www.californiaperfumecompany.net     Issue 1 - April 2004

• The Grand Scheme of Things
• In The Beginning?

Hi Everyone,

I was considering a new venture as part of the California Perfume Company web site - a newsletter. I don't expect it to be much at first. I don't have a grand vision, except for the one already stated on my web site. However, with your help and the help of many of those receiving this e-mail, I think this endeavor, as an extension of www.californiaperfumecompany.net,  will grow into something interesting and beneficial to the CPC and Avon collecting community. There is a lot of information that has already been written over the years which I hope to tap into. There are old California Perfume Company items, never cataloged before still being found today. All in all, I do expect that this new CPC/Avon Collector's Newsletter will be something of value.

You may have noticed that I have placed all the addresses in the "Blind Courtesy Copy" portion of the e-mail as to protect everyone's privacy. If you don't want to receive any further Newsletter e-mails, please just write and let me know. But - and this is the kicker - if you think it might be a good thing and you know any other collectors, tell them about it. I would love to know your comments, ideas, inspirations, and constructive criticisms. I am sure that in future editions, there will be this tidy little disclaimer and "opt out" at the bottom... With that, here goes...

Two things of interest recently happened in my CPC collecting world. First, I purchased a small Goetting bottle from a gentleman in Canada through e-Bay; and second, I started having some lengthy and extremely informative conversations with Bud Hastin. The combination of these two "elements" may have led to an interesting discovery to be sure!

ABOVE: The Lot of Four Bottles Purchased from a Gentleman in Canada   RIGHT: Very Small Goetting Jockey Club Perfume Bottle

In January, 2004, I purchased a lot of four bottles, one of which was a very small "A. Goetting Jockey Club Perfume" bottle, from a gentleman in Canada. I personally look for Goetting bottles because of the historical significance of Goetting to the early California Perfume Company (for more information on Goetting, please visit the CP Company section within www.californiaperfumecompany.net.) Honestly, I thought nothing of the find except for the joy of finding and acquiring another, very rare, Goetting bottle. Then, a month or so later, I began conversing with Bud Hastin. One of our conversations centered on the small Goetting bottle which lead to following, very interesting supposition:

Bud accomplished a great deal for the CPC and Avon collectors through many years of researching and analyzing the history of the CPC and Avon, tracking down available CPC and Avon items to photograph, and incorporating this body of knowledge into a living, growing document - the Avon Collector's Encyclopedia. During his research, he found that David H. McConnell used 126 Chambers Street as his office while still in the book selling business. What I haven't seen recorded is the fact Bud found:  Adolph Goetting was also at 126 Chambers Street in the loft above McConnell during the same time period. As stated in every historical rendition of McConnell's early years, he used small bottles of perfume to open the doors of the prospective buyers of his books. There is no indication that he manufactured and bottled these gift perfumes himself, therefore, it is highly probable that he used for "give-away" the perfumes of some local perfumer -- who more local than Adolph Goetting???

This makes logical sense since McConnell ended up purchasing Goetting and Company, New York, and making Adolph Goetting the California Perfume Company's chief chemist in approximately 1896 - McConnell had to have known that the perfumes manufactured by Goetting were excellent, desirable products.

That said, Bud and I discussed the possibility that the small Goetting bottle, seen immediately below, may be an early example of that handed out by McConnell while selling his books. The age is right, the size is right, and...

We know that Goetting products were sold in department and general stores and it was probable that customers were able to simply try the Goetting perfumes in the store much like customers today visiting a modern department stores can peruse and spray the various perfumes for sale there. We also know that Goetting samples were distributed in the form of scented cards (see my web site for examples of these cards). With a little deductive reasoning and a little imagination, we can see that there was probably no real need for Goetting himself to employ such a small sample bottle of perfume.

One last tie in...these bottles are the exact same style and type used by McConnell in the early Little Folks Sets. McConnell describes these as "Gem" bottles in his early catalogs.

1900-1905 Little Folks Set

I cannot sit and argue that this bottle absolutely, without-a-shadow-of-a-doubt, represents one of McConnell's early give-away perfumes, however, there are many coincidental indicators pointing in that direction to be sure! I have to say, given no further evidence (which I will continue to look for), I would guess that this small Goetting "Gem" bottle could be, just may be, one of those used by McConnell in his earliest days

Previous CPC Newsletter issues will always available upon request.

Thank you and have an awesome day!

Rusty

I appreciate and welcome any and all feedback!!!!!

Always Looking To Hatch New CPC Stories