Tuesday, May 25, 2010

The Webber Collection


When I first went to the Estate Sale on Thursday , I told you how surprising it was to see so many unmarked and un-named bottles of perfume on the dresser . I bought the H&R Geneology Set and became convinced that someone in that household worked in perfume - at a lab or as a marketing director , something to do with flavors and fragrances .

I got home and just couldn't sleep , even the Captain urged me over and over to go back and bid on the collection . I was skeptical . My luck , I would drive all the way back ( over an hour north of our home ) , get my hopes up , and it would all be gone .

Drive I did , and hope I had , and there they were , almost every single bottle still sat waiting for me on that dresser . The Chanel No 5 was gone , the Hermes Caleche was gone... but almost 100 bottles sat forlorn and abandoned . I approached the Estate Sale manager and said

" I would like to place an offer on the fragrance collection . " I trembled inside...

"OK " , he said , " Let's go back and take a look..."

We walked into the bedroom and stood silently for a moment and he asked if I was ready to make an offer .
I was and I did and he accepted .

"SQUEEEE".......... I said inside , ever so quietly to myself...

I said to him : " One thing I find very odd , there are so many unmarked bottles and lab imps , someone here must have worked in the industry..."

He looked at me kind of surprised , picked up a bottle and said :
"This is Mr. Webber's own perfume creation . He was a chemist , and he created the fragrance accord for Pine-Sol..."
Damn I love being right . In the photo at left , the men's cologne is on the left , the women's pure parfum is on the right . I will be sending five bottles of the women's parfum to fellow bloggers and we will do a joint blog post sometime in July , and I will be giving one bottle of Mr. Webber's parfum away to a lucky reader . ( There are 22 bottles of this in existence )
This is what Mrs. Webber had on her dresser when she died , vintage 1950's and 60's bottles ...
bless her soul....they all smell fantastic !

Guerlain Jicky pure parfum................. 1 0z. full bottle
Guerlain Shalimar pure parfum ...........1 0z. full bottle
Jean Patou Joy pure parfum ............1 oz . bottle 70% remaining
Coty Imprevu spray mist ................25 ml 20 ml remaining
Houbigant Chantilly EDT ................1.5 oz full bottle
Dana Tabu Concentrate ..................1 oz. metal canister 25 ml remaining
Tuvache Jungle Jasmine Concentrate ...1 oz. full bottle
Hermes Equipage EDT .....................25 ml 22 ml remaining
Max Factor Hypnotique Cologne .......1.5 oz. 7 ml remaining
Shulton Desert Flower Cologne .........1.5 oz. 1 oz . remaining
Madame ( red leather bottle...Hermes ? ).. 3.3 oz. full bottle
Benjamin Khus Khus ..soft powdery vetiver. 5 0z. bottle from Jamaica
Nina Ricci L'Air du Temps EDT............... 1.7 oz. full bottle
Estee Lauder Portos never released ...4 0z bottle FULL (not Balenciaga )
H&R Geneology Box ......................18 - one dram vials
Nicosia parfum ................................5 ml vial maker unknown
Roger & Gallet Hotel Prince de Galles ......1 0z . half full
St Barth Santal pure parfum BNIB.... 50 ml not vintage
Becker Eshaya BE EDP BNIB .............50 ml & 15 ml purse roller not vintage
Biotima ? parfum ............................1 0z 8 ml remaining
O de Lancome EDT .......................7.5 ml mini
Parfum Stern Neuilly Cedex ...... 5 ml mini
YSL Opium EDT........................... 5 ml mini
Avon Somewhere PdT ...............1/3 oz. Full bottle
Avon Moonwind carriage bottle..... 1 oz . 20 ml remaining
Bergdorf Goodman's mens shop Cologne.. 30 ml full vintage bottle
DEDE .........................................5 ml 3 ml remains
Presidents Choice parfum ..my fave , OMG...1.7 oz glass bottle still sealed
"Cal" round splash bottle glass stopper.... 1.7 oz . full
Daniele Ryman After Flight Awake /Asleep 5 ml one of each w/box
"Stepan " round splash w/glass stopper ...25 ml full bottle
"SCM Labs " crystal flacon .........................1 oz full bottle

.....................................................Webber creations below...................................

Webber parfum cut glass w/glass stopper 22 full bottles , 15 ml each
Webber cologne for men .................... .......1.5 oz. two full bottles

The remaining bottles have no names , no markings ,
nothing to tell me what in in them...

IMP square splash bottle w/gold cap.......15 ml
IFF Labs w/ box..............5 ml splash
Round splash bottle ............1 0z. full bottle
#164 parfum w/ crystal stopper......25 ml never opened
#1910 never opened...................5 ml splash
#21 splash ..................................5 ml w/2ml remaining
"5" or "S".....................................5 ml splash
#3105 never opened...................5 ml splash
oval crystal with tall crystal stopper ....20 ml three full bottles
squat round bottle with ball stopper....15 ml 10 ml remaining
tall round bottle with gold cap....30 ml four full bottles

two chinese porcelain flacons with bulb sprayers

20 comments:

Ines said...

