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1906-1910 California Tooth Wash!
 Embossed lettering on rear panel of the bottle: California Tooth Wash ~1906-1910 The above pictured 1906-1910 California Tooth Wash is a truly phenomenal discovery! To date, this is the only known example of this extraordinary California Perfume Company item. So, my first question to you, the reader, is: do you know of any others? If you do, please let me know. Please drop me an e-mail addressed to russell (at) californiaperfumecompany.net. In watching e-Bay--obsessively--from 1999 until now, mid-2010, I have noted, maybe, five to ten tooth wash bottles--with the same bottle design--come up for auction. None of those bottles had/retained any portion of their original front panel or neck labels. To me, one of the most interesting points of this find is: who in the world would keep a used tooth wash bottle for over 100 years? It isn't pretty. I highly doubt that this piece is someone's "family heirloom". It doesn't even have ANY of its original contents nor its cork and metal crown stoppers (see picture to the above right--taken from a 1909 CPC catalog.) The moral of this story is that even today, rare and previously un-photographed CPCs are STILL being discovered! For a small bit of historical context: the California Tooth Wash was a 1899 or 1900 addition to the tooth products line up. The CPC's earliest catalogs do not illustrate the California Tooth Wash, only a written description is provided (for an example, see page 47 of the 1906 CPC Catalog). The 1908 through 1910 catalogs (see the Library section of this web site) all use the same illustration as depicted above (right). Please note that the labels depicted in the illustration and the label on the actual tooth wash bottle (above left) both have the 1906 Food and Drug Act guarantee--dating the piece at 1906 and later. By comparison, the next iteration of this product drops the Eureka trademark and begins using the CPC Chain (or football as some collectors like to call it) trademark around 1911-1912. Also, the earlier iteration of the California Tooth Wash, from 1899-1905, probably has the exact same label as depicted above, only without the 1906 Food and Drug Act information (much the same as the Lavender Salts and Flavoring Extracts of that period.) Happy hunting! If you have any comments, please contact me at russell (at) californiaperfumecompany.net! |
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Goetting & Co., New York Carnation Pink Perfume
One of the greatest pleasures that this web site has offered over the years is the wonderful opportunity to connect with people literally around the globe to share CPC and Avon collecting stories, pass pictures of new discoveries, and link up with new and old collector friends, associates, and acquaintances. My vision for the site has always been that it may be a continually expanding electronic encyclopedia of the California Perfume Company...and with the discovery of D. H. McConnell's other business endeavors, the 'well of collecting possibilities' got a whole lot deeper: Goetting & Co., New York, the Mutual Mfg. Co., New York, the D. H. McConnell Company, New York, and others. It really is amazing to see all the irons that McConnell had in the proverbial fire! To get to the point associated with the above photo, Goetting & Co., New York products are extremely rare! Sold for almost 40 years--first under the proprietorship of its founder Adolph H. Goetting from approximately 1876 to 1896, then under the proprietorship of David H. McConnell from 1896 through at least 1918--this successful company sold a vast line of perfumes and toiletries in drug and department stores of the period. The beauty in packaging and superior quality of many Goetting products impelled McConnell's decision to purchase Goetting & Co. lock, stock, and barrel in 1896 with the end goal of acquiring this master perfumer's talent for the position of Chief Chemist of the California Perfume Company. But back to the bottle... Thus far, I have come across EXTREMELY few examples of Goetting, & Co., New York products. The 1/8 ounce Carnation Pink perfume bottle pictured above was recently discovered in an old building that was undergoing repair/reconstruction--the only Carnation Pink example that I have come across. The bottle itself does seem similar to the White Lilac perfume bottle pictured in the Goetting's products section of this web site. The Goettings are somewhat of a conundrum though: the perfumes and toiletries were sold in drug and department stores, leading to the basic assumption that the products generated good, solid sales--thus the possibility of many bottles, tins, and containers today. However, the opposite seems to be the case! There actually seems to be extremely few products--empty or full, boxed or not, in poor to mint condition--still around today! So, I was especially happy when Ms. Mazzotta sent me a note along with a couple of pictures asking about this Carnation Pink treasure that she found. As for value, that's a bit hard, but I could easily see this bottle sell for $100.00 to $150.00 plus, even in it's current condition. For all you CPC and Avon collectors out there...the Goettings are a special treat! Happy hunting! If you have any comments, please contact me at russell (at) californiaperfumecompany.net! |
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Newly Discovered Toilet Water Bottle!
