Collecting Avon Perfume Bottles
Many women keep their perfume bottles after they have used all of the perfume because the bottles are so beautiful they can’t stand to throw them away. This is especially true of Avon perfume bottles as they come in so many shapes and designs. If your grandmother or aunt has left you an old collection of Avon bottles you may fall in love with the bottles and begin collecting more. For the most part, many of the Avon bottles will not fetch you much when you sell them, but there are exceptions to this, particularly if the Avon bottle is vintage or antique.
Avon started out in the late 1800’s as the California Perfume Company (CPC). The initial product of the company was perfume. Mrs. P.F.E. the first saleslady for CPC and many CPC and Avon awards have been named after her. CPC items, including perfume bottles, in pristine condition are much sought after, and usually will sell quickly and bring high prices.
Collecting Avon perfume bottles can be a fun and rewarding hobby. Serious collectors should have a reference guide so they know what the original perfume bottle looked like. You can find these guides on the Internet on websites such as eBay and Amazon. If you do not want to invest in a guide, go to your local library and see if you can find one there.
Avon perfume bottle collecting is like any other hobby – it requires time to study, and the cost can be very low to what you want to spend. A lot of people began to collect Avon bottles for the wrong reason – as an investment. Now they are lucky if they can break even. Collect only what you like when collecting Avon perfume bottles and you will be happy with your collection. Most Avon bottle collectors collect the bottles not as a means of monetary payment, but for the fun of it.
Not much care of your Avon bottles is needed since most of the Avon bottles were made to last through the years. An occasional wipe down with a damp cloth or can of compressed air is usually good enough for the glass bottles or ones that are coated in plastic, Porcelain jars or glass with a colored finish should be dusted only.
If you have the original packaging keep it in a place out of the sunlight and protect it well. Avon bottles with their original packaging is worth more than the bottle alone. Leaving the contents in your bottle is fine, but if you plan on selling or trading one of your Avon bottles make sure it is empty of all liquid and thoroughly cleaned.
Avon is still coming out with new designs, so the best source of the latest designs is the Avon catalog itself. Once a bottle has been discontinued it may be more difficult one if you aren’t willing to spend the time looking. There are online stores that specialize in Avon collecting that you can find. eBay is also a good source of Avon bottles since sometimes sellers do not realize what a certain bottle may be worth.
One of the best sources for Avon collectible bottles is estate sales. Many women in the past turned to Avon for beauty products delivered right to the door, and they would start a perfume bottle collection with the pretty bottles that the perfumes came in.
With so many people collecting Avon bottles, it is no surprise that there is a National Association of Avon Collectors which exists to further the hobby and bring collectors together from all over the country. There are regional and local chapters for collectors to meet others that are interested in collecting Avon collectibles, and the National Association does not charge dues.
If you want to get started with Avon perfume bottle collecting then the best thing to do is to request a copy of the latest Avon catalog or visit their website to see the latest releases and get an idea of how much you will be spending. There are many price guides and galleries of Avon bottles, they should not be difficult to find. Avon collectors pride themselves on their friendliness, so don’t be afraid to ask for advice.
Collecting Avon Perfume Bottles
Many women keep their perfume bottles after they have used all of the perfume because the bottles are so beautiful they can’t stand to throw them away. This is especially true of Avon perfume bottles as they come in so many shapes and designs. If your grandmother or aunt has left you an old collection of Avon bottles you may fall in love with the bottles and begin collecting more. For the most part, many of the Avon bottles will not fetch you much when you sell them, but there are exceptions to this, particularly if the Avon bottle is vintage or antique.
Avon started out in the late 1800’s as the California Perfume Company (CPC). The initial product of the company was perfume. Mrs. P.F.E. the first saleslady for CPC and many CPC and Avon awards have been named after her. CPC items, including perfume bottles, in pristine condition are much sought after, and usually will sell quickly and bring high prices.
Collecting Avon perfume bottles can be a fun and rewarding hobby. Serious collectors should have a reference guide so they know what the original perfume bottle looked like. You can find these guides on the Internet on websites such as eBay and Amazon. If you do not want to invest in a guide, go to your local library and see if you can find one there.
Avon perfume bottle collecting is like any other hobby – it requires time to study, and the cost can be very low to what you want to spend. A lot of people began to collect Avon bottles for the wrong reason – as an investment. Now they are lucky if they can break even. Collect only what you like when collecting Avon perfume bottles and you will be happy with your collection. Most Avon bottle collectors collect the bottles not as a means of monetary payment, but for the fun of it.
