www.californiaperfumecompany.net                       Issue 6, 2004

In This Issue:

• Nabbing the Notorious Natoma Rose
• Upcoming Events
• A Quick Note - Six Issues Per Year
• Web Site News
• Collectors' Tales

Picture of a Woman Holding a Can of Natoma Rose Talcum Powder - From the Cover of the June, 1920 CPC Outlook

Natoma - A California Indian name, signifying,
"The Maid from the Mountains."
This little snippet concluded an introduction to the new Natoma fragrance line within the 1912 CPC catalog.

Collecting California Perfume Company items is fun! One gentleman that I corresponded with just the other day related his "Christmas morning" giddiness that he feels each time he receives and opens packages containing Avon and CPC goodies that he's managed to find. I whole-heartedly agreed with him. I too feel giddy each time I open a package containing just one more bottle, just one more catalog, just one more CPC piece to add to my collection. But then I thought back to what particular piece, what one special item above all the other items, produced a special giddiness - a special feeling of triumph and victory. There was one -- my 1915 Natoma Rose perfume, full, mint, complete with ribbon in place never having been opened. That was the one!!! (This bottle can be seen below - left hand side of the three Natoma perfumes.)

Continuing on that thought, it really wasn't the fact that the Natoma perfume was full with ribbon in place. The giddiness I felt came from the fact that I, me, Rusty Mills, was able to obtain a Natoma Rose item -- any Natoma Rose item. And that is where we begin Issue Six of the CPC Newsletter.

Ten regular fragrance lines were produced in the CPC era: American Ideal, Ariel, Daphne, Mission Garden, Narcissus, Natoma (or Natoma Rose), Trailing Arbutus, Vernafleur, and Violet for women and Bay Rum for men. The ten lines stood in addition to the myriad of perfumes offered by the California Perfume Company (i.e., Heliotrope, Hyacinth, Lily of the Valley, Roses, etc.) between 1886 and 1939. Of those ten fragrance lines, only one seems to capture the collector's fanciful thoughts, bring intrigue to the heart, and cause an eye to glisten -- that line is Natoma Rose...

1912-1915 Natoma Talcum Powder Tin

Since I started collecting Avon and CPC treasures in the early 1980s, the very mention of Natoma Rose held a mystique almost to the point of being mythical. About two and a smidgeon years ago, the Natoma Talcum tin seen to your immediate right came up for auction on e-Bay. I was dumb-founded. I was shocked. I showed the auction to my wife Cindy and we agreed to "Go For It!" I dutifully checked Bud's Encyclopedia (16th edition at that time) and it said the mint price was $300.00. As you can see from the picture, the piece was extremely nice, but in no way "mint." We didn't care. Cindy and I had no Natoma in our collection and we saw this as an extremely rare opportunity. So, we bid $310.00 and thought to ride it out. We figured that we would be willing to bid maybe $60.00 more, but we really didn't believe anyone else would go above our high bid. MAN, WERE WE WRONG! The ending bid for this small piece of CPC history was $565.00. Our jaws literally dropped to the floor. All that said, the mystique, the mystery, the myth continued.

I noticed something during that bidding war -- the same thing I noticed each and every time a Natoma piece is brought to auction on e-Bay -- an entirely different set of e-Bay User IDs appear along side those normally purchasing CPCs. A little bit of digging helped me to realize that the competition for ANY Natoma piece now includes Antique Dealers, Bottle Collectors, Tin Collectors, Perfume Collectors, and Collectors of Indian "Stuff"...that is IN ADDITION TO the normal CPC collecting crowd. For those who have Natoma items, this is good news - knowing you will get absolute top dollar and above if you decide to part with your Natomas through e-Bay. This is terrible news for those collectors seeking to nab some of these rare Natomas -- knowing you are going to PAY absolutely top dollar and above in order to own one of these precious treasures if you purchase it on e-Bay.

