Antique Perfume Bottles

My aunt has a fine collection of antique perfume bottles that date from the mid 1800's and has frequently been made offers to sell them.

She told me her interest in antique perfume bottles began when she was a child, when like most children, she loved things that glittered and sparkled. She has certainly collected them for as long as I can remember.

She also loved costume jewelry, shiny stones and even glass and porcelain doorknobs. It came as no surprise that she would also like decorative glass.

Her collection began, so she say' s, with a rather decorative aftershave bottle bought for a member of the family as a Christmas present.

Avon the cosmetics firm, used to put its aftershave for men in attractive glass ornaments styled like automobiles, tortoises and the like.

My aunt loved the items so much that her mother collected similar items for her to keep.

In return my aunt promised to take good care of them, which of course she did as you can tell by the excellent condition they are in to this day.

Today, she has an impressive collection of glass antique perfume bottles and I often spend a good deal of time admiring them and occasionally helping her to clean them.

However, not all her antique perfume bottles were made of glass, some are porcelain and even a few made from pewter and silver.

One of the silver ones may have been used for something other than perfume, perhaps smelling salts as it appears to be somewhat corroded inside.

Some of the glass antique perfume bottles date back to the mid 19th century and my aunt has a story to tell about everyone of them.

One story is supposedly about two fish who carried perfume for a mermaid which is why two of the vintage bottles were a pair of fish with scales that you would swear look almost real. Well that's what my aunt would say.

This particular pair of antique perfume bottles had metal holders complete with screw caps and a “dab tube” that was used to dispense a very small amount of fragrance.

I have to say they are one of my favorites among my aunt's collection. Seeing her collection of antique perfume bottles is a real treat even for those people who do not share her passion.

Beauty Advice for the Natural You