jewelry, and unusual emphasis on the cool, green elegance of hyacinth gave it a distinctive character within the marketplace. Rather than competing through dramatic exoticism alone, Roger et Gallet created a fragrance that united contemporary luxury, artistic taste, and modern femininity into a perfume that felt both fashionable and enduring—truly deserving of its subtitle, "The Precious Perfume."
Fragrance Composition:
So what does it smell like? Le Jade is classified as a floral oriental (oriental floral) with citrus, powdery, and woody facets. By modern terminology, it also borders on an amber floral, but in the 1920s the term oriental would have been the one used by perfumers and the perfume trade.
- Top notes: bergamot oil, neroli oil, lime oil, clary sage, amyl valerianate, benzyl propionate, hyacinthine, styrolene acetate
- Middle notes: orange blossom, terpineol, jasmine absolute, rose absolute, geranyl acetate, French heliotrope, cinnamic alcohol, phenylacetaldehyde, heliotropin
- Base notes: Mysore sandalwood, patchouli. Bourbon vetiver, ambergris, ambrette, tonka bean, coumarin, vanilla, vanillin, benzoin, labdanum, storax, civet. musk, musk xylene, musk ketone, bois de rose oil
Scent Profile:
Le Jade unfolds with remarkable sophistication, capturing the elegance of the early Art Deco period in scent. Classified in its own day as a floral oriental, it is built upon radiant citrus oils, an opulent floral bouquet, creamy oriental woods, glowing balsams, and sensual musks. To modern noses, it might equally be described as an amber floral, but its architecture belongs unmistakably to the grand French perfumes of the 1920s, when perfumers balanced precious natural materials with the newest aroma chemicals to create fragrances of extraordinary beauty and longevity. Every ingredient contributes to a carefully orchestrated progression, each revealing another facet of the composition much as light reveals the changing depths within a finely polished piece of jade.
The perfume opens with an exhilarating brilliance. The first impression comes from bergamot oil, traditionally produced in Calabria, Italy, where the mild Mediterranean climate yields the world's finest fruit. Calabrian bergamot possesses a uniquely refined aroma—sparkling and citrusy yet softened by delicate floral nuances and a faint bitterness that lends remarkable elegance. Bergamot from other growing regions often lacks this exquisite balance, making the Italian variety the gold standard for perfumery. It immediately imparts freshness while providing the sophisticated lift that has defined countless French perfumes for centuries.
Alongside it glows neroli oil, distilled from the blossoms of the bitter orange tree. The finest neroli traditionally came from Tunisia, Morocco, and southern France, each region producing flowers with slightly different personalities. Tunisian neroli is particularly prized for its luminous balance of honeyed sweetness, fresh greenery, delicate citrus, and airy white florals. Rather than smelling heavy or indolic, it feels almost translucent, like sunlight filtering through white blossoms after a spring rain. The inclusion of neroli immediately introduces refinement while quietly foreshadowing the richer orange blossom heart waiting beneath.
A flash of lime oil adds a crisp sparkle that feels almost effervescent. Unlike lemon, lime possesses a greener, sharper freshness that gives the opening an energetic vitality. In the 1920s this brightness would have suggested cleanliness, sophistication, and modernity rather than casual freshness. The citrus accord is further softened by clary sage, whose silvery-green herbal aroma combines lavender-like freshness with subtle tea, hay, and tobacco facets. Clary sage prevents the citrus from becoming merely bright; instead, it gives the opening an aromatic elegance and a velvety texture that gently eases the transition toward the floral heart.
Several of the opening materials were among the modern aroma chemicals that transformed perfumery during the early twentieth century. Amyl valerianate contributes fruity nuances reminiscent of crisp apples, ripe pears, and faintly wine-like fruit, lending natural citrus oils a juicy realism that extraction alone could not achieve. Benzyl propionate adds sweet pear, jasmine, and soft tropical fruit tones that enrich both the citrus and floral notes, smoothing the transition between them. These synthetic molecules do not replace nature but amplify it, filling aromatic gaps that natural materials leave behind while greatly improving diffusion and longevity.
The cool floral shimmer of the opening comes from Hyacinthine, an entirely synthetic material created because the true hyacinth flower yields virtually no essential oil suitable for commercial perfumery. Fresh hyacinths release their intoxicating perfume only while alive, making extraction impractical. Hyacinthine recreates that elusive fragrance with remarkable accuracy, capturing cool green stems, moist earth, crushed leaves, fresh petals, and the faint peppery sweetness unique to spring hyacinths. It provides Le Jade with the dominant floral impression described in contemporary advertisements, creating an illusion of living blossoms rather than extracted perfume. Supporting this is Styrolene Acetate, another synthetic ingredient valued for its fresh green floral character, contributing hints of newly opened leaves and translucent blossoms while increasing the brilliance and diffusion of the floral accord. Together these molecules produce a freshness that nature alone could never sustain throughout the perfume's development.