Three Natoma Rose Perfumes
           (L) ~1915                                      (C) ~1915                                       (R) 1914-1921       

Without doubt, without an argument, the Natoma line was probably the most beautifully decorated of all the CPC goods. It stood out in stellar fashion with the Indian Maiden gracefully adorning each bottle and tin. You could say, the packaging alone was in a class by itself (as seen in the three Natoma Rose perfumes immediately above.)

Page 10 from the 1914 CPC Catalog

Now for a little about the Natoma line... According to the 1975 Avon Heritage Almanac, given to each Avon District Manager, the Natoma line was introduced on January 5th, 1914. This date probably denotes the introduction of the Natoma Rose perfume as illustrated within the pages of the 1914 CPC catalog (shown to the right). However, the Natoma line actually started well before that: in 1912. Perusing a 1911 catalog yielded no mention of the Natoma fragrance, but a 1912 catalog contained a black and white picture very similar to the $565.00 Natoma tin shown above along with an introduction of the new Natoma Talcum Powder. The Natoma Rolling Massage Cream was also introduced in that 1912 catalog.

Interestingly though, a February 26th, 1912 CPC invoice includes no mention of either a Natoma Talcum or Natoma Rolling Massage Cream. However, a December 20th, 1912 invoice includes both powder and cream. Therefore, I believe it is safe to assume that the Natoma additions occurred sometime mid-year 1912.

The Natoma fragrance continued for the next twelve years. My documentation is a bit spotty over some time periods, however, a December 1923 CPC invoice shows that the CPC still offered Natoma Rose perfume in the "A" size (unknown, possible trial size) and in one and two ounce containers. Also offered was the Natoma Rose Talcum Powder and the Natoma Rolling Massage Cream. Additionally, Atomizer Sets were also sold in any perfume the customer desired - thus a Natoma Rose perfume and Atomizer combination would be possible for 1923.

Further, a 1924 Outlook referenced the sale of Natoma Rolling Massage Cream. This fact could not be corroborated with any other source (catalog, brochure, etc.) No mention of Natoma Rose products are then made in the 1925 catalog or invoices.

Finally, though I ask that my word not be taken for gospel, I do remember reading in either a late-1924 or early-1925 Outlook or Bulletin an announcement that when certain stock of Natoma products was depleted, the fragrance would be discontinued. I searched for this information in preparation for this article, however, I could not find it. When I do find the information, I will include a note somewhere in a future newsletter.

I only have two Natoma items: the perfume bottle pictured above and the glass jar portion of a 1918 Natoma Rose Rolling Massage Cream (no glass lid). Unlike my earlier thoughts of years ago - that Natoma items are rarer than hen's teeth. I do not think they are any rarer than Mission Garden or Narcissus items. I simply think we have a much larger population of collectors seeking to acquire the few treasures that are out there. Nabbing the Notorious Natoma Rose is pretty tough at times, but it can be done -- see Mr. Dick Pardini's Natoma Rose Collection below:

A Portion of the Dick Pardini Collection Highlighting His Natoma Rose Treasures

One last note... I sure would like to know what the Natoma Rose fragrance really smells like. No worries! I am not going to open my bottle! Ninety-year old perfume probably stinks to high heaven anyway.

Thanks to Rick Pardini and his father Dick Pardini for the Natoma pictures!

Thank you for reading!

Until next time...

We have 24 people reading the CPC Newsletter now. Thank you to everyone.  With ministry, work, and family, it gets a bit hard to meet a self-imposed deadline of producing one newsletter per month. Therefore, following the suggestion given to me by Bud Hastin, I will be producing approximately six newsletters per year from this time forward. Again, thank you for your readership and I very much appreciate any constructive feedback as well as ideas for future articles.

www.californiaperfumecompany.net.

If you know of any worth while web site related in some way to CPC and Avon collecting, please let me know and I will include the site in an upcoming CPC Newsletter issue.

Previous CPC Newsletter issues are 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