"Mr. and Mrs." Set, Compliments of Crest Hotel, Miami Beach Florida.
~LATE 1940s - Early 1950s

Within the complimentary late-1940s to early-1950s toiletries set pictured above, there is a bottle of Ambrosia Cologne. This Ambrosia bottle has an interesting connection to the California Perfume Company and, later, Avon.

The name "Ambrosia" was discovered in an early 20th century U.S. Patent Office filing by Dee Schneider as she intently researched the early history of the California Perfume Company. In her book, Avon Bottles...By Any Other Name, Mrs. Schneider related that "[o]n September 4, 1902, an application was filed with the United States Patent Office for a Trade-mark for toilet waters and perfumes by Louis H. Pearce of Buffalo, New York. Mr. Pearce was then doing business at No. 384 Main Street In that city and had been doing so continuously since 1875. He wanted the trademark for use on bottles of toilet preparations, the printing of [catalogs], circulars, cards and other advertisements. Toilet waters and perfumes were his specialty, and the trademark he requested consisted of the arbitrary word "Ambrosia,"...

"We find that on December 6, 1932, another application was filed with the United States Patent Office, a trademark of the same word "Ambrosia" but of a different artistic design. This was applied for by Hinze Ambrosia, Inc., doing business at 114 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York. It states that this [second] symbol had been used since March 14, 1931 by Hinze Ambrosia Preparations Company, Inc., dated May 28, 1929. It was wanted for use on Face and Skin Cream. The application was signed by D. H. McConnell, Jr., President. (David H. McConnell, Jr. was the son of the founder of the Avon Company.) The address is the same as that used by the California Perfume Company, which was the name of the parent company at that date. They used this address from 1926 to 1937. There is another [third] trademark patent from March 6, 1933, bearing the same address and the same signature -- D. H. McConnell, Jr., President.

"It Is said that the "Ambrosia" product line was McConnell, Jr.'s "baby", that he felt the Company should branch out, and used this method of Introducing a different name for merchandise to be sold under in drug stores, department stores and other commercial out- lets. He was 27 1/2 years old when he became president of the Hinze Company. He was 36 the year his father died and he became president of Avon."

The Ambrosia Cologne Bottle, 0.8 Fluid Ounces
~LATE 1940s - Early 1950s
(Dimensions 3 1/8 in. tall x 1 3/8 in. wide)

Additionally, Mrs. Schneider wrote that Hinze Ambrosia, Inc. "ceased operations on July 1, 1954, and was dissolved on November 4, 1954."

There was another interesting connection between the California Perfume Company/Avon and the Hinze Ambrosia Preparations Company: the use of similarly designed bottles. The half-circle shaped Ambrosia Cologne bottle seen above was also the shape of such items as the 1940s Swan Lake Bath Oil (seen and compared below), the 1940s Royal Pine Bath Oil, and the 1950-51 Cream Lotion.

The Swan Lake Two-Piece Set
~1947-1948

A Side View Comparison of the Ambrosia Cologne and Swan Lake Bath Oil Bottles

For a more detailed explanation of Hinze Ambrosia Preparations Company and its relation to the
California Perfume Company, please see the excellent, detailed work of Dee Schneider in her
Avon Bottles...By Any Other Name.
 
(EXCERPTS FROM AVON BOTTLES...BY ANY OTHER NAME, C. 1974, DEE SCHNEIDER)