Unique find, luxury collectible with its original label and stopper; this would be a wonderful cornerstone “frontispiece” and meaningful addition to a perfume collection. In addition, a “salesman sample” collector would be equally entertained by this oversized 12″ high x 8″ wide “Eau De Cologne” “Shalimar” fragrance store display bottle (with the proverbial red Shalimar label and white surround–see images). It is also properly centered. The circular and flat centuries old design of the bottle mimics the look of a “watch”; thus it is often referenced as a “flacon montre’ or a “watch bottle”. The fragrance would have been made by the noted Parisian fragrance maker Jacques “Guerlain” (1890–1955) who created Shalimar in 1925; with the bottle having been manufactured by the iconic glass manufacturer “Pochet et du Courval” who commenced business in 17th century France.
The store display bottle, known as a “Factice” (translates to “giant”), was produced in 1974 for luxury store counter tops in the 1970’s such as Nieman Marcus, Saks 5th Avenue etc. and resembled the smaller sized perfume bottles of Shalimar; usually sold in 3 and 3.4 ounce sizes. Markings on the bottle front label also indicate “Somers, New York” as their new United States corporate offices as of 1974 and until 1980.
The condition of the bottle is completely original with zero restoration, no chips or cracks; the label is intact and firmly attached; the perimeter circumference of the label has ridges but not loose at all; I don’t know if that result is of consequence by its original design or over time. The stopper is original and firmly in place. The maker’s “tassel like” twine and twisted silk string attachment of the conical stopper to the bottle has never been undone and there is a small pressed brass “maker’s” logo which binds the unique and neatly mounted cording. This was originally intended to hold any liquid that might have been inside the bottle. Being a store display item, this bottle would never have had any perfume or liquid inside of it but rather, made to look realistic the interior glass was tinted with a facsimile rendition matching the Shalimar perfume color.
Embossed at the bottom on the underneath (see images) “90* Cologne Bottle Made in France” & “GUERLAIN”. The importance of the “90” is twofold; firstly it references the 90 percent alcohol concentration; and secondly, it references the product number as per an historical decades old patent name and labeling infringement lawsuit regarding the name “Shalimar”. Being made of glass and breakable making it scarce; combined with its its size (12″ versus 6 to 8 inch examples) makes this the rarer of the store displays, and highly sought after by both vintage perfume bottle collectors and those seeking to add an unusual item to their collection of salesman samples.
Dimensions: 12″ high x 8″ wide x 2″ deep
Note: I am a second generation antiques dealer and have been dealing in fine quality decorative arts, furniture, jewelry, and paintings for more than 50 years; I am also a member of several prestigious antique associations. Thus, I am well qualified to inspect and evaluate the products I offer for sale and I guarantee this to be authentic and as I have described.