2. Know What You Want to Collect!

This tip is probably of greatest value to the collector! In other words, "You Rule the Collection, Don't Let the Collection Rule You." Choose the area of CPC/Avon collecting that is of particular interest to you (i.e.; Trailing Arbutus or Natoma Rose products, Paper items, Perfume bottles, or Perfection items) and stick to it! That's not to suggest you can't or shouldn't buy other interesting pieces, however, you should define for yourself what you want to collect. Most people do not have an infinite money source to tap into in order to pay for their CPC purchases.

3. Buy the Empty Boxes!

An Empty California Perfume Company Flavoring Extract Set
~1917

When the opportunity arises to buy an empty box -- particularly one in excellent condition -- TAKE IT! Above is a very rare find; owned by Mr. Richard Pardini of California. The three flavoring extract boxes (Peppermint, Violet Coloring, and Cinnamon) are empty. They are part of the large yellow CPC Flavoring Extract Set.

Without doubt, the first thing to be tossed in the rubbish after a purchase is the packaging. Really, who wants that bulk material taking up space in their home or garage or shed? The products sold by the California Perfume Company were consumables: they were meant to be used and thrown away. By extension, if the products were to be consumed and thrown away after use, you would certainly expect the packaging be be tossed also! So, as we see many CPC items brought to market—on e-Bay, at estate sales, etc.—you will normally see only the bottle or the tin or...normally you will NOT see the box. The fact is, the box (again, depending on condition as stated above) can add anywhere from a 25% to 100% increase in the value of a collectible when compared to the very same item without a box. The bottles are out there...the boxes are rare! When you can find an empty box, grab it! You'll probably find the matching bottle for your empty box shortly thereafter.

4. Estimating the Age of Your CPC Piece

 In the whole gamut of CPC collecting, I would have to say that this one aspect—calculating the age of a particular item—is probably the most difficult. The problem rests squarely in the fact that there are few illustrations for the majority of early CPC products. Many of those illustrations are actually inaccurate. The first California Perfume Company catalog was published in 1896, ten years after the company's claimed inception (and at least four years after the California Perfume Company name was first used), and that catalog was issued with no illustrations. The second catalog, issued in 1897, contained a few hand-drawn illustrations. Only after the turn of the 20th century did the illustrations in the CPC catalogs provide reasonably accurate product depictions. Then, the CPC catalogs' illustrations would not be changed for years at a time, though some minor and some major changes would occur in product packaging—hence the "dating dilemma." A great deal of work related to product dating has been done by Bud Hastin and I am continually endeavoring to build upon that great work. New, previously unseen and undocumented CPCs are still being found today. So, please be careful when dating your CPC item(s).

5. Collect Information About the Hobby

This is probably one of the most fascinating aspects associated with collecting California Perfume Company and early-Avon products and memorabilia: the research into company's history and into the many entrepreneurial adventures of Mr. David H. McConnell, founder and president of the California Perfume Company. As it turns out, McConnell's dealings probably helped the fledgling CPC become the world-renowned cosmetics conglomerate it is today. McConnell's additional dealings include Goetting & Co., New York; Mutual Manufacturing Co., New York; South American Silver Company; the D. H. McConnell Co.; Mecca Oil; and Allied Products, Inc. (at least that's what has been found thus far!) A well informed collector can locate a wealth of CPC and Avon-related information in the CPC and Avon Bulletins and Outlooks (monthly CPC representative periodicals), through on-line Newspaper archives, and in business libraries.

Front Cover of Dee Schneider's
"Avon Bottles...By Any Other Name"

One outstanding resource that details some of the California Perfume Company's "additional" corporate dealings is Dee Schneider's "Avon Bottles...By Any Other Name." In this book, you learn of Goetting & Company, Hinze Ambrosia, and Allied Products. Interesting facts contained in a variety of available and older publications - including the Avon Times magazine and Bud Hastin's Avon Collector's Encyclopedia - provide tools so that any collector can gather interesting, diverse, and valuable collections!

7. Expect the Unexpected!

This one aspect of California Perfume Company and early-Avon collecting is particularly interesting to me! After well over a decade of personal experience collecting CPCs, I have come across some fascinating product variants that are not pictured in any Collector's Encyclopedia or company catalog, brochure, or advertisement. That, in and of itself, makes the hunt for CPC collectibles even much more adventurous. Below I have included pictures of a couple of these "unexpected" treasures along with very brief possibilities as to the cause for their existence:

There are other delightful examples of transitional pieces, alternate packaging, and interesting dilemmas within this web site and, most certainly, out their in the world just waiting to be discovered!