As the sparkling introduction softens, the fragrance blossoms into an opulent floral heart centered upon luminous white flowers. Orange blossom, richer and more narcotic than neroli because it is extracted rather than distilled, surrounds the wearer with creamy honeyed sweetness touched by delicate green facets. It is accompanied by terpineol, an aroma molecule naturally present in many essential oils but also produced synthetically for perfumery. Terpineol smells of lilacs, lily of the valley, pine needles, and cool floral air. It acts as a bridge, gently connecting the citrus opening to the sumptuous floral bouquet while giving the composition an airy, radiant quality impossible to achieve through natural oils alone.
The soul of the perfume lies within its precious floral absolutes. Jasmine absolute, likely sourced from Grasse in southern France or Egypt, possesses extraordinary richness. Grasse jasmine, harvested before dawn while each blossom remains tightly closed, is celebrated for its velvety balance of fruity sweetness, tea-like warmth, creamy petals, and subtle animalic undertones. Egyptian jasmine tends to be richer and more narcotic, yet both varieties remain among the most treasured materials in perfumery. Jasmine absolute introduces intoxicating sensuality without overwhelming the composition.
Beside it blooms rose absolute, almost certainly derived from either the celebrated Rosa centifolia of Grasse or the famed Bulgarian Rosa damascena cultivated in the Valley of Roses. Bulgarian rose is renowned for its remarkable complexity, offering honey, lemon, spice, fresh petals, and warm wine-like richness simultaneously, while the Grasse rose is softer, fruitier, and more velvety. Together with jasmine, rose forms one of perfumery's most enduring classical accords, providing elegance, romance, and timeless femininity.
Several supporting aroma chemicals enrich these natural flowers. Geranyl acetate smells of fresh roses touched by lavender and crisp pear, brightening the rose accord while extending its freshness. French heliotrope, traditionally recreated rather than distilled, contributes a soft powdery aroma reminiscent of almonds, marzipan, vanilla, and violet petals. Like hyacinth, heliotrope flowers produce almost no usable essential oil, making synthetic reconstruction essential. Heliotropin, also known as piperonal, supplies the familiar creamy almond-vanilla sweetness that defines heliotrope fragrances. It creates the silky powder effect so beloved in classic French perfumes, lending the heart an unmistakable cosmetic elegance.
Cinnamic alcohol introduces a warm floral-spicy nuance that recalls carnations lightly dusted with cinnamon while deepening the floral bouquet. Phenylacetaldehyde, another remarkable synthetic molecule, contributes fresh honey, green hyacinth, and spring flowers with astonishing realism. It reinforces both the hyacinth accord established in the opening and the honeyed character of the orange blossom, making the entire floral heart appear more vibrant and alive. These carefully chosen aroma chemicals never dominate the composition; instead, they magnify the beauty of the costly natural absolutes, allowing the flowers to bloom with greater realism, projection, and longevity.
As the florals slowly settle, Le Jade reveals its luxurious oriental foundation. Mysore sandalwood, harvested from the forests of Karnataka in southern India, was universally regarded as the finest sandalwood available during the early twentieth century. Rich in natural santalols, genuine Mysore sandalwood possesses an incomparable creaminess unlike the drier Australian species or the sharper New Caledonian varieties. Its aroma suggests warm polished wood, sweet cream, soft milk, and quiet incense, enveloping the fragrance in velvety smoothness. Because of overharvesting, true Mysore sandalwood is now extraordinarily rare, making vintage perfumes containing it especially prized.
Earthy richness comes from patchouli, traditionally imported from Indonesia, particularly Sumatra. Well-aged patchouli loses much of its harsh camphoraceous edge, revealing warm chocolate, polished wood, damp forest earth, and subtle sweetness. Beside it stands Bourbon vetiver, cultivated on the island of Réunion, formerly known as Île Bourbon. Bourbon vetiver is considered one of the finest expressions of the plant, softer and smoother than the smokier Haitian variety or the earthier Javanese type. Its aroma evokes sun-warmed roots, dry grasses, cedarwood, faint citrus, and cool mineral earth, providing elegant dryness that balances the sweeter oriental materials.