OMG!! It's all yours!
I am just now completely realizing the squeee! in the previous post's name. GRIN

waftbyCarol said...

the squeeeee that was heard around the world.......

Rappleyea said...

Carol, I am so happy for you; this is just fantastic! I squee'ed at the first item on the list - the Jicky parfum. Do you realize that YOU sent me my first ever sniff of the stuff and it was instant love?

I also literally laughed out loud (hard to do this early in the a.m.) at Mr. Webber's having developed the Pine Sol accord. How many times have perfumistas used that term disparagingly to describe an evergreen note in a perfume?

A big congrats dear Carol.
~Donna

waftbyCarol said...

A mr Harry A Cole is credited with inventing Pine-Sol , but Mr Webber created the resinous pine scent...ahhhh the scent of clean...
LOL
I am selling the Jicky , so make an offer if you want it Pat .
I checked e-bay and there's not much there of Jicky parfum .
The number on the bottom of the bottle is
MF 1024CE F
The cord/tassel is missing from around the neck 99% full

La Bonne Vivante said...

Oh, you lucky, lucky, lucky girl!

Wow, he created Pine Sol. That has to be one of the most evocative ad successful fragrances of the 20th century, no joke. This is a serious find, and I am SO glad you made the effort to drive back.

I don't even know what to say. WHAT A HAUL!

La Bonne Vivante said...

I meant to say 'and successful', not 'ad successful'. Yeah, we make fun of it, but it is good at what it does, is Pine Sol. I bet this was a really cool couple.

There is something inherently sad about estate sales; I find them even more melancholy when the houses are filled with interesting and beautiful things. It makes one wish one could have known the people who owned them. I bet you will always think of these departed strangers as friends you could have had whenever you use these lovely vintage perfumes! Beautiful....

waftbyCarol said...

I do feel like I knew them , by looking at their bookshelf . They travelled extensively to the Orient , their homw was filled with ornate urns , vases and porcelain from the orient 9 a breathtaking carved jade urn which sold immediately .
She was a large woman , wore size 11 shoes and size 14 dresses ( I loved her mink coat , but don't wear fur in Florida...)
She also didn't cook , there were no cookbooks ( a few heath/natural foods books ) and no cookware to speak of . I bought a heavy bread pan for $1.00 , looked never used...
Unforgettable , I have waited all my life for a find like this !!

Justine Crane said...

This is really amazing, Carol. I'm surprised you waited to make an offer! Me, I would have broken the bank to get my hands on that collection.

You are very fortunate indeed :)

waftbyCarol said...

Thursday all I had was a credit card , which they were not accepting . If you only knew how I had to scramble to put together the cash....

waftbyCarol said...

Hey Donna , I just realized I called you Pat...sorry !!

La Bonne Vivante said...

unforgettable indeed, and very special. definitely a fated thing. I sort of wonder if there was some force that directed you to that house to find those things, knowing you would appreciate them and love them more than another would. They sound like pretty cool people--travelling extensively to the Orient, eating out all the time, owning fur coats. SO RAD!

queen_cupcake said...

Fabulous! What a list! Do let us know if you decide to sell decants of any of that (I'm eyeing you, Shalimar and Joy...)

La Bonne Vivante said...

ditto to that. I think I need to step away from this post. I'm getting obsessed!

waftbyCarol said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
waftbyCarol said...

The ones that are really interesting are the unmarked bottles of scent...thick , dark , chock full of jasmine , tuberose , sandalwood . The Presidents Choice makes me weak !!
The Stepan is an amazing woody lavender , so smooth and well aged...yummy !!

Carol said...

I'm just so excited for you (still) And if Rappleyea doesn't want the Jicky, let me know!

Carol said...

oh and another thing - is it just me or has Pine-Sol been reformulated? I remember it smelling much fresher and stronger when I was young, but now it smells dull and watery, much like the knock-offs.

waftbyCarol said...

Hey ms freda
I'm sure Pine-Sol has been reformulated and is not using real pine oil anymore , just like everything else !!
We ended up dividing the Jicky among those who wanted a decant . I have one 5 ml decant left... if you want it , e-mail me for price .

Qwendy said...

Late to the party as always! You know what I'm particularly curious about? The Chantilly, because it was the first perfume I smelled at someone elses house as a kid, so very different from what my Mom wore! It was in such an opulent old fashioned bottle (we were Modernists at home) and it smelled so much like "Perfume" to me...........it was cheap and easy to find, so I had it in several forms and used it happily, smelling much older than my 12 years for a time. What does it smell like to you?

I'm would be especially intrigued by the mystery scents, President's Choice, indeed! I was always a big Pine Sol fan, still love pine everything!

A belated Congratulations!

waftbyCarol said...

Hi Qwendy !
Thaks for dropping by . Oh what a find this was .
The Chantilly is quite sweet with Heliotrope I think , some carnation and a good bit of vetiver , which I actually like here . This is an old vintage bottle , the contents were under pressure .
I'd be happy to send you some fun samples , just e-mail me your adress !