Not much care of your Avon bottles is needed since most of the Avon bottles were made to last through the years. An occasional wipe down with a damp cloth or can of compressed air is usually good enough for the glass bottles or ones that are coated in plastic, Porcelain jars or glass with a colored finish should be dusted only.
If you have the original packaging keep it in a place out of the sunlight and protect it well. Avon bottles with their original packaging is worth more than the bottle alone. Leaving the contents in your bottle is fine, but if you plan on selling or trading one of your Avon bottles make sure it is empty of all liquid and thoroughly cleaned.
Avon is still coming out with new designs, so the best source of the latest designs is the Avon catalog itself. Once a bottle has been discontinued it may be more difficult one if you aren’t willing to spend the time looking. There are online stores that specialize in Avon collecting that you can find. eBay is also a good source of Avon bottles since sometimes sellers do not realize what a certain bottle may be worth.
One of the best sources for Avon collectible bottles is estate sales. Many women in the past turned to Avon for beauty products delivered right to the door, and they would start a perfume bottle collection with the pretty bottles that the perfumes came in.
With so many people collecting Avon bottles, it is no surprise that there is a National Association of Avon Collectors which exists to further the hobby and bring collectors together from all over the country. There are regional and local chapters for collectors to meet others that are interested in collecting Avon collectibles, and the National Association does not charge dues.
If you want to get started with Avon perfume bottle collecting then the best thing to do is to request a copy of the latest Avon catalog or visit their website to see the latest releases and get an idea of how much you will be spending. There are many price guides and galleries of Avon bottles, they should not be difficult to find. Avon collectors pride themselves on their friendliness, so don’t be afraid to ask for advice.
Collecting Perfume Bottles
Perfume bottles are collectible bottles. Quite often the bottle attracts more attention than the perfume in it. Do you have a hard time throwing away old perfume bottles? Are you a perfume bottle collector? Thousands of people collect perfume bottles ranging from new, limited edition designs, to perfume bottles from ancient times.
The beauty and design of perfume bottles makes you want to keep them forever. Once you have started to collect perfume bottles, you may decide to focus on a certain type of perfume bottle, a collection theme such as perfume bottles with flowers on them, perfume bottles made by a specific maker, or otherwise unique perfume bottles.
Knowledge is the key to collecting any type of collectible bottle, and this is true of collecting perfume bottles as well. You should either buy books on parfum or perfume bottles to make sure you know enough about the subject to avoid disappointments.
The Internet is a great resource for the perfume bottle collector. Keeping your eye on auction sites such as eBay will help you ensure that you don’t overpay for a perfume bottle or buy from an impostor. Auction sites can help you estimate the going rate for many kinds of perfume bottles.
When considering perfume bottles to purchase, check for chips, scratches or cracks in the glass. Run your hands over the bottle, sometimes your fingertips will detect a scratch that your eyes missed. Examine the cap, stopper or applicator to make sure it is free of flaws. A paper label should be firmly attached and without tears and stains.
Remember while collecting your perfume bottles that the packaging is just as important as the bottle. If you are buying new perfume bottles it is best to keep them unopened. Whether you choose present or past collectibles, the perfume bottle is both a treasure of beauty and a refinement of society throughout history.
While collecting perfume bottles is a rewarding investment, it is also an enjoyable hobby. You will want to keep your investment and and your gorgeous perfume bottles out of harms way. Display your collection of perfume bottles in a curio cabinet or other display cabinet. If you are not able to display your collection, keep all of your perfume bottles in protective wrap and in cartons.
Collectors know that their perfume bottle collection will never be complete or perfect. They are happy to collect the collectible perfume bottles that they want to collect, and that they enjoy collecting. These collectors find their collections fascinating and worthwhile.
There are different kinds of collectors, advanced, the inquisitive and the informal collectors. Informal perfume bottle collectors do not have a specific goal in mind, they just go on collecting. The inquisitive collector is one who is in it just to know the different kinds of perfume bottles.
Remember whether they are contemporary or antique, your perfume bottles will maintain their beauty as they increase in value over time.
Collectible Bottles
There are so many kinds of collectible bottles that it may make your head spin when you first start out looking at the different kinds of bottles. If you decide you want to collect bottles you will soon find a collectible bottle type that appeals to you, and then you will be on your way to a great collection. You can then start searching for the collectible bottle of your choice.
Poison Bottles
One of the many kinds of collectible bottles you can collect are poison bottles. These are dramatic collectible bottles which date from the 1870’s to the 1930’s. Since many people were illiterate in those days many people were poisoned by accident. Both the governments of the United States and England passed laws to prevent accidental poisonings.
It was the poison manufacturers themselves who took action as they had found that glass bottles were perfect for transporting their poisonous products to market, and the poison trade had really taken off. What the manufacturers did not only reduced deaths but created an almost irresistible collectible.
The manufacturers made their poison bottles unique and dramatic in color, shape and texture to ensure that the bottles stood out from other bottles on a shelf. Colors like cobalt blue, honey amber, black, emerald and several other shades of green were used to make the bottles distinguishable from other types of bottles. These bottles also had textures that were unique such as latticework, raised ridges, dots, diamonds, horizontal or raised ribbing, or hobnails. Embossed lettering warned, “POISON”, “DEATH”, “POISOUS” or “NOT TO BE TAKEN INTERNALLY”.
Starting in the mid-1800’s the pirate flag’s skull and crossbones was often used on the labels of poison bottles. Then, toward the end of the century, the skull and crossbones were embossed into the bottle. The most famous poison bottle was a bottle in the form of a skull patented in 1894 by Carlton Lewe. This bottle is found in 3 sizes from less than 3 inches to 41/2 inches in height. This bottle often has damage to the nose where the glass is the thinnest.
Early companies did not make a different bottle for each product, instead they attached a different label to identify the contents. Original labels in good condition enhance the value of a bottle.
Milk Bottles
Milk bottles are yet another kind of collectible bottle that is popular to collect. Many vintage and antique milk bottles are quite charming. Milk has been carried and kept in glass for centuries but it is not know when the first milk bottles were used in the United States.
The first dairy cows arrived in the United States in 1611 at the Jamestown colony. The first settlers of the United States knew the value of dairy cow quality milk.
Street merchants first delivered mild to homes in metal or wooden open tubs. These open containers let dirt and bugs get into the milk which created a health problem. People needed and wanted milk but it was not safe to drink impure milk and sometimes people would become sick from it. IN 1856 Doctor Louis Pasteur invented the process we now know as pasteurization, which involved heating and then cooling the milk in the process. This process removed harmful bacteria from the milk, but the problem of packaging still remained until the late 1870’s.
The earliest patented milk bottle is known as the Lester jar because it is named after it’s inventor. This jar was not easy to mass produce and this resulted in limited use of the jar. In 1884 Dr. Harvey Thatcher of Potsdam, New York invented a milk bottle that was a quart size with a glass top that was sealed with a metal clamp. Now the milk industry industry had a safe product that could be delivered in a sealed glass bottle.
Dr. Thatcher continued to make improvements to the way his milk bottles were sealed. Eventually he came up with the paper cap top in the recessed lip of the bottle. This improvement reduced the cost of the production and helped keep the cost of home delivered milk low.
As the sales of home delivered milk continued to rise, other companies started manufacturing milk bottles. In the Early 1900’s dairies started delivering milk to homes in horse drawn wagons. The milkman became a common early morning sight in all the towns and cities in the United States. Home delivery of milk went on for over fifty years and the glass bottle made it possible.
Milk bottles were made in all sizes and shapes. The early glass milk bottles had the name of the dairy embossed into the glass. These bottles were pressed into a mold which allowed the embossing.
The embossing method was replaced in the 1930’s with “pyroglazing”, which was a process that allowed color to be printed in the glass. Dairy labels now appeared in colors, usually red, blue, black and green. Other colors were used, but these four were the most common. Pyroglazing also allowed ads to be placed on the backs of the bottles. During World War II milk bottles advertised for the sale of war bonds and victory for our troops overseas. These war slogan bottles are prized by milk bottle collectors.
From 1900 to the early 1960’s the glass milk bottle was the primary container used to deliver milk in. It came in different sizes, shapes and colors. Eventually the milk bottle was replaced by wax cartons and the plastic jug, and home delivery has all but disappeared.
Other Bottle Categories
The world of vintage glass bottles in huge, and almost every kind of vintage bottle that you can think of is collectible. There are too many types to list here, some of them are Chinese snuff bottles, whiskey bottles, wine bottles, ink bottles and soda bottles just to name a few.
When you start out collecting it may be difficult to decide what type of bottle and what theme you will collect. But you will find a bottle type that you love and soon you will be on your way to a great collectible bottles collection.