The perfume's unmistakable oriental character is built upon a glowing accord of precious resins. Ambergris, one of history's most legendary perfume ingredients, originated as a rare secretion produced by sperm whales and matured after floating for years upon the ocean. Properly aged ambergris smells surprisingly little like the sea; instead it evokes warm skin, soft tobacco, sweet hay, marine air, and radiant warmth. Rather than dominating the fragrance, ambergris acts almost magically, enhancing the diffusion and longevity of every surrounding note while lending the perfume an almost living warmth.
Ambrette, the aromatic seed of Abelmoschus moschatus, provides the closest natural substitute for animal musk. Its fragrance combines pear-like fruitiness, soft suede, warm skin, and gentle muskiness with delicate wine-like nuances. Unlike harsher animal musks, ambrette feels refined, silky, and luminous.
The sweetness of the base comes from tonka bean, harvested primarily in Venezuela and Brazil. Rich in naturally occurring coumarin, tonka smells of warm almonds, vanilla, fresh-cut hay, tobacco, cinnamon, and caramelized sugar. Coumarin itself, first synthesized in the nineteenth century, became one of perfumery's revolutionary aroma chemicals. Although naturally present in tonka, it was far more practical to manufacture synthetically, allowing perfumers to intensify the comforting hay-like sweetness while preserving precious natural tonka for nuance. Together, tonka and coumarin create the soft powdery warmth that lingers beautifully on the skin.
Vanilla, traditionally derived from cured orchid pods grown in Madagascar or Réunion, contributes creamy richness with subtle facets of tobacco, spice, and dried fruit. Natural vanilla is extraordinarily complex, containing hundreds of aromatic molecules. Vanillin, first synthesized in the late nineteenth century, isolates vanilla's principal sweet note, allowing perfumers to amplify its comforting warmth without requiring enormous quantities of natural extract. The marriage of natural vanilla and synthetic vanillin creates a deeper, fuller sweetness than either could provide alone.
The glowing amber accord continues through benzoin, a resin obtained from trees in Siam (Thailand) or Sumatra. Siam benzoin is especially prized for its creamy vanilla-like sweetness and soft balsamic warmth, while Sumatran benzoin is smokier and more resinous. Labdanum, collected from the sticky leaves of Mediterranean rockrose shrubs, contributes rich amber, leather, dried herbs, warm honey, and sun-baked earth. It forms the backbone of countless oriental fragrances, giving depth and remarkable persistence. Storax, obtained from trees native to Asia Minor, lends a balsamic aroma touched with smoky leather, cinnamon, and warm resin, enriching the darker facets of the oriental accord.
The final whisper of Le Jade rests upon a remarkably sophisticated blend of animalic materials. Civet, historically obtained from the African civet cat, contributes surprisingly little of the unpleasant odor associated with its raw form. When diluted to perfumery strength, civet smells warmly sensual—soft skin, warm fur, and intimate human warmth—giving floral perfumes extraordinary richness and naturalness. Natural musk, once obtained from the musk deer of Central Asia, offered an equally radiant skin-like warmth, but because of ethical and conservation concerns it has long since been abandoned.
To complement these precious natural materials, perfumers employed the finest synthetic musks of the era. Musk xylene, introduced in the late nineteenth century, possesses a warm, powdery sweetness that blooms beautifully over many hours, reinforcing the comforting softness of tonka and vanilla. Musk ketone, introduced shortly afterward, is cleaner, creamier, and more radiant, creating an almost luminous aura around the entire perfume. These synthetic musks extended longevity enormously while enhancing the sensual qualities of ambergris, ambrette, civet, and natural musk, producing a drydown that seemed to melt seamlessly into the wearer's skin.
Finally, a delicate touch of bois de rose oil, distilled from the rosewood trees of the Amazon Basin—particularly Brazil—adds one last veil of polished elegance. Rosewood oil possesses a uniquely refined aroma combining fresh rose petals, pale woods, lavender, and gentle citrus. It softens the transition between the floral heart and the creamy sandalwood base, ensuring that the perfume never feels heavy despite its richness.
The finished composition is one of remarkable harmony. Brilliant citrus and cool green hyacinth open the fragrance like sunlight reflecting from a polished jade carving. A luxurious bouquet of orange blossom, jasmine, rose, and powdery heliotrope unfolds with effortless grace, supported by innovative aroma chemicals that make the flowers appear almost impossibly lifelike. Beneath them lies a glowing oriental foundation of genuine Mysore sandalwood, ambergris, rare resins, creamy vanilla, soft musks, and warm woods that lingers for hours with quiet sophistication. It is a perfume that perfectly embodies the elegance of 1923—modern yet timeless, radiant yet restrained, luxurious without excess—its beauty revealed gradually, like the changing depths of the precious gemstone for which it was named.