The absolute greatest treat for me as a collector of California Perfume Company items--bottles, tins, paper, etc--is finding previously undocumented treasures like the one above: the two ounce White Rose Toilet Water bottle that was probably manufactured and sold around 1909. The bottle itself is an exact, albeit smaller, replica of the eight ounce bottle used by the CPC to put up furniture polish from approximately 1912 through 1916. The picture to the above right provides a comparison view of the White Rose Toilet Water bottle (middle) with earlier and later CPC Toilet Water bottle styles. This underscores two critical points that have become my mantras over the past decade: First, we don't know what we don't know. This refers to the fact that the California Perfume Company did NOT depict all the variations of their available products over the years, especially in the early years (1886-1915). The first catalog was produced ten years after the company's inception and that catalog contained text only. The second catalog, and subsequent catalogs through approximately 1900-1901 contained sparse hand-drawn illustrations meant to artfully accentuate the text rather than truly depict what was for sale. From 1901-1902 through 1915, the California Perfume Company depicted more of their products in their small catalogs, however, not all products were shown...and something else to consider...the company OFTEN chose not pictorially reflect updates/differences in packaging or labeling from year to year in their catalogs. With the move to Color Plate catalogs, many more products were illustrated/pictured...but again, not all. The fact is, some products sold in the 53 years under the CPC banner were NEVER pictured (i.e., California Cough Syrup, California Glove Powder, and Root Beer Extract just to name a few). The second point is: there are still plenty of undocumented treasures out there just waiting to be found. Some time ago, a seasoned CPC collector said to me, "Rusty, everything that could have been found has been found. There's really nothing (previously undocumented CPCs) left to find." I respectfully disagreed. And within a month of that conversation, I had acquired three--not just one, but three--previously undocumented CPCs. What "previously undocumented" means is that the item is not found in the Bud Hastin's Avon Collector's Encyclopedias or the Western World Avon Encyclopedias. But more importantly, the item is not found in available catalogs, brochures, or representative's materials. And really, that accounts for a ton of collecting possibilities! Back to the above White Rose Toilet Water bottle. The most interesting point about this bottle is the front label which provided, and still provides, a bit of a dilemma. The embossed eureka label was, until now, only known to be used on early CPC perfumes (prior to 1915). Conversely, the crown stopper and neck label are indicative of later CPC toilet waters (approximately 1912 to1922). This bottle has never been pictured anywhere and, in larger volume (eight ounce), was used as the container for CPC furniture polish. One last thought: the labels on early CPC toilet waters shared very similar fonts and overall styling with some of the CPC floral perfume (please compare the floral perfumes and toilet waters sections of this web site). After 1909, there appeared to be a large divergence in the labeling of perfumes and toilet waters, perhaps in a calculated move to highlight the distinction between the two product types. Therefore, I believe this bottle falls in the realm of transitional bottles--a little old style (front label), a little new style (neck label and crown stopper). And the date of production and sale is probably around 1909 to 1910. I would greatly appreciate your thoughts on this one! If you have any comments, please contact me at russell (at) californiaperfumecompany.net! |
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Why Empty Boxes ARE Important!
Nestled in the heart of the Collector's Tips page is a small section entitled, "Buy The Empty Boxes!" And herein is a perfect example of just THAT tip! Complete CPC sets, basically in any condition, are extremely hard to find today. However, along with that statement, it must be acknowledged that many sets (i.e., late-1920s and 1930s Manicure sets,1915-1922 Baby sets, 1924-1929 Daphne Septette Gift sets, various 1930s Women's sets, etc.) have survived to become integral parts of numerous California Perfume Company collections. The key point here is this: while it may be reasonably understood why certain CPC items/sets were NOT thrown into the rubbish pile (beautiful packaging, family keepsakes, or simply because people from that era didn't discard things as easily as we do today), that would not seem to be the case for the various CPC household products (i.e., California Plate Polish (silver polish), Starch Dressing, Vegetable and Harmless Colorings, Furniture Polish, etc.) The Box X Flavoring Set would DEFINITELY be in this latter--household goods--category. In other words, "why in the world would an empty flavoring set be kept, especially just the outer box, once the contents have been used?" In the case of the above pictured box, the answer was simple! The outer box was kept to hold "stuff." I purchased this true CPC treasure from the granddaughter of the set's original owner. After the grandmother used the set's contents, she used the box to hold keepsake letters and Christmas cards. After the grandmother passed away, the granddaughter found this extremely rare item. This currently represents the ONLY known example of the Box X Flavoring set outer box! In the above picture, the bottles placed by the box's sides were staged for the picture only in order to give the viewer real examples of what could have originally been inside the Box X Flavoring set. Lastly, the bottles to complete this set ARE still in circulation today! And to have a complete 1915 CPC Box X Flavoring set WOULD be a treasure indeed! |
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An Interesting History Lesson
I think that one of the most interesting aspects of collecting California Perfume Company items and material is that Mr. David H. McConnell, Sr. really broke the boundaries of normal entrepreneurism to establish a veritable historical landmark within the American culture. It was his vision that brought quality consumable goods to the people--that we money-back guaranteed--a feat almost unheard of! Furthermore, McConnell's vision enabled the women of America to stand on their own, even before women we granted the right to vote (e.g., Women's Suffrage, 1919, 19th Amendment to the US Constitution). He provided means for women of that day to make substantial income based on their ambition (and to a lesser degree, their location). McConnell had a willing and able workforce that grew into the millions. Truly, D. H. McConnell was an entrepreneur extraordinaire! The reason I bestow the title, "entrepreneur extraordinaire" to McConnell is not simply because of his outstanding success with the California Perfume Company, it's due to other business activities that have come to my attention over the years! A friend of mine--Rick--who is deeply involved in genealogy and family history opened my eyes to an entirely new area of research: the American chronicles...the newspapers. There are several outstanding newspaper archive sites that afford access to millions upon millions of pages of newspapers from around the country dating back to the earliest years of our nation--for a very modest fee, of course. The fact is this previously untapped GREAT wealth of information helped me to understand--get a sense of--some of McConnell business dealings and relationships. And there is one fact that clearly emerged from the research thus far: McConnell was the consummate entrepreneur! McConnell, primarily in partnership with Alexander D. Henderson, initiated many business ventures--some even competing with the California Perfume Company, while some were complementary. Most recently I came across the following entry in the Directory of Directors in the city of New York, 1915-1916:
McCONNELL, DAVID H., of the firms of
Goetting & Co.
and D. H. McConnell & Co., 31 Park Place.
In this web site, I will bring to you whatever information I can find about these companies! Yet, the most fascinating...and exciting...point is that this opens up vast new fields of collectible possibilities! If you know of anything relating to these companies, or you happen to locate further information on David McConnell, please contact me at russell (at) californiaperfumecompany.net! Happy hunting!!! |
