Sunday, January 1, 2012

On the Seventh Day of Christmas . . . an Old Friend


The second half of " the problem: MEN; solution: COLOGNES."

". . . and breathes there a MAN who wouldn't be glad to breathe in one of these?  8 more MAN-sized presents here."  Please don't trip over the rugs or break anything.




I love this layout!  

Upper left square:  "New on the men's cologne team: citrus-tanged scent called For Men, in a tenpin-shaped bottle by Raphael; 8 oz. $9.00."  Expensive for a bowling-themed scent.  New on the market - don't recognize the name or the maker.  Let's see what we find:  zilch.  

Upper right:  "For the man who treasures a valued label -- a cologne that's the essence of urbanity: Extra Dry with a twist of lemon."  And a Napoleonic insignia.  Guerlain Imperiale.  Snob appeal.

The "Extra Dry" appears to have disappeared; Imperiale seems to be in limbo.  It's not on the Guerlain website and it is on discount perfume sites, at a discount ($9 then equals $70 now).  Imperiale dates from 1893, during the Third Republic, so I am not sure what the Napoleonic bees have to do with it.

Bottom right:  "Don't promise him anything just give him Eau De  Lanvin for men."  Perhaps an obvious, but clever, take on the "Promise her anything, but give her Arpege" slogan, Arpege being a stablemate of Eau De Lanvin.  

Alas, also no more.  Lanvin has a lovely, informative website; perhaps they are a bit too frank when they describe "Lanvin L'Homme Sport" (the modern version of Eau de Lanvin) as for "The suburban man with places to go."

Bottom left: What are those neon blue blobs for?  "If the clink of glasses had a scent, this would be it ."  Comes in a cocktail shaker-shaped bottle.  Here's How, by Gourielli.  Never heard of either the cologne or the house. Was mentioned that it exists as a possible gift for men in the December 15, 1960 Coaticook Observer of Ontario.  




Upper left: somebody wanted to make a typeface man smoking a cigarette.  Makes no sense.  Thing mentioned is Eau de Toilette, by Nina Ricci.  Or His Eau de Toilette.  No more.

Bottom left:  "JUST A PINCH" of Snuff.  Stylish little item.  Old bottle sold for almost 300 pounds at Christies.   Here's an ad I pinched from someone on Tumblr.  

For the man with ideas.  This stuff has real possibilities.  Defunct.  

Bottom right:  Arden for Men, "as blue chip as an aftershave can get."  Now, at Elizabeth Arden,  it's as blue collar as an aftershave can get.  Hummer, Usher VIP.  Who wears Hummer cologne?  

Upper right:  Jockey Club!  From 1840, and still available.  I fell in love with the idea of Jockey Club in one of my favorite childhood books.  

From Betsy In Spite of Herself:  (Betsy and her friend Tib are sophomores at Deep Valley High, class of 1910.  New Year's Eve Resolutions:  Be Dramatic and Mysterious.  

     "Stunning!" cried Betsy. She stalked about the room acting Dramatic and Mysterious.  "A darned shame, " she remarked, "that   I'm too young to wear earrings.  But I'm going to drench myself in perfume.  And I'm always going to use the same kind, so that when anybody smells that odor they will know it's me. . .like Mama with violet perfume, only I want something more exotic."

     "I have some Jockey Club," said Tib.  "Would that be exotic enough?  Somebody gave it to Aunt Dolly, but she said it didn't smell a bit like her, so she gave it to me."

     "Jockey Club is perfect!"  Betsy doused her flannel nightgown rapturously.

    As it turned out, Betsy wasn't the Jockey Club type after all.  And neither am I.  Although President-Elect Kennedy was.     




Next week, back to regularly scheduled program, with a few more Christmas records to unwrap.  Coming up:  more fur, and digging deeper into the masthead.  Who were these people? 





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