The Spur, 1923:
"For the Roger and Gallet new perfume, Le Jade, which has caught the fancy of all the fastidious fashionables, Lalique designed a crackled glass bottle and for this there is a box covered with a very modern design showing green love birds on a black and gold ground. Narkiss comes in a lovable round bottle, on both sides of which the petals of the narcissus and their markings are cut in the glass. The extract Flausia is in a frosted bottle on which a nymph most exquisitely carved is seen kneeling with her long hair and a little tulle furnishing a costume. For Perfumery La Cigalia, the stopper of the bottle has the lines typical of the grasshopper or locust's wing, and each corner of the flacon is cut out to represent Mr. Locust with his long wings folded and looking for all the world as though he were trying to prove his resemblance to a lady of the smart set wearing a brand new opera cloak of narrow silhouette cut from fabric with an etched design."
Vanity Fair, 1923:
The Pharmaceutical Era, 1924:
"The announcement in Paris of a new fragrance by Roger & Gallet, favored perfumers of the world's most beautiful women, is an artistic event....Jade is the color and, in precious stones, the personal decoration of the day."Spur, 1923:
"For the Roger and Gallet new perfume Le Jade which has caught the fancy of all the fastidious fashionables Lalique designed a crackled glass bottle and for this there is a box covered with a very modern design showing green love birds on a black and gold ground."
The Pharmaceutical Era, 1924:
"The second room is a shrine for the new odor Le Jade — and the gold walls with bizarre green and black and gold ceiling ... The large size bottles of the Le Jade perfume are of crackled glass, which is an innovation in the world of perfume. The pale green of the perfume..."
"Le Jade by Roger et Gallet: Fresh and heady. Dominant note: hyacinth."
Product Line (1923):
- 4926 Perfume Extract
- 4920 Soap
- 4921 Face Powder
- 4929 Lotion, large size
- 4930 Lotion, small size
- 4936 Eau de Toilette
- 4938 Crystallized Brilliantine
- 4934 Alcohol-free Liquid Brilliantine
- 501 Perfumed Talc
- 4960 Box: 2 Perfume Extracts
- 4961 Box: 1 Perfume Extract, 1 Soap
- 4962 Box: 1 Perfume Extract, 1 Powder
- 4963 Box: 1 Perfume Extract, 1 Powder, 1 Soap
Bottles:
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| image enhanced & colorized by Grace Hummel/Cleopatra's Boudoir. |
Another fine bottle is the crackle glass flacon which is shown in several advertisements, a smaller bottle was created but does not have the crackle appearance.
The
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| Roger & Gallet's "Le Jade" (1923) was presented in elegant oval flask-shaped bottles of clear molded pressed glass with a distinctive crackle finish, adorned with charming bird-illustrated labels and fitted with either a glass coffee-bean stopper or a metal dropper stopper, measuring 13 cm and 15 cm in height. |
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| RRoger & Gallet’s “Le Jade” (1923) was presented in two oval-section bottles of colorless pressed-molded glass, shaped as flat flasks with tall necks, fitted with frosted glass flame-shaped stoppers and green bird-decorated labels, one example bearing the molded signature R. Lalique, and measuring 13.5 cm and 8.5 cm in height. |
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| Powder tin produced by Metal Package Corporation Co.(1929) |
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| image colorized, restored and enhanced by Grace Hummel/Cleopatra's Boudoir. |
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Tall, upright rectangular shaped clear and frosted glass bottle, with a molded circular pattern frieze around the upper part of the bottle. The bottle is fitted with a stair stepped molded glass stopper. The bottle is in the Lalique style, but was not made by Lalique. This style of bottle was used for other Roger et Gallet perfumes such as Feu Follet, Oeillet Carnation, Santalia, Fleurs D"Amour, Pavots d’Argent, Innuendo, Souvent Femme Varie, and Partir.
This bottle style came in five sizes: 4 oz, 2 oz, 1 oz, ½ oz and ¼ oz.
- The 4 oz size measures 4.25"tall x 1.75" and held Eau de Toilette.
- The one ounce size measures 3” tall by 1-⅛” wide.
- The half ounce size measures 2.5” tall.
- The quarter ounce size was available in two forms, one is topped with a glass stopper meant for the boudoir (2” tall x 1” wide) and the other was topped with a brass cap meant to be carried in the purse.
Fate of the Fragrance:
Discontinued, date unknown. The perfume was still being sold in